Opinion: Steemit is not a Platform for Advertising Other Content

As a community organizer and a content creator, I can't help but view Steemit through an analytical lens. I am brand new to the network, I realize, but often fresh eyes can see things that veteran community members cannot.

Blockchains, decentralized computing, and cryptocurrency are a new obsession for me. Whenever I have a new obsession, I tend to front load a lot of research into the area so that 1) I can understand my obsession better and 2) I can communicate with experts in the interest area on a higher level, faster.

This morning I listened to the 'Unchained' podcast episode where Laura Shin interviews the founders of Blockstack and talks about a decentralized internet.

Their discussion helped an opinion crystallize in my head. If Steemit is the vanguard of a decentralized tech's social media offerings, than why would we, as a community, curate posts that link to content on the centralized internet, that is, not built on blockchain technology?

In just a few days of browsing New, Trending, and Hot posts on Steemit, I've lost count of the amount of posts that are merely an image, a few hundred words of text, and then a link to the authors blog, youtube channel, or podcast. Steemit should not be a vehicle for transporting community members to other areas of the centralized internet. Steemit should be primarily a place for original content, content that is only accessible by joining the community on a decentralized platform.

I like this quote from the Steem Whitepaper:

“The first step in rewarding millions of users is to commit to distributing a fixed amount of currency regardless of how much work is actually done or how users vote. This changes the question from being “Should we pay? ” to “Whom should we pay? ” and signals to the market that money is being distributed and is being auctioned off to whoever “bids” the most work… The next step is to reward everyone who does anything even remotely positive with something . This is accomplished by ranking all work done and distributing proportionally to its value. The more competitive the market becomes, the more difficult (higher quality or quantity) it becomes to earn the same payout.” (16)

Steemit is built so that all contributions to the network will earn value, but it is up to us as the curators of our own community where the most value is placed. If Steemit is to be a real game changer, if it and other platforms built on Steem technology are to help change how new content on the internet gains its valuation, if it is to not degenerate into a platform of ads for content based in a centralized, data-tracking, personal data-monetizing dystopian virtual space, than posts that are nothing more than a conduit back to the centralized internet should be flagged and discouraged by our community.

Let's keep our quality content here, and make the world come to us.

Cover Photo from Tom Ritson