Migration to Steem from the other social networks may prove financially rewarding for early adopters.
Early adopters and significant contributors were rewarded for facilitating a highly efficient and collaborative community of members interested in a multitude of subjects such as politics, gardening, and entertainment.
In an article on the website paymentweek, it quoted Steemit CEO Ned Scott about how it was the first of its kind in the cryptocurrency world and highlighted a crucial moment for Steemit.
Steem distributed $1.3 million into the wallets of "thousands across the world." I have just signed up for Steem and already I have $2.32 in my wallet.
The article concluded with this statement
Half of the $1.3 million supply of Steem was distributed in Steem Dollars, which is basically a form of Steem worth roughly one US dollar, and half in Steem Power, a vesting currency that supercharges voting power via the platform.
“Because it’s based entirely on a blockchain, Steemit shows what social media can look like without censorship. Everything we see on Steemit.com comes from the open source Steem blockchain, so the entire network is replicable on any front-end application. Attempts at censorship can be proven by anyone with a blockchain explorer or another front-end application built on the Steem, so users can feel free to post how they really feel. This freedom is what empowers the Steemit community, and it’s one of the major ways we’re different from centralized, controlling and manipulative social media networks,” said Scott.
Scott concluded with “Because it’s based entirely on a blockchain, Steemit shows what social media can look like without censorship. Everything we see on Steemit.com comes from the open source Steem blockchain, so the entire network is replicable on any front-end application. Attempts at censorship can be proven by anyone with a blockchain explorer or another front-end application built on the Steem, so users can feel free to post how they really feel. This freedom is what empowers the Steemit community, and it’s one of the major ways we’re different from centralized, controlling and manipulative social media networks."
Will monetization of content encourage people to join Steem and produce quality content that is rewarded.? Most social networks provide no means for the users to get ad revenue that the owners of the social networks receive even though the users are providing the content and the owners just provide the "platform".
A June article in Sitepronews discussed the unprecedented growth of this social media platform. It also talked about the upcoming (then) distribution of the market cap of the company on July 4th. The most popular topics on Steem are "its most popular topics include politics, technology and cryptocurrency."
Many users who have high ranking articles have earned in excess of $5000. Will the outperformance of bitcoin compared to other asset classes cause the users to "let it ride" or make them want to cash out to lock in their gains?