Freedom of Expression, Web 2.0 and Steemit

One of the principles of the modern internet is freedom of expression. Previously a certain level of technical ability was required to share things online and pre “Web 2.0” social media did not have nearly the same audience as current social media does. People from every generation are now able to share their views on topics in an instant via social media with the bare minimum of computer knowledge.

Although a little bit of computer knowledge can still go a long way...

This has resulted in a large amount of controversy as some younger people and adults who were unable or unwilling to access the internet before the rise of current social media frequently clash with people or ideas that they do not deem “politically correct” or even just disagree with. One of the reasons I stopped using Facebook was due to clashes between my friends and family members on my posts; I had a sudden realisation that engaging in this madness was optional and promptly deleted my profile.

Facebook arguements. Not even once.

Although arguments on the internet have always been commonplace, in my opinion the sheer volume of new internet users means that what used to be a "flamewar" on a forum now affects people's real world relationships and is sometimes considered news worthy! People being overly sensitive about other people’s opinions and companies not wanting their ads associated with anything controversial or outside the norm means that a lot of sites now remove apparent controversial content and/or ban people sharing it.
Abuse of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) means that companies or individuals can request a site remove "copyrighted" content before they start legal proceedings or even have evidence; meaning a company or individual without any legal grounds to claim copyright over content can have it removed at least temporarily.

As such true freedom of expression has become a much harder to achieve on the most commonly used sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with content creators having to rely on sites like Patreon to stay afloat just because they have content the ad men don't think people will like.

This is why I love Steemit. Creators are paid fairly and get their money without having to bend to the whims of advertisers, the site has the features of a modern social media platform with a sense of community that I haven't felt anywhere online outside of small, close nit forums. Lets face it, the incentive of money means people are less likely to start a pointless argument with others, although some posts don't seem genuine and people begging for upvotes, resteems and follows is annoying; they are overwhelmed by posts with a wide spectrum of opinions and types of content.
I have gained more from this site in a few short weeks than years of using Facebook and I'd like to thank every one of my 43 followers for showing an interest in me, it may be a small number compared to some users but it means a lot to me.

I'm still trying to find my place but I'm here to stay, so here's to Steemit and freedom of expression!