If you are friends with me on Facebook, or other social media, you have probably seen me talk about Steemit, or share Steemit articles, at least a few times. If you are already here on Steemit, welcome, how do you like it so far? For those reading this that are not on Steemit yet, I am going to do my best to help you understand why this is not in your best interest and how to change it.
First let me ask you a question.
How much of the billions that Facebook brings in do they share with their users (the very people giving their social media service any value whatsoever)? That is what I thought. Nothing.
With Steemit you make money from your content.
By making content available you can get votes from the community. Now, it is complicated to explain how this part works but it boils down to having a basic understanding of Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology. Basically, Steem, the underlying token that can be traded, along with Steem Backed Dollars, are given value based on people wanting them. Before you scream SCAM just keep in mind, the only reason anything in this world has value, from your bucks in your pocket to the computer you are using to read this, is the fact someone else wants it. Steem is traded on many markets, so are Steem Backed Dollars.
You do this by...
Writing content, sharing videos, making videos, whatever you do that can be placed in an article here on Steemit then you are eligible for other members to upvote your content. Members can upvote your comments too. The cool thing is, you can upvote other people too. This reward system gives everyone a better control over what is popular and making sure those that make the content available are rewarded fairly. When is the last time someone liked your post on Facebook and you got money for it? Yep, again, thought so. Never.
Seond, Steemit can be your entry into cryptocurrencies.
Yep, since you are being paid for your content here (and some members make quite a lot of money) you can then exchange your Steem to get something else more in your knowledge base such as Bitcoin. I know many people that have asked me how to get into cryptocurrencies and were scared away when it required tying some kind of payment method to your account. With Steemit, you don't have to tie a payment method to get into crypto while the getting is good.
Third, everyone here is cool and we enjoy conversation.
Remember that time you posted something that seemed to be simple and not really a big deal but it blew up and you heard about it for weeks? That doesn't really happen here on Steemit. Everyone is interested in growing the platform rather than arguing with each other. I am sure there are those types of things going on, I just never see them because my friends here are cool.
Fourth, you like free money, right?
This is the one that boggles my mind. Why are more people not signing up here when they like free money. Steemit is literally free money for doing what you are already doing on Facebook.
Look, I write about a lot of things here on Steemit.
I also own a couple of websites. I am also on many social media platforms. Here on Steemit, I don't have to be worried about getting ridiculed for posting an article criticizing Kathy Griffin and her stupid antics then posting something about a game I happen to enjoy then writing an article like this. If I posted this on Facebook people would be like "Duh, we are already on Facebook so this is a pointless post" and then they would spend the next several hours probably hounding me, or anyone that posted on this comment on Facebook, with stupid comments, personal attacks and the like. I have seen it happen time and time again. Like I said, we don't have that here on Steemit, for the most part.
Why? Because of reputation.
If you are a jerk here, you will be told so by the community. See that number by my screen name up there? That is my reputation score. It takes a lot of work to get that number to go up. That is not the only reason I try to be a decent person here but it certainly helps me remember to step back and ask myself before I go stupid on a post over something that really doesn't matter. It does the same for other people too, I am sure. You can improve your reputation by producing good content, commenting and interacting with others and generally helping Steemit grow. Exactly the same things that you can earn money from. Imagine that.
If you still have questions about Steemit...
I will do my best to answer them, if I cannot answer them I will try and find the answer or point you in the right direction. Please comment your concern where ever you saw this article posted. If you are adventurous, look around Steemit, kick the tires and see what you think for yourself.