Steemit Brings Home Ownership to Social Media
It has long been the opinion of governments, that giving the people living in a community ownership of the property was beneficial to the overall atmosphere of the community. In addition to generating tax revenues, it also provides an incentive to keep property values up. Since property values are a result of the things we value in a neighbourhood, there is an incentive to keep the community clean, safe, and overall enjoyable.
One can often observe people living in rental units and compare their place of living to a neighbourhood of condos. It is normally the case that the renters live in a less desirable location. This tends to get blamed on the land owner who appears to be a selfish capitalist only concerned with profits. But what of the tenant that permit the neighbourhood to get old and warned down?
The lack of financial incentive to keep their community in the best shape they can keep it in, is often at odds with how they wish to spend their time. They most likely would appreciate a nicer neighbourhood, but A would need everyone to pitch in and agree, and B would have to sacrifice time that could be spent on activities that provide a financial incentive.
Contrast this to neighbourhoods where the residences are the home owners. Many condo boards go out of their way to insure that the ratio of renters to owners living in the condo remains low. This results in buildings and neighbourhoods with high level of home owners, and when observed we can see that these are some of the best places to live. This is because the people have an incentive to keep the living conditions in the best condition possible. This permits them to maximize their profits when it comes time to sell (and maximizes their net worth in the interim).
One can observe the same concept playing out on Steemit. Since the users of the network are also in a sense part owners of the network, and there is a direct financial incentive to keep the "community" as desirable as possible, it doesn't have the same feel as other site. Indeed Steemit lacks trolls, and negativity, and has a true feel of companionship among neighbours.
This is why I love Steemit. Not only do I get to make money while doing something I love, but I am also surrounded by respectful people who want the same. It's not that nobody disagrees with your ideas, its just that they feel satisfied with simply not giving you an upvote. There is no need to get nasty and start a fight in a neighbourhood that you own a house in (that's what a bar or YouTube is for). If I don't agree with a post or don't like an idea, I simply stop reading. And everyone else seems to do the same.
Steemit keeps me too busy to dwell on the negativity, and as a result there seems to be a lack of negativity on Steemit. It seems to draw in the type of person that wishes to work hard and build a community of true value, while making some small financial gains along the way. The idea of home ownership as an incentive for building a great community seems to have been one that can be applied in all facets of life.
Here's to hoping it remains this way :).
Dahlsom