Steemit really is a wonderful and interesting Community!
One of the things that still doesn't cease to surprise me is the remarkable number of "first time bloggers" and even "first time social media users" we have here.
I say that because social content and social media sites have been around for the better part of 20 years... and yet? Pretty much every day I come across posts and comments here in which someone is saying "Yeah, this is actually my first time to blog and even use social media!"
A warm welcome to the blogosphere to all of you!
What Does This Say About Steemit?
I'm still not entirely sure what this says about our community.
Sunset with clouds
Is it the fact that this place is heavily populated by various forms of Anarchists that's making the difference? Is it the lure of an "uncensored" platform that's the incentive? Is it the idea that Steemit is decentralized and running on a blockchain that's the appeal?
It's easy to fall back on the "convenient out," which would be saying "because there are rewards!" That's all good and fine, but "rewards for content" sites have been around since the late 1990's and millions of people have used them. In other words, the rewards — by themselves — really do not make Steemit unique.
Some (idealistically inclined) people might argue that Steemit is very "equal opportunity," but that's not even necessarily true... "Whales" have way more power and influence than anyone else, and essentially your rewards tend to — mostly — be directly related to how much you've invested in the site; in Steem.
So something else constitutes the "special sauce."
Personally Speaking
Of course, I am not a "first time" blogger here, so I can't directly address the appeal to newcomers. However, this was interesting enough that I decided to move a considerable chunk of my blogging time here, from Blogger and WordPress.
Peaceful pond scene
One major appeal was always that creating content here is far more "social" than on most other platforms. I can put a post on one of my Blogger blogs and it might have 1500 views within 24 hours... but only a couple of people might take the time and effort to comment.
Another major appeal to me is this opportunity to make a "soft entry" into the crypto markets. Whereas I have been interested ever since someone described Bitcoin to me sometime in 2011, cryptos always seemed extremely complicated... to the point where I typically ended up feeling they were more of an abstraction than something real.
In other words, the "psychological distance" between BTC in my wallet and a cup of coffee felt somewhat unfathomable, and mostly something that existed in the realm of hard-core developers and people with basements full of "mining equipment."
With Steemit, I get to do something I know (blog), rather than something I don't know (build computers), but I am part of this pioneering crypto gig and this brave social experiment.
How about YOU? Are you one of the "first time bloggers" on Steemit? What was the appeal, to you? Or have you kept a blog before? For that matter, have you been part of social media, before? Has Steemit been living up to your hopes/expectations? Do you think you will continue here, in the long term? What does Steemit now MEAN to you?Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
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(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180411 19:10 PST