The Blockchain and SteemIt
I have written about the importance of the blockchain in currency transactions and digital marketing. Most recently, the blockchain is being applied to platforms like SteemIt to allow bloggers and curators to make money, but not through advertising. The SteemIt model is still kind of a mystery to me, but the concept is as follows:
- The blockchain is the underlying technology behind the platform
- The platform delegates to every user “Steem Power” to give them the ability to give away “Steem currency” when upvoting a post or commenting.
- Users also receive Steem Currency when their content is Re-Steemed.
- There are users that are called “Whales”. These users have a lot of “Influence Points”, so when they upvote a post or video, the creator can get a significant monetary reward. Not only that, but they get visibility so that other users can upvote them resulting in even more currency.
The above is a complete oversimplification of the system, as I am still trying to completely comprehend how the platform makes money. But from what I understand, the platform takes 50% of the “currency” you earn to pay for bandwidth, hosting, etc. This is really exciting because it seems magical. It’s creating money out of thin air. Sound familiar? It’s probably how Woodrow Wilson was tricked into signing the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. Fractional reserve banking seemed magical at the time. Heck, most of us only began to understand what was going on at the beginning of the 21st century.
And this is where we are today with the blockchain and its seemingly “magical” way of creating currency and running a platform like SteemIt so successfully.
The Blockchain and DTube
Not only can bloggers make money from SteemIt, now video creators can make money off of DTube. DTube is run off of the same system SteemIt is. As a matter of fact, you need to have a SteemIt account to be able to login to DTube. The GUI is very similar to BitChute, except every time you are upvoted, you get paid. Sure, it’s sometimes fractions of a cent, but it’s nonetheless money. Some individuals are making more money than they ever made on YouTube.
Like most monopolies, YouTube has gotten arrogant and lost its way. It’s always the same pattern. Look at what happened to Nokia when they dismissed the Apple iPhone. YouTube has been censoring and demonetizing many channels, and that will come back to haunt them. Many of the big anti-establishment YouTube channels are already leaving the platform for DTube. And many of them are very happy with their decision. It’s democracy at its best, and its all recorded–with transparency–in the blockchain.
The Future of the Blockchain
It really looks like the blockchain is going to affect every aspect of our lives. Moreover, it looks like it is creating its own universe that is accountable, fair and transparent. No middle-men, no bureaucracies, no rubber stamping, and no “privilege”. Well, that last one is a bit of a stretch. Money still has a role to play in this. There is an option to buy “Steem Currency”, which you can then use to transfer to “Steem Power”. Steem Power gives you “influence”, so I guess privilege is still here to stay–for the time being. Nonetheless, I believe the blockchain is our best simulation of nature yet. If a VR system is built around the blockchain, I can see it being indistinguishable from reality.
In closing, I would like to mention that I could have the whole concept wrong about how the blockchain makes SteemIt and DTube work. But what I do know is that it is working, and that content creators and curators are happy with the way things are being handled. That said, I highly recommend opening up an account and having a taste of the future. It’s refreshing to know such visionary and bright minds are working on making the world a better and freer place.
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