Steemit Could Probably Become its Own Internet

Steemit has recently made many headlines in the alternative currency/cryptouniverse, which means that various forces are propelling it forward. Not just in the cryptocurrency world, but the drive to create more valuable content for others on this blockchain is reaching the blogging, digital marketing space and it is looking more mainstream by the day. I believe this is because Steemit is founded on the principle of social proof, one of the most powerful psychological forces in human nature.

At first, I heard about this site from a YouTube Video a couple of weeks ago, because many of my favorite YouTubers were claiming you could make money on it...I love exploring new ways to make money and test products, so I tried it out. The first couple of posts, I was just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, and I still am to a large extent. Obviously, like everyone on here, it is in my best interest to make the most money on the site. Currently, most of my posts are only getting a few pennies to a few dollars each, so I definitely need to step my game up. But what I have observed over the past week that I have been posting, is that there is so much more to Steemit than I originally thought.

People love to jump on trends, as it is in human nature to follow the crowd. However, it is becoming very clear that the Steemit blockchain is so much more than just a quick way to make money....Currently, people on Steemit try to post interesting articles, images, and personal experiences in an attempt to get organic and promoted upvotes and followers. Those who spend a lot of time on here eventually figure out how to gain followers and upvotes by providing valuable content for their readers--and justly rewarded with hundreds or thousands of dollars. This concept of social proof has invited thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands onto the platform, and it continues to grow every day. I am very excited to see how this evolves, because I believe this is the first level of evolution in Steemit's functionality. Last night, while searching for some good content to share in a post, I stumbled on a really interesting idea--STEEMIT HAS THE ABILITY TO BECOME THE NEXT VERSION OF THE INTERNET.

Sounds crazy? probably. But things are moving so fast these days, only a fool would believe that it is impossible. Just think about it, only 3 or 4 years ago, you could buy a bitcoin for a few dollars. Today, Bitcoin is trading around 3,000 DOLLARS. Ethereum is the same story, up thousands of percents. Currently, Steemit is also trading in the top 20 cryptocurrencies with a market cap of 234 MILLION DOLLARS, up hundreds of percents. Thanks to Bitcoin and the crypto boom, all boats are lifted. However, not all will survive. As in every business, most fail after the first couple of years. Which is why I am writing this post...I believe Steem has the potential to become the next big thing for several reasons:

The current version is simply the first chain in the link of evolution of the Steem cryptocurrency. Which means there are so many options to move from here. For example, what would stop Steem from simply offering other services and creating a separate "Internet"? If this blockchain is based on blogging, and people are attracted to it because they can make money off of it, what is to stop this system from expanding into other areas that people can make money off of? Isn't the social proof/commercial element the reason people shop and sell on Amazon? Or pay for space on Google? Or go on Facebook to find interesting content? etc....Except on those sites, it is completely centralized at the top and only Google/Amazon/Facebook make all the money....What is to stop Steemit from simply expanding their top level domain.?

The examples I was thinking about: Shop.Steemit.com? Social.Steemit.com? Search.Steemit.com? Wiki.Steem.com? Host.steem.com?

-If everybody can make money on customizing their own t-shirts or accessories, like Amazon Merch, cafepress, or any of those sites, why wouldn't Steemit do that? Virtually no setup charges or unnecessary corporate fees(because it is based in Steem) and completely free trade with unlimited customization. Even an API to an existing site could be built into it.

-Social.Steem.com -essentially the original steem blogging platform, which already comes with Steem chat.

-Wiki.steem.com- Looking for info? Steemit. Anyone can contribute just like Wikipedia. You can pay the top contributors in Steem(like what we are doing here, just categorize information)

-Search.steem.com-- Eventually, like with all social networks, there will be a need to search through millions of posts. Steem already has millions of posts and content. If you Google anything with the word "Steemit" in it, virtually all the search results come back to the steemit website.

-Host.steem.com--if you want to host a website, just pay for it with Steem and use a Steem server. You are already essentially hosting many things on Steem like images, videos and blog posts, so why not? There is a huge demand for website hosting and customization. Just like the Ethereum platform with smart contracts, but for most Internet applications....

In my opinion, the combination of all these elements(web hosting, shopping, social networking, search, database, etc.) make up what we currently identify as the "Internet." So why not just have a new, better, cheaper, faster, Internet. I believe it is already happening, so why not let it happen on Steem? Upvote and follow if you think I am right ;).

Photo by Steemit User: @riosparada