Why aren't you on Steemit yet?
| I'm going to be calling out a few of my real life friends with some very basic questions topped with some facts about Steemit and blockchain technology. Thanks to IFTTT, it's going out to my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds and I'm going to tag my real life friends with a follow up. |  |
|---|
Whether you click - Whether you join - Hey, it's up to you after that.
QUESTIONS
> Have you posted your inner-most thoughts and opinions on Facebook?
> Do you have stories, anecdotes, photos, art and music that you want to share to a diverse audience?
> Are you sick of having your voice censored because you have strong opinions?
> Are you an expert in any particular field?
> Do you like memes, contests and challenges?
> Do you spend at least an hour a day on your other social media sites?
> Have you thought about expanding your brand or outreach to a new audience?
> Have you wondered how you might take your business to the next level?
> Do you have the capacity to learn new things?
If you answered yes to any or all of these, guess what? You are a perfect match for Steemit.
What is Steemit?
In its current form, Steemit is a blogging platform built on blockchain technology where our coined phrase is: "Come for the rewards. Stay for the community." But we are not JUST a blogging platform. We've got dozens of independent projects in development by enterprising groups and individuals.
| Let me give a cake analogy.If the blockchain is the spongy part of a cake then the foundational currencies: STEEM, SBD & STEEM POWER is the icing.Okay. It's kind of a plain cake but it's still a cake.So we add some decorations to this cake: a whole bunch of sprinkles, some candles, and whatnots... |  |
|---|
We want the whole shebang!
Come on! Stick some candles on it, sing happy birthday and dig in, right?
We need the blockchain and the witness nodes, otherwise we've got sweet ideas
-- and nothing else --
Why I choose Steemit
I joined Steemit in July, 2016 because I was looking for a place to hang out and possibly earn some money for my content. I've written for HubPages, have maintained my own blogs for several years, and really made no significant money. I've never had a trending article with millions of views to command a large payout.
Then there were other pay-for-content sites.
Well... I made sure I saved all of my Bubblews articles about a month before they shut down because they never had a plan for sustainability. I wrote two posts for Tsu before I absolutely knew they were doomed from the beginning. Frankly, I'm surprised that SkyPip and PersonaPaper are still around.
These four mentioned sites have several things in common:
- rely on ad generated revenue to pay their creators
- revenue based on unique views (which is usually negated if your reader uses Ad Blocker)
- no backup plan... errr... Let me rephrase to NO PLAN AT ALL
- censorship
- minimum payouts (if you ever make it to the minimum)
- your content is WIPED when the site dies
Where are the whitepapers? Where is the roadmap for growth? Where is the transparency?
As a content creator, do you think the sustainability of a site is kind of important for your work?
How about value?
You bet your ass he does!
::hears crickets::
Why is a blockchain important for your work?
“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.” Don & Alex Tapscott, authors of Blockchain Revolution
What's that again?
"An incorruptible digital ledger..."
What's that good for?
- Smart contracts, data management, PoI (Proof of Identity)
- P2P (Peer to Peer) transactions
- Crowd sourced venture capital funds
- Transparent, publicly accessible, and verifiable transactions for governance and auditing
- Provable date and time stamps for intellectual property
So I had a quick chat with witness @timcliff about the accuracy of my cake analogy and he was kind enough to give a thumbs up with a secondary explanation of a blockchain.
"The blockchain is kind of like the cloud. It is a bunch of computers out there, and everyone's "stuff" (content, comments, votes, etc.) is all stored in the cloud. The witnesses (nodes) are the ones hosting the computers which make up the cloud. And the reason it is called a blockchain is because all of the computers that make up the cloud need a way to communicate with each other and keep each other up to date, so the system packages everything that happens in a 3-second period into what is called a 'block' - where a witness produces a block, and then that block (with everything that happened in that short time frame) gets sent to all the other computers in the network/cloud."
Get on board you stubborn fool!
I don't need to know how to build an engine to drive a car.
I don't need to know how electricity powers my coffee maker to brew a pot.
Guess what? You don't need to know how blockchain technology works to open up an account and start a digital wallet.
Steemit is not perfect.
In fact, we've just celebrated our first year and we've probably got a few more years to go before we breach beta. But I'm telling you as a friend, a blogger, a creative person, an entrepreneur, and a freshly minted cryptocurrency noob fanatic - you may never find an easier gateway into the future of things than Steemit.
We are a community of amazing, helpful, knowledgeable people
and we can get anyone past the learning curve
and we can get anyone past the learning curve
But I'm sharing this with you because
the gifts YOU bring to the table will benefit us all.
the gifts YOU bring to the table will benefit us all.
Join Us!
To my Steemit friends: You are welcome to take any or all segments of this post to recruit your friends if you find it helpful, with the exception of my SteemVerify badge unless you are sharing this post as a whole. Thank you.
Awesome post ! I loved this part you wrote @merej99 : ( - you may never find an easier gateway into the future of things than Steemit. )
Great job , steeming on !👍😎
You and I are perfect examples of a mainstream audience jumping into a crypto world. At least I had the benefit of a blogging background. This was all new to you, wasn't it? And you've stayed the course.
Yes your right and I love it here , I never did like facebook , i still have not opened a account yet to sell steem lol ! Some day in the future i will at least set it up , im still hopeing that steemit will some day make it easier to do , it seems so complicated im worried about loseing everyting im such a noob ! Haha !😎👍
It's heavy reading but you should try to read up on the VIVA project that @williambanks has launched. I've never had a faster transaction than the TradeQwik exchange and I've already pre-ordered my Mastercard. If I'm correct, the way it's supposed to work is you can transfer your STEEM & SBD directly to TQ and then there will be a way to convert and deposit onto your card. Voila! Shopping. Is it really that easy? I don't know yet, but I aim to find out. LOL
Your post is so so awesome. The card tho, will one be able to fund it with money to buy steem?
From my understanding - YES, @surpassinggoogle.
Well that sounds easy to me ! But can you use the card for cash !? Or can you use Trade Quick to have the funds put directly into your bank or in my case credit union account !? Also is it available in Canada !? Haha Im such a noob with so many questions lol ! 👍😉
I don't have all the answers but as far as I know the card is issued from a legitimate place and can be used anywhere MC is accepted. I'll pass on more details as I learn them but wouldn't that be fantastic? It'd be so much easier than going to one exchange then transferring to localbitcoins, then hoping to find a reputable person and waiting for funds. It's too many steps with too much potential to screw up.
Exactly and i know i would screw it up some how as all this is new to me ! Lol! Please update me when you get more information this MC thing sounds awesome and more my speed ! Thanks a bunch @merej99 !👍😉
YES! I think the easier and quicker it becomes will lead to more mainstream users adopting it. The money conversion is the sticking point I seem to get when trying to bring folks over.
LOL
Have a nice week Mere.
Same.
Plus, I am a bit of a dullard so then there was that hurdle for me too LOL.
I hope my comments here help you and noobs and finding their way here.
That's pretty awesome how you put that KMac!
Lol thanks !👍
I also join steemit on the same month as yours, July 2016. My initial reason was to earn money because I was on deep shit during that time and steemit gave what I need. Actually, it gave me more, I gained relationship, I gained friends. Most of us dont know each other in real person but here on steemit, we shared a lot of things, from disagreement of thoughts which resulted to a concensus.
We've seen and heard arguments about many things but that's alright, it's natural in a family with huge members. What's important is we all have the same goal, success and betterment of the platform.
I was in a terrible place too! Steemit kept me occupied but I was blessed enough to buy groceries and much needed glasses with my earnings before I could begin powering up. The relationships I've grown here are amazing and I cannot wait to meet you all in future Steemfests!
Yeah, hope that in the next steemfest we can have the required funds.
Serve CAKE!
That's AMAZING! LOL
100% upvote. :D
"I love Cake, I Bake Cake." a lil sumtin sumtin I wrote up for your tat.
Hahahahah! LOL! :)
Well said, well written... Love it! I hope you reel in a lot of minnows with this one, Mere!
😄😇😄
I hope so @creatr - everything else I've done hasn't worked. I'm trying to explain it as easily as I can and coax them in with a little common sense. Fingers crossed.
I passed it along on Facebook... Thanks for writing it! :) :D
A super classy call to arms @merej99! Resteemed!!
Great post @merej99!!
Thanks for your patience and willingness to teach @timcliff - I know if I screwed up you would set me straight.
:)
Okay, I will share on fb..., nice ! :)
Thank you so much @happyphoenix - I hope it brings in some of your friends and expands our pool of future whales. :)
REALLY GOOD POST @merej99 RS/UP! Keep it up. We build it, they will come.
I think even some of our own Steemians have no idea of the potential of blockchain technology. This platform is just the beginning. Yes, let's keep building! Sooner or later we're taking over. :)
Very nice post. Maybe should you tell your friend that the reward part is very confused at the moment, as the machinery totally changed. But the fun is still there :D
Ah yes. I thought about that but didn't want to overload them. Plus "reward" can be completely subjective and not completely monetary - as in I am rewarded by your presence and the time you took to comment. That's no lie! :D
You are right. My mind was too money-oriented (don't ask me why, I don't know) when I read your text!
This is great! I'm definitely going to resteem and share on Facebook as well. Thanks for the awesome article.
PS.. I have brought quite a few people over to this platform and at least one who has done better than me. Though there are a few people I think would benefit a lot that just I guess got too intimidated or umm.. Frustrated by learning something new. So.. Who knows maybe this article will help some people like that who have a lil difficulty adapting to new technologies for whatever reason.
Let me know how it goes! I'm curious if this approach lures anyone in. Everything else I've tried has been ::crickets::
I have been a year of TSU then on Rabataba, App8 and Niume that are social they pay for their content. They are all gone wrong for several reasons. Now I try with Steemit but I must say it is too complicated and too quickly changes its rules. This to me is a dejavu ... @merej99 I think steemit is too complicated and that takes away people. It looks like a toy in the hands of a few and maybe have a lot of people on Steemit is not a goal ...
This platform is only in the beginning stages but I have faith in the site because we have solid witnesses who have the Steemit economy's best interest in mind, plus they are community-oriented. I will not deny that understanding the mechanics is complicated, especially if you're not a cryptogeek. We also have our own economy which is not reliant on AdSense or clickbait revenue sites which normally have a payout window of 30 to 90 days. Hang in there @sardrt - we're gonna swim in whale country before you know it. :D
I want to trust this site but it is difficult to convince people to come in now that earnings declined .. The sites where to put thoughts and pictures is full ... why should they come up steem? @merej99
@sardrt earnings have initially declined but with the recent hardfork, my understanding is that the reward pool has not changed (Steemit still creates the same amount of STEEM daily) but the distribution is based on a moving 30 day average, not a one day average.
HF 17 & 18 brought us to day 0 instead of using the past 30 days average. Honestly, I do not think we will reach "equilibrium" for at least 60 days because we need to reach 30 days first to have the first of 30-day averages, right?
We are used to daily payouts and quick jumps in reward value. If I am right, you are going to see your usual vote and comments, probably in the first few days, and then interaction with your post will probably die down as it disappears off the feeds. Watch the value of your post increase over 7 days.
My guess it will kind of have a balloon effect. Again, I really believe our true rewards potential will not be truly known for at least 30 days but no one is taking the money and shutting down.
That's the beauty of the blockchain. It's all on record.
Great Idea.
Thank you @ramblinmind
What keeps you coming back? What brought you here in the first place?
Thats the stuff, call em out. I have already done so with mine but its hard to break people out of that facebook mentality sigh
It was like when I started using google plus, a few people started then drifted back off. I applaud your efforts though. I still continue to try. More and more people I know actually use facebook less and less and complain about it more and more. So I suspect it might be on the wane.
I don't know @meesterboom - now that FB live has a shared screen option, I think it's effectively killed SnapChat, Smiletime and BeLive in one fell swoop because it's the "new toy". Single-stop shopping, if you will.
What all these avid FB users fail to embrace is that their time, attention, and voice ARE WORTH SOMETHING! Anyone in business will tell you Time is Money. But they all discount themselves there. It's so frustrating!
While that is indeed true you should see the nick of done of my Facebook friends... Lol. Their time may not be worth so much!
Am being flippant tho. Yes that is the cunning of Facebook, diversifying or if their space so you cannot escape
I am thinking of ways to invite my Facebook, G+ and IG followers over to steemit. I have yet to find a way that is short enough to send to busy people.I am trying to come up with two sentences that would encourage them to take a look. These are people that have never mined, purchased or used crypto-currency before. I like this open invitation letter that you have created and will pick it apart and see if I can make something shorter.
Awesome! Please feel free to tailor it to your audience. :)
Most of my audience have never heard of Bitcoin! It's an uphill battle for sure!
Tell me about, most of my friends think I am crazy when I talk about Bitcoin. They see me as less and less crazy as it gains more traction and price. I will be interested to know how it works for you and what you learn from trying this type of invitation.
Great Stuff. Well explained.
Thank you @franks
I'm hoping to expand on some thoughts as I gain understanding.
Fricken love it :)
Fricken love YOU @raymonjohnstone :D Thanks for stopping by <3
Steemit is the future. It's time to move on from a web full of ads
I can get behind this!
Me too, John.
Btw: Love your website. I can see some SteemIt related consulting services coming down the pipeline.
Thank you so much for the feedback about my website. I've been conflicted about whether to keep it all professional but you can obviously see the results.
As soon as I find an app that translates markdown into a formatted blog post in wordpress I'll be making my steemit blog live there too. Throw out a broad net, so they say. :D
YES! If we could get away from ads that would be amazing! Even more amazing is if someone build something like YouTube on the Steemit blockchain. Have you seen all the commercials over there? It's getting ridiculous!
Great post!
Thank you @framealife
What brought you to Steemit and what makes you stay?
honestly, I think Steemit is still too geek-centered for the basic user that is familiar with facebook or instagram (or candid, or snapchat, or medium, or flipboard or... so on).
people out there wants easy tools and step-by-step tutorial.
I agree wholeheartedly @paolobeneforti. We have a huge learning curve which was never denied. You can see the quick interview with @ned at Steemfest Amsterdam. I know we've got a lot of devs working on projects and now that they have the freedom to hook into the Steemit economy, you'd better believe we're going to see some mainstream apps coming down the pipe. It's very exciting times.
Following now @merej99 excellent post.
I appreciate that very much @asksteem Thank you. :D
Excellent outreach!
I was all fired up to herd all my folks over here... and then I remembered what they post on their FB pages. You do NOT want that mess in our living room.
Okay, so I'm kidding. Well, mostly. (I have youngish, single nephews... {shaking my head}... you get the idea.) Besides, I left FB years ago.
That means Twitter, here I come...
📢
I'm getting back into FB because it's a means to a way. I cannot deny the value and ease of use - plus the fact that I think over a billion people use it on a daily basis. You want an audience? There it is!
But my kids yelled at me when I joined SnapChat because they said the OLD PEOPLE ruin all the cool things. LOL
I don't know about you but I don't feel old. Do you?
Gotcha, good luck, and go get 'em! I just don't have the chops for it anymore. Twitter is about my limit. And that's how I found Steemit in the first place.
Old people.... Bwahahahaha...
I grew up in Ft Wayne Indiana. Good size city. When I was in my teens - 50 was old.
Moved to Florida -retirement central- when I was 20. Adjusted my range to 70 is Old.
Now that 60 is fast approaching, 90+ is OLD.
Funny how that works.
LOL - when I was 5, 20 was OLD.
Then when I hit 40 I thought, there is no OLD - there is only dead next. LOL
LOL! Well, yeah, that's true, too. Morbid and funny, but true.
Oh, and I did this tweet now, so I wouldn't forget later. Us old folks do that sometimes. ;-P
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Thank you! XOXOX
You're welcome!
WOW! A @berniesanders 100% downvote and survived
FYI - I'm not taking this personally. 6 days & 12+ hours to see how this post fares. I don't expect "equilibrium" for at least another 40-60 days.
Excellent post dear friend @ merej99, as always is outstanding, very good incicitavia.
I have no doubt that our platform is the best, thanks for this wonderful job
Thank you for swinging by @jlufer. How was your weekend?
thanks for this post! Steemit is the future! Keep up the good work and thanks for making steemit bigger!
Oh, hai!
I would like to say near the end there, to encourage your friend who are not IT or Crypto types (digital currency) -- do not be intimidated.
Trust me, if I can do this and work my way around my learning challenges, SO CAN YOU.
You do not know me, but I am speaking to people who may be intimidated by Bitcoiny jargon and magic internet money wonderings....
I say again, to encourage you, if I can do it,
TRUST ME, SO CAN you.
And the great thing is that Mere will help you because she is not busy at all.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
ROFL! Nooo.... I got nothin' to do. hahhaaa
You and a few others are definitely the poster children for the mainstream user who is sticking it out despite the basic UI, the constant changes, and the huge learning curve.
I haz the dumbz.
I do wut I can.
I can haz cheezeburger after I writez the blogg?? (:
What a great article, @merej99! Looking at the list of arguments it´s hard to find any reason to NOT join the platform :)) Really well done!
Resteemed and shared on Twitter
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
@merej99 Very good article. But for my friends registration in my country is problematic, I'm glad that I'm here with Steemit. I here recently read a lot and study other people's posts. Steemit attracts and awakens interest.
Cheers @merej99! The post is clear and makes the subject interesting for me.
If you had told me last month that I was going to explain blockchain to anyone, I might have laughed my fool head off. Some of this stuff is actually beginning to sink in! Hopefully this was helpful as well.