What Is Steem To You? Let's Talk About It.

in dtube •  6 years ago  (edited)


I've been racking my brain and coming up with what is Steem to me. Not an as straight forward of an answer as you might think.

Incentive: curation vs self-upvote

self-upvote allows more direct cash flow to go into one's pocket. higher curation can provide higher ROI, however, it takes more skill.

Steem is a decentralized database that stores text files for the most part. A censorship resistant database is best used for social media. Social media currently is a shit show, but FANG stocks are the biggest stocks in the world. I believe STEEM can replace the word FANG. STEEM stocks, businesses leveraging the Steem blockchain.
Money+ = Bitcoin
Social Media+ = Steem
I hear people say that Steem's killer use case is not social media, however, I have yet to hear what the other use cases would be. I think of Steem Monsters, sure, but if you listen to Aggroed speak, he says that leveraging the community of #Steem was a big aspect in their success.

So, even if there is another use case for the Steem blockchain that isn't social media, it could still benefit being a branch off of a social platform.

The above are just my quick notes and do not represent the video as a whole. Listen to the entire video if you want my entire viewpoint.

WHAT IS STEEM TO YOU? Let me know below.


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  ·  6 years ago (edited)

Dan, I have been answering car questions for over a year now. Every day, I make a post available for any Steem account holder to ask a question about their car issue.

One can't ask a question unless they have a STEEM account because they can't comment without an account. This simple free service is available to all Steemians and is in part what makes STEEM special. No one is obligated to upvote my blog or to upvote my response, yet there is a place for them to go for car answers.

My goal is to be the car expert on STEEM that every Steem user goes to when they are in need. That will be my niche. My hope is that when STEEM community grows large enough and the price of STEEM gets high enough, I can survive by providing personalized answers to car issues.

I have had to return to working and can't answer all questions immediately, but I work very hard to answer them within 24 hours.

I detect a little bit of frustration (understandably so), but that aside - I think you said it exactly as it is. It IS a buffet of riches! There is something for EVERYONE! The power of #steem is in the variety and freedom it offers.

Speaking on the "public" aspect of curation...

Personally, I think what makes Steem stand apart IS the curation aspect of it... and I have said this a few times before - People may BEGIN their engagement for the sake of reward, but through that... so many other things are born - enthusiasm, connection, encouragement, fun - and the list goes on. So it becomes a "double whammy".

What starts out for most as a "ok I need to engage to earn" - develops into friendships, mini-therapy-sessions, debates and discussions.

Take the curation rewards away and the social "incentive" that is driving an almost anti-social society disappears. This is the magic of Steem and I think it would be truly sad to lose it.

Speaking on the "curator" aspect of curation...

Curating may not always bring the highest rewards in monetary value to the curator... but I think for individuals truly passionate about the community aspect of the platform, the offering of curation offers a different kind of reward entirely - one which is equal to if not greater than the sound "kaching" brings.

At the end of the day, the "essence" needs to be kept alive. Holding a long term vision, or one which goes against the grain of the mass is NEVER easy... but like "they" say - easy come, easy go - so keep that in mind and remember the "what and why". "Rome wasn't built in a day" so to speak... but you do it because you know what you are doing is playing a pivotal role in building something far greater than instant reward!

.....................

Spaces like Steem NEED people like YOU to KEEP on pressing and voicing these issues!!!!! We ALL need to keep on doing that!

Changing the ways of man takes time and effort! It requires authenticity and passion - it requires consistent leadership and guidance but mostly it requires the EDUCATION and REMINDERS like this to the people listening in.

Great leaders create more leaders, not followers. Great leaders have vision, share vision, and inspire others to create their own.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Hahahaha BRILLIANT! Very apt indeed. :)

'I'm a HUMAN BEING, God damn it! My life has VALUE!
looks like nothing changed in the 40+ years.

Really enjoyed listening to the whole video bro!

Amazon started as online bookseller and now they’re selling everything

I see STEEM as

Universal bank that can bank the unbanked
Universal Educational platform (like Lambda School )
Universal Start-up Venture ( Like YC )

Also @cleanplanet project can build something that tackle climate changes in a scale with STEEM

What is Steem to me? Well, definitely more than I would have imagined when I registered here some 1.5 year ago. It really represents a lot to me. It´s my job, my hobby, my getaway from the centralized and censored world, a place where I come to hang out with like-minded people, to learn new things, to relax, to come for advise... You name it. Steem is an important part of my life.

I disagree with those that say the main component of Steem is not blogging and social media. Sure that’s not a technologically satisfactory point to make because there’s so much possibility with the future of the blockchain sphere, but what is Steem without this community of people? I can’t imagine what this place will look like in 5 years; will people not scorn the social aspect of it? Or will they continue to put down the aspect of it that drives most of its business?
Without the social aspect of this place, where would this many people, ordinary people mostly, be able to get their hands on the first round of blockchain innovations? The whole reason this place is successful (as it is, but still unfortunately pegged to the bitcoin fluctuations) is because it’s a social zone. I came here first for the social aspect, now I stay for so many other aspects but it starts with social.

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I see Steem as being much more than this demo app that was set up to demonstrate to the world how Steem works. I have already begun a series showing how it can benefit pre existing businesses to keep more of their cash flow, or expand their cash flow.

Steemit as a social site has created a strong core, yet I wonder how much ill will has also been created by the masses who came, became disappointed or angry and left. For Steem to reach a high level in market ranking and valuation, eyes must be turned outside of the current model. Simply shifting stake values and payouts within the already existing community is not the way towards mass adoption.

Ideally, programmers will breakdown (what I have begun demonstrating for those with programming abilities) what needs businesses have that are not being met currently and create a program that would link Steem to their business model to solve the issues.

Having said all that, I do see the social aspect being a large part of it. I see better versions coming along (such as Kure promises to be). Dan created Steem ultimately to make the entry into tokens easier. So far, the disconnect even in the social side has not explored much in the way of client experience. So much possibility if programmers can see one of the many visions possible and build it to satisfy.

It is definitely a complicated answer if you get right into the detail of it. Simply put for me, it is an innovative blockchain with community growth built in.

That is not the end game though. The business that can be built on that network and blockchain is the real kicker as though there may be money in blogging and content creation, we also have the opportunity to stake some money, and use that money in whatever manor we choose.

Imagine a business with 10,000 facebook likes converting that to 10,000 active followers. Having a vested interest in keeping an eye on your feed that will contain business marketing is built in success for those businesses who start up here for free. Then, the real life budget can be saved when you are rewarding the patrons using your liquid steem, and the SP stake grows to provide a diversified income stream.

Just one example of course but STEEM hasn't even become what it will and is awesome already.

Almost 2 years on steem, I can talk a lot about it. But I will try to be brief. So, I'm a foreigner living in Russia for almost 9 years and not having the Russian citizenship yet, that's why no one is accepting me to work here, so the only way to earn for me is to do something online.

I've started by ptc website, then freelancer job, then I jumped in investment websites and I lost a lot of money with that. Then I started trading crypto and finally I've found steem.

The most important for me is that steem is paying and working well because there are a lot of scams out there. So, steem for me is the best solution. Because it has the best community on the web. It has a lot of applications and really awesome perspectives.

About the curation, I'm also doing the same with @dcooperation , I'm the only curator of that account, all the earning from that account is going to power up, I'm not upvoting myself and I'm delegating all my power to that account.

I could use all my power to maximize the curation rewards, but I'm not doing so. I know who is upvoted well and I could just follow their using steemauto to upvote them, but I don't do that. I never delegated to a bid bot. I don't use them anymore. I do my best to use as much dapps as possible. I try to follow everybody here and support as much people as I can and I'm interviwing people just to help them to get noticed. I even follow steemians in other social media to be in touch with all of them.

So, steem is a lot for me. I love it. I'm not afraid to say that I'm addicted to it. It really changed my life in this 2 years and I enjoy never giving up on something that not making me rich yet, but I'm almost sure about the bright future that we will all have here.

Thanks for your inspiration, I really love to listen to your videos. ☺

So how do you monetize it? I don't see how someone could live from this.

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Monetize what ? If you are about steem , there are a lot of ways. Check all the apps and how they work and you will understand how to monetize and even build a bussiness here.

I liked your analogy about a painting as I had alluded to Steem being like a mural of sorts that we are all contributing.

It has the potential to turn out quite beautifully but I think there are certain interests competing with that outcome.

Primarily, it is self-interest versus collective good. Most are so preoccupied with their own wallet that they will forsake the things that I believe can lend to the greater value existing in the wallets of all.

What we see today speaks a commentary about society. The reward pool is like the river we all drink from but we must work to protect it.

If all users work purely from the interest of their own wallets over others, I am assured Steem will eventually fail.

It is not profitable to be prudent with one's votes as there are others who will gain from not doing so. Therein lies the fatal flaw I think.

Can we overcome that? Perhaps but it will take some degree of work and innovation. I think a proper front end implementation with proper promotion (that does not affect reward distribution) could get us halfway there.

Hopefully there is someone smarter than can help get us there. I have much to learn in the web dev arena and provided I have time will tackle that mountain myself eventually.

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If all users work purely from the interest of their own wallets over others, I am assured Steem will eventually fail.

My premise precisely (unfortunately).

The fundamental flaw in the coding. Might is right and thos with the biggest net (sp) take the most fish (rewards pool).

It's a model antagonistic, and not sympathetic to free markets. (free markets relying on the fundamentals of merit and property to function).

Merit is not relevant in the profit structure, on Steemit.

I joined Steemit in September 2017 because a friend on Ello (waves hello to @pixelfan) said he was actually getting paid for sharing his photography. At the time, I'd connected on FB and Twitter with an amazing community of bloggers who were all sharing each other's posts, in an effort to get us all "seen" by the masses.

After a few months on the blockchain of aimlessly trying this, that, and the other thing, I was on the verge of giving up. Luckily @jaynie & the #PowerHouseCreatives (formally known as @SteemitBloggers) came along and gave me the that same kind of community, but their support & curation actually had monetary value!


via GIPHY
Actual footage of me when I
realized it how Steem worked
😉

Now when I go through my WordPress Reader feed and click the little hearts, I can't help but think, "Geez guys & gals, if you were on the blockchain, this gesture would actually put cash in your pocket!"

The point I'm trying to make (I think - still to early on a Sunday morning to be sure 😂 ) is that the desire to support others who support you already exists in SocialMediaLand. And if curation on the Steem blockchain was given more value than vote selling (as you talk about in your video), I have no doubt we'd be onboarding bloggers (as well as others) by the bazillions.


via GIPHY

Too true!

Steem to me is an opportunity to express myself. Keep learning new things and become better at what I do. While trying to approach it with a longer view set than most when I can. I want to do more than just write gaming content I have plans one today to make my own games as well.

I agree just calling it a blogging platform is selling it short. It might have just started off with that but the scope has far exceeded that. A business could come to advertise here. They could also sell here. They might even be able to build a future product here. I look forward to the days when contacting a company it’s no longer about how many Twitter or YouTube or Instagram followers you have they also accept numbers on Steem.

I think curation is ok where it’s at. There are also beneficiaries cut that can start to add up as well. Along with who knows what else could come and try to take a bite out of author rewards. It’s a tricky slope where the content creator could have the smallest piece of the pie. I want to see people going out and creating a new experience to share with the blockchain. Not just try to get out 7 or more posts a week because that’s the thing to do and they want to maintain not evolve.

Five years from now I want to break out of the 7-day cycle. I’m working on that now by being a little more focused on SEO then I have ever been. Sharing and linking my content out elsewhere. Paying a 15% benefactor when I do put more effort into a single piece and want it on a dapp I use that I share those links around the most.

Ultimately Steem to me is doing things that others won’t because there is no incentive to do them today.

In a single word, STEEM for me is creativity a place that motivates us to leave our conford zone and start producing talents that are within ourselves. My best wishes for you and good vibes.

6 month ago i had a similar Idea. Because 25% curation is not investor friendly.

But i would go one step ahead. 75% curator 25% author + maybe some author coin.

Because " What is more work?"

Find good content and read allot of shit content to curate or write some content?

Pay as Curator first Money for Steem to give it away for Free and lock it for 13 weeks?

Good Authors get way more money with 25% as now and there get True upvotes not fake.
And Vote Selling would be here but not that much.

Curration is really hart work and you get next to nothing for it. So why a Investor should buy Steem?

The problem is, what will hold people back from using uovote bots and collect 75% curation rewards? You can still cheat the system that way.

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  ·  6 years ago (edited)

sure but for now if you curate you get only 25% ( or less). So you have more work and get less.

Thats the problem.

Bot use are always possible. But curating is with 75% not that big ROI waste and good.

Yes i get the point. But in the case of 75% curation rewards using upvote bots will also be that much more profitable.

Sure but the difference is not that huge. The current System is not Investor friendly and makes no Sense.

100 People can write some cooking recipes. But as a User i only want to read the best one.
So the curator should get payed in a perfect Steem world to read all the Shit and reward the best.

With 75% Reward is chance is higher this happens. With 25% it doesnt work as we see now.

I come from pure content curation and had nothing to do with crypto beforehand but got so fed up with the big platform making money off our stuff, without sharing any of the profits. I found Steem and helped to a create a nice community on here but as you can guess, we would love to see higher rewards and incentives for good quality content.

I have another use case, you will see our new company roll out over the following months -

we saw great presentations at Global Block Builders, but one thing that stuck with me was something Sida, founder of @partiko said -

we have to incentivize new users doing what they already do.

we need to reach out to the #fitbit community for actifit, the #100daysofcode community for utopian. And I have another multi-million member community in mind that I will be rollodex-ing soon :)

Steem is the answer to my desire to have financial freedom.
Many years ago I lost the capacity to save for eventualities and emergencies.
For me, this was always important.
Then, when I discovered Steem; And the support that the Steemit platform offers.
all the applications that are based on steem.
Ufff I loved it.
I saw again the opportunity to have savings for eventualities.
This has given me mental relief.
Thanks for that good question.

Steem is the place where I can do what I love most which is Singing and get rewards for it. I have met a lot of great people around the world who are so special and support me. And I can support and help people as well. Steem Blockchain has changed my life!💕

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steem is an application that has allowed to change the lives of many people, through their talent, creativity and cunning to show all steemianos a way of life. For me, it has been an important opportunity for personal growth and an opportunity to supplement part of my income for the support of my family.

to be short and simple steem is a life changer for me : )

Hi @theycallmedan
Thanks for asking this question.
For me STEEM is a place where i have Friends across the world. Here I am not bound with timing. I learn everyday and I can share my views and opinions without censoring fear.
I got the opportunity to meet many brilliant people here and learning from them. Steem means a world to me and I love everything about it. I am proud that I joined this amazing platform at early stage.

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

I see Steem as a currency. Seems dumb but that's what it is.

We have a problem today, which is that central banks control the inflation and the interest rates. This destabilizes economies, creates boom and bust cycles, enriches the rich which know about those cycles and constantly makes the big majority of the population poorer.

Bitcoin came with an amazing solution which is decentralized money over which no one has control, and with predetermined decreasing inflation. This is sound money and will be great for economies, trade, freedom etc...

Steem is another solution. It says, that instead of eliminating inflation maybe we can really use it in a good way (this is also what governments claim but they fail miserably). However, steem uses inflation to reward active users on the network. Those who provide value. If you produce content and people enjoy it, then more of this inflation is coming to you. This is the Proof of Brain algorithm.

Right now we have a problem, delegating to bidbots gives you a bigger slice of the inflation than being a good active user. But this will be solved. 50/50 curation, i think, may be a great step. Also, removing self-upvotes or votes between accounts owned by the same person. This of course can be gamed but it will also be easy to track who is constantly upvoting spam content to profit, because it's a blockchain. We can then downvote them.

The point is: if there exists a proof of brain algorithm, that gives the right economic and social incentives to the users, then we might create the best currency in the world. It would be a currency that encourages people to create value for others, via content, businesses, ideas or whatever.

Now the good news is that we don't even need a perfect Proof of Brain algorithm. right now, the algorithm is extremely bad. Everyone should self upvote and delegate to bidbots. But Steem has users, content creators, entrepreneurs, witnesses that produce amazing work.

So imagine what would happen with an average algorithm.
What would happen with a great one?

I believe that with many years and SMTs we will be able to find a good way to align the correct incentives. I also think that different people have different values, which is why many currencies, each one with a different algorithm will exist. That is why steem is a genius idea, every account using SMTs increases the value of the Steem token.

Most definitely Steem to me is people and potential.

And like you mentioned and others have in this thread...Sometimes I think we undervalue how amazing the people are here on this platform.

that’s hard to do. build community. but steem seems to do this with ease. from the games like steem monsters to applications like dtube. we have some very powerful communities.

the potential comes from the amazing things we can do here. and with that 50-50 split that you mentioned the other day...skys the limit.

i also believe online businesses can build here. i love the Steem Business Alliances’ game plan. That’s the potential. imagine if online businesses start building with smt’s or steem engine tokens...that’s just mind blowing to me.

all in all. i love the people. and i love the potential here on steem.

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To me, #steem is a creativity and learning platform. This is actually what brought me to #steem.

I have been a writer and research analyst, as such, when first I heard about #steem courtesy of @Liltom002, I saw another platform to learn from others' content.

Truly, this has kept me going. I spend hours of my day reading good ceontents and this has boosted my writing, resaerch, review and analysis skills.

I could remember a time when I had @gra to preview my content, he told me it lacked social integration. That I saw and did learn. The story is different today.

Currently, I am seeing how to link all my projects, family and friends to #steem.

To me #steem is a platform that every career can thrive and grow. I am currently educating university undergraduates on how to grow their career through #steem contents.

Steem to me is more than a social place, it's also intellectual for me, a place to learn from different POV, many lot my dear I can keep counting and recounting

What does Steem mean to me, and Steemit in particular?

To me Steem, through Steemit, is a fantastic repository for thoughts that could have some value sometime, when the time is ripe for it.

Whether any of the seeds I sow will ever germinate, only time will tell, but by publishing what I think could be of value, I can at least feel that I have done my duty. Thank you Steemit!

I have not published much in the form of posted articles yet, partly because it is hard to put new ideas into perspective in ways that will make sense and be appealing to a broader audience, especially coming from a stranger like myself, and partly because I find it extremely time consuming producing quality content of this kind, and I don't have much time to spare for doing just that in my current situation.

What I do find more productive and more doable too, however, is curating the work of like minded people. There I find fertile ground more directly and the opportunity for sharing my perspective on whatever the subject might be. Thanks again Steemit, for the curation facility! (And the rewards, of course.)

And therein lies the meaning that Steemit presently has for me.

Who knows, maybe Steem itself could sometime serve as the means for implementing some of the thoughts I have!

Thanks for a great exposition of what Steem and Steemit are about @theycallmedan!

Right now srlteem is a perfect case study for engagement.
If I was an established husiness Ibwould be keeping a close eye on steem which is sns 3.0 if facebook was 2.0.
No ome really understamds it yet, hence all the slip ups and failures. But there is no progress in research without failures. Even if early dapps fail, assuming they don't power down, theur steem will be worth so much if this platform succeeds to make being a pioneer worth it. Also, they can always try again.

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Well, it's really great explaination about the definition. It's now more clear for all of us. Thanks for the great video.

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To me, Steem is a complete ecosystem really. We have that social aspect, so there is the community aspect. Then the investments and pay structures, games, now a DEX, and more, Steem to me is the most undervalued blockchain out there with the biggest use cases. I would like to see more of a marketplace than what is around, and maybe some kind of micro job situation like Fiverr. These things would really help grow the community. Basically replace the crap world system with what we are currently building...

Steem blockchain for me is a medium of free speech a censor free publication and a social media where you can able to share what ever you want to make some penny out of it.

Thank you for the sharing. I try my best to understand. For me I don't really know that much about cryptocurrency, just know that it is the future trend. I love to share in Facebook,instagram. And now Steem can give me some reward, why not? Who know in future this platform can make me rich! I will just continue to do what I like and treat Steem as my blog,vlog and connect to more people around the world.

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STEEM for me is financial freedom @theycallmedan as it allows people like me who can't get a job because of my disabilities to earn something so that I would never be a total burden to my family.

To me Steem is what allow me to express my artistic and creative side and still make a living.

Still a little bit of and utopian vision for me because it is just a side hustle and my rewards are pretty low.

But for me Steem is for sure freedom, liberty, art, creativity,

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Steem to me is a coin powered by a community. And that community is steemit, drugwars, steemmonsters. Hopefully the list keeps growing.

To me steem is many things for me but most especially steem is a platform that have given me the opportunity to develop myself, discover myself and learn myself.

Since i have joined steemit, i have never regret joining this great platform. It has indeed change my life both mentally, financially, academically, spiritually amd many more.

People who joined steemit and been part of steem will not regret because i did not regret my decision of joining one year ago

Steem is where my friends are. Steem is a place to learn. Steem is where I've honed my skills. Steem is so much more than just the social media aspect thats touted to me. Steem is a blockchain. Steem is where STEEM is housed at. Social media is a big part of Steem, but it is not all of it.

For me steem is a way to have fun blogging/posting without the limits of a normal social media an also engage with lots of different people from around the globe

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#steem is MindSet MindUniverse of Us 💙

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Steem is a global market that accommodates all business that promotes someone’s life.

The more you begin to analyze Steem the more it unfolds!

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Thank you for clearing and explaining What is Steem because lots of people still don't know the proper definition of steem.

I just explained what I believe Steem is and can be, but the interpretation of Steem is always up to debate and in the eye of the behodler :)

Absolutely , I agree with you. Well, we all have different perceptions and steem blockchain gave everyone that platform where creators can share their point, debate and free to talk. May be that's the beauty of Steem blockchain where everyone can maintain their own individuality, can share what they think. Thank you so much @theycallmedan for expressing your opinion about steem.

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We should make this convo about the 50/50 change lol :)

To me Steem is not just a social blog platform with crypto rewards anymore. It has become the blockchain of opportunity.

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altruism is what you're describing perhaps?

Steem is a decentralized Blockchain which connect both information and cryptocurrency. It can add positive values (monetary and social) to a person only if the person in question takes hold of the opportunity which the platform offers and can foresee it's outstanding uniqueness!

Thank you for sharing your view.

Way to grow and feel above ordinary.

Keeping it short rather than the boring essay comments :D

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