I was reminded again today of something absolutely fantastic that I really love about the platform today...
Somehow, I'd actually forgotten about this for a long time.
I suppose the disillusionment I'd gone through when Steem price (and consequentially, rewards) crashed earlier did a good job at disconnecting me from some great memories here in the early days.
Anyways...
I recall one of the most interesting days I ever had on Steemit, when I began seeing my votes amounting to something.
At first, it was only a few cents. Yet, there was this weird psychological effect of seeing a simple click of a button put a bit of money into someone's wallet, in exchange for the value I received from reading their posts.
As the vote values grew to 10 cents, 50 cents, a buck, and a few bucks, so did the psychological effect.
It felt really damn good to offer such appreciation for content that I geniunely appreciated, in the form of boosting their financial position. Completely different than "Liking" something on Facebook or "favoriting/hearting" it on Twitter.
And today, as I voted on some trending posts and saw the rewards value climb by nearly/around/over $10... that gleeful satisfaction returned.
For real...
Being able to upvote a post because you really truly do enjoy the content and are grateful for the time & effort someone has put into the post - and to have that show of appreciation reward them, without money coming out of your own pocket... this lies somewhere between absolutely brilliant and sounding too good to be true. But it is true.
This is a phenomena with this platform that REALLY sets it apart.
As much as I enjoy logging in to see how much my last post earned - in all honesty, there is a far greater sense of amusement and fulfillment in seeing my votes bump up someone else's rewards who I feel is contributing great material to the community.
I love it.
There's a part of me that is still so engrained in old conventional financial/economic models, that I can't quite totally wrap my head around the dynamics behind this and how it actually works. But nonetheless, it does. And being able to pay forward some of the appreciation and (monetary) blessings with a simple vote - and to an extent that it'd actually amount to enough to buy a beer, sandwich, latte, or bag of fuzzy rubber duckies... well, that's just awesome in so many ways.
Call this post a circle-jerk, some may. Fuck it.
Total newbies on the site who haven't invested into Steem Power may not get what I'm talking about, as votes might not be worth much at all without SP. Though, I think it's fair to offer a head's up and share what it is like once Steem Power is rising and it's time to head to the ballots.
Getting paid for content is great. And that's straightforward.
Reading great content is great. And everyone can relate to that.
But liking / voting for great content, and have that vote weighted with power that the contributor can take into the market place and exchange, withdraw, or invest... it's rather mind-boggling, really.
I mean... I just stumbled across a post by @jesta discussing his project of creating a Steem-based forums platform - a worthy cause to support. Gave him a full-power vote, and the rewards jumped by $40! Not that I'd want to dish out that amount to just any old post - but to a developer working on things to improve the economy, fuck yeah.
I can't quite put into words the implications my brain is once again scrambling to process with this.
This truly is a whole new type of economy.
@dan / @dantheman and @ned - I salute you. What's been built here is remarkable.
The world is undergoing profound economic shifts. And a decentralized, digitized economy such as Steem(it) is such an innovative breakthrough in changing the ways we create, offer, share, and reward value - it's almost unbelievable.
Maybe it was a bit selfish to have taken such a long break from the platform because I wasn't seeing the same level of rewards that justified pouring the same amount of time and energy into it at first. Yet, there's no doubt now that it is indeed worth it to pick back up - and not just for my own rewards, but to pay forward the same type of blessings the community has given me by using my voting power to reward those contributing enrichening value to the site that are making it a strong, wealthier, vibrant ecosystem to benefit all who approach it with the right attitude (namely, adding massive value.)
That's all for now.
Gratitude, expressed. With each upvote, for each story that we see is adding some light, happiness, wisdom, knowledge, and more to our days...
That is a great feeling. I don't dish out much, but it still feels good to upvote and see reward changing.
If Steem price remains the same we might see thousands of new people coming in upcoming weeks. That's the best marketing strategy - giving free money :D
meeeee !!! I wouldnt be without you and i work hard past months. check my wallet and how many posts i have 🌺
I just had my first ever payout and while it was a tiny one, I had the same feeling when I did upvotes after the Steem power got added to my wallet. This is a genuinely exciting concept.
YOU'RE REALLY BACK THIS TIME...
seems so :-)
HERE WE GO BABY! I cannot sleep again.
It's starting ALL OVER AGAIN.
ha ha ha!!! :-D
Totally with you there, it's amazing to add real value to a post that you like or love. It's steemit to the max!!
Great to see it from your point of view. Steemit is quite a game changer.
In the short time that I've been on Steemit it has really made me realize that every time I create, like or share good content on any other social platform I'm actually just giving money to the platform owners and not the creator itself.
It seems so bizarre to me now. Why would someone want to post something on facebook and then pay to promote it?
essentially, cuz they don't know an alternative. and even them, if you told them about Steemit - the concept would probably seem so far out of their reality, they might not believe it or hesitate to jump in, doubting it could work for them.
nonetheless, here were are, and grow it shall...
In a way I guess that's a good thing. Limits the mindless clickbait and cat videos.
In the future facebook will just be an archived graveyard of badly cooked meals, cat videos and government propaganda. A reminder of how not to do it.
Truly exciting times for Steemit!
I cant wait to get some more of that steem power and good info on your rewarding upvotes.
Heh :) No one who wasn't here in July can really understand tht unique Steemit is amazing feeling. But right now, it's clearly pretty close to that.
Thank you @rok-sivante
Good sincere post!
Today I made my first investment. I purchased 2 Steem and 31 Golos!!!
This may seem ridiculous, but for me it was a serious first step!
follow you...
awesome. even if just a little bit, you've dipped in and gotten your toes wet. welcome to the game... ;-)
Thank you @rok-sivante.
Glad to be in the circle of kind people!
I wait from you new posts...)
i feel the same! Steemit is truly amaze. who would've thunk something like Steemit could be a reality a few years ago. definitely a help to all feeling the struggle. and all the encouragement just keeps you going!
Great post mate, resteeming this and giving you a high power vote :)
I just wrote my first story literally minutes ago, saying I wasn't clear why I was here, but this gives me a very good reason. That is an amazing system indeed, and the idea of rewarding people for their quality stories is very exciting, now I can't wait to get some of that Steem Power and help out creators!
Thanks! :)
Pleased to hear it. :-)