Some people already know how I ended up on Steem, but to recap, it was out of desperation. While everything went fine in the lead up, the birth and subsequent life after our daughter came into the world crushed us emotionally and financially due to complications and after six months of struggle, we were tapped out. Our daughter was allergic to breast milk even though my wife was only eating sweet potato and pork and my wife's weight dropped dangerously low. Our daughter was put onto a formula that would set us back around 700€ a month + all of the doctors and medications on top. Someone knew that I had the potential to write and said I should try this to see if it would close gaps.
I still haven't spent any crypto.
But, I was thinking about it today and for many of the people I have met, the money was the main attraction, which is quite natural considering the potential of the site, especially considering the view of 35,000 dollar makeup tutorials and thousands going to very low quality posts. This means that while many of the early miners and users were tech based because they were already into crypto, I would say that the majority of users on the platform came for the rewards alone.
This sets up a bit of a selection bias because those who came predominantly for the rewards are also the ones who were like me, struggling financially in the real world in some way and looking for additional revenue to close gaps and pay bills. How many were investors? Probably not many, or at least, not many good enough that they could do without the money.
But since then, there are plenty of people who have bought in hoping for a big pay day, but actually don't need any Steem earnings to make ends meet or, even live a comfortable life. It is an interesting point to note that many of the whales don't need steem to be secure yet, are still here, many of the orcas and dolphins too, and most of the developers could earn much better doing whatever they normally do in the tech industry. Yet, here they are.
For me, this is a good sign as even though they likely haven't quit their day jobs, they are still working toward a crypto, blockchain and Steem future and, they are putting their time, money and mind where they plan to be. Some of them could quite easily retire now, some of them could live comfortably with their talent - but they don't - they are here participating. Sure, they participate in a whole range of different ways that may or may not be what is best for steem, yet they are here. Is it greed?
I don't think so.
While greed is a massive driver for many people, I don't think that the highly invested users are here for financial gain alone and a large part of the attraction isn't the return, but the potential to be part of something that is going to change parts of everyone's lives. And this technology is not only promising, but making significant steps to integrate itself into the world in which we already live by supporting what we already do.
From an investment perspective, it is a no brainer to invest into an industry that is going to ease and speed processes that are already performed. Many people think that we are building a completely new industry here, but we are not. What we are developing is a better and more convenient infrastructure for all kinds of transaction-based activities to be performed and in so doing, there is massive potential.
Yes, there are huge economic opportunities but, there are the opportunities to build businesses and experiences and take ownership over activities in a way that provides influence and improvement of life. In this day and age, many people want to be part of something grand, and a new industry can provide a lower barrier of entry in many ways, higher in many others.
For me, this is where the attraction of Steem really developed and is why I haven't spent any of my assets because, while I needed the money, I recognized that what I needed more was to be part of something that I feel leads to changes for the better. And, this is my kind of change. It isn't charity where it gives people possibility, it is possibility for people to work toward a point they don't need charity. It is a "teach them how to fish" platform and I think that this is attractive for investors as not only does it help people, it can provide returns that could outstrip most investments ever made.
Imagine 150 years ago getting into the oil business, would you be wealthy now? Where did you get the money for the mining rigs? Funny isn't it? Even if you truck oil, you would still have to take loans from banks to cover the cost of infrastructure - would they have given you a loan - and on what terms?
What have people had to do to earn on Steem - write some posts, engage with people, chat in a discord or two, create some art, write a poem, create an app? Pretty much anyone can earn something here and those who actually put effort in and provide something people see has utility in some way can earn something relatively consistently. It is quite an amazing opportunity to be able to participate and potentially earn significantly in a burgeoning industry without having to invest any capital upfront at all, not even take a loan.
How long can this opportunity last and still offer successful startup returns?
I would say for a good deal of time yet because we are at the very front of the industry and there are still 7-odd billion people yet to start their own form of participation and, they are going to participate because while it might not seem too easy now, this tech is going to increase the convenience of their lives enormously.
This is why I see people looking to earn to sell beyond their actual necessities very short-sighted because they have struck oil, found a vein of gold and, they do not need any equipment other than an internet and their own gumption to start mining. While the concept of Proof-of-Brain on Steem might not have panned out as designed, the first proof of someone having a brain is their recognition of the potential, with the second being their participation in its development.
I am quite confident that if I won the lottery today, I would be here writing on Steem tomorrow.
Would you?
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
The dears and the sirs are back. I’m feeling bullish.
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hahahah :D
The surefire sign of the coming bullrun ;D
Lol, all this time we've mistaken bull market with deer market.
"Make it Reindeer."
Haha!
It is quite natural for dears to vanish first at the appearance of bears. Bulls are much slower animals than dears.
I came across Steem being a (lousy) crypto investor. Just like anyone else, I was attracted by the fact that one could earn free crypto here. But it stopped being about the money about three month after I started. There's so much more to this blockchain than just that.
It's probably not very original, but it has been because of the community that I'm still around. Seeing all these new developments only makes it even more interesting. Me winning the lottery or not has become irrelevant. Of course I would stay....
I was planning to write a post about a conversation I had tonight with a friend that looked into this a little. So many developments and opportunities on the horizon.
Probably wouldn't have heard of it at this point if it was. If I had joined though, I certainly would've stayed back after all I've seen
Some did and have heard of it while they have not needed the financial incentive and invested in and stayed. I think it would be quite a different experience without the pressure and focus many put on earning directly.
I would be making a post about my plans on how to invest that money to secure my financial future – and I would tag that post with 'steemleo'. Lel.
Of course I would by some Steem, too.
Yep, pretty much. I would be planning a few projects I have had for Steem that require some investment too.
I didn't get onto Steemit for the profits. That's why I have never powered down nor cash out.
I came because, oddly, Steemit was how I was introduced to social media and blogging. It was my only social media presence on the internet !
To answer your question, yeah, I'm one of those people who has secure finances in real and got on to Steem for other extracurricular reasons :D
Coming to Steem is where I left other social medias.
this either sounds like an application to a university or a SteemTinder reference ;D
hahahah it was the first word that popped into my mind that meant "other reasons" XD
and im the other way around
Steemit was the only social media and my first one
Now I'm about to dial down on my time and energy spent on Steemit......
Any particular reasons?
Oh, nothing surprising
Met some weird and unpleasant people
I wont power down or cash out, as I have never needed to profit off Steems anyway. The only times steems came out of my account are when I'm donating them to other Steemians, really.
I was super passionate about Steemit, building communities, curating, creating contests, reading and commenting and engaging (.... I think my comment counts are in the embarassing zone of upwards of 22 thousands) (lol) .... I even write artists' highlights articles periodically where all the proceeds go directly to the artists, but still. STILL some people are being weirdos. Accusing me of being over-rewarded despite what I do for the platform. And spreading misinformation and rumours about me behind my back.
Im done~
Signed up to conventional social media couple of months ago and am doing very well outside of Steemit :)
On Steem? Nooooo. :D
This is a growing place where with a lot of changes to come that will make it more conventional. The introduction of "money" in this way has brought out and amplified the worst traits in humans, yet it has to be approached at some point to get to where we are able to own this ourselves.
Hopefully you don't tune out completely because it will grow fast - when it does.
Hahahah yes, I guess I should have expected that people are behaving really terribly when money's involved... Still, it was a shame.
I'm hanging on for as long as I can :) But my high engagement style is bringing me a lot of success outside of Steemit, and there's only so much hours in a day~
But will hang on as long as I can, for sure. I've made a lot of great friends here, like Shibasaki, who made me his Comment Moderator at his YouTube :D I'll be sure to do right by the nice people \o/
I started for the chance to earn money to be a writer as my full time gig. Though I have money that flows in from other sources, I simply wanted to be a paid writer, and here was my chance.
I've stayed because there are so many people here I've grown to appreciate so very much. This is also an incredible resource for crypto info. It's not a perfect community for sure, but it's good enough to keep me coming back, despite the market dive meaning I've lost money on my combo of investment and activity instead of gaining any.
I wonder if in time, Steem will be able to be the natural hub of crypto information that can serve the masses?
How does it feel to be paid for your writing?
Well given I'm running this business at a loss, I can't say I actually feel like a paid writer, LOL. But there were those few weeks where hope was alive!
What price will you start to get paid again? :D
My average buy price was $1.28. So just to break even on money spent it would be that price. That's not accounting for actually earning anything on participation. A lot like the regular world of writing online, say for HuffPo, only with a different kind of hope that it will change your life. LOL
This is something I find interesting on Steem because unless investing earnings from other platforms very well, there is very little chance of it being life changing. And then, what kinds of thing would you have to invest into to be life changing?
At an average cost for my stake at $0.70, I could easily say that my lottery ticket is more like a roulette bet of either black or red; strike out or a home run. Either way, I will enjoy the game!
The wheel hasn't stopped yet. Ever thought what price would be a suitable stopping point fr ROI? (not saying you need to stop)
Did jump on for the money like everyone else but it was another potential income stream that turned out to be much more my speed (I have a Patreon, it’s not doing well because the type of stuff I need to do to make to “successful” is the type of stuff I loathe).
...and my speed is kind of glacial 😅
I otherwise can’t tell if we need extra money or not as J tells me different things depending on the day and our moods but we’re nowhere near financial dire straits, I got into it with the hopes of us swapping which is never going to happen.
Additionally I’ve been vaguely interested in crypto since I learned about bitcoin, and this method is much easier and more fun for me than trading 😆
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What kinds of things? I assume that there is a lot of self-shill?
This is what I have been pushing as a selling point of Steem for years.
It's pretty much all self-shill til you hit critical mass and I'm not going to hit critical mass with it for exactly this reason O_O;
Curators/consumers probably should be pitched to as well. Come here and earn money for finding good content (I'm sure there's a catchy way to put that but there's many reasons my sister wrote the copy when we had our business).
If I won the lottery tomorrow I would remodel my kitchen with all the handicap features that would make my life easier, and invest the rest in Steem and some of my favorite Tokens!
You'd be a crypto whale all over the place :D
How fun that would be!
I'm quite certain if won the lottery tomorrow I'd be a Steem whale within a week.
Though I haven't been as active as I should be my objective is to own as large a stake in this network as possible.
I would think that anyone who believes in this thing would feel the same way.
I have thought about this too. A million € would get me about 4.5M Steem at these prices :D
That kinda makes me quiver...
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I wold have not landed into Steemit if my finances were good.
Like many people I would say. Some did and do have good finances though and still come and invest into the community for different reasons.
Yes I would continue to be on Steem if I were financially wealthy. This would be for two reasons. 1) To diversification on my investments. Never put all you eggs in one basket. 2) For the fun and intellectual challenge. Thanks @tarazkp
I would invest almost all lottery money into Steem right now.
I came to Steem looking for multiple revenue streams which I don't have to cash out today. But I stayed for the potential to transform how entire world operates. We are maybe in 1998 in terms of internet history. Before the Netscape browser appeared, many people thought Internet was a fad. I think we haven't yet witnessed such killer app in crypto. When it appears, I would love for it to be on Steem. Even if it is not on Steem, every major blockchain will benefit from mass awareness that will result from such killer app.
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Me too. I have a few projects I would get off the ground.
This is what people need to realize but, they also need to attempt to make it on Steem, or wherever they are. I feel that like always, many are waiting for other people to do the heavy lifting and that means they will be consumer class once again.
Our Steem community devs are surely working to create such an app. Wish them luck...
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The apps are coming, a few will be killer, some will be moderately successful, a lot will do okay. As long as they keep pushing, there is an inevitability to the outcomes.
Yes, it's the numbers game...
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well i do photograph and make videos, so why not here (on youtube i made 10$ and then got demonetised). My initial idea was i could maybe get some new equipment from steem (i got here in 5$ steem) but i was new and well, votes were non. now most my online time is here, and i am kinda -300$ on the platform. so i am not really earning :) at the moment i am lucky enough to not have the need to sell steem.
if i won the lottery would i still be writing? probably from some interesting places with a bigger vote power :D
You got a 46.93% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @tarazkp! :)
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Check our website https://thegoodwhales.io/ for the whitelist, queue and delegation info. Join our Discord channel for more information.
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Well, I think this is a suitable demonstration of what some people are here for.
!popcorn
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