Actually, Steemit is like dating and not the other way round. Steemit and the Steem blockchain were designed around human interactions. So, it would be more appropriate to describe why Steemit is like dating. After all, dating came first.
That said, Steemit has certainly helped an aspie like me understand human dynamics better. Just like Steemit, you need to pay attention to various quantities like wealth, job, status, education and reputation if you want to navigate your social interactions effectively.
Even though I've known about these things from hearsay, it is not until recently that I understood how these things play with one another and measure your game. So let's get started.
Steem and SBD = Money
Just the way having Steem or Steem Backed Dollars (SBD) alone won't curate your posts and land upvotes, money alone doesn't make you attractive.
You could however use your Steem or Steem Backed Dollars to pay bots to upvote or resteem your content, just like you would hire a prostitute to gratify yourself and practice your charms. No offense to the prostitutes. After all, it's just another highly demanding profession.
Steem Power = Social Capital
Steem Power determines how powerful your votes are. You can also delegate your Steem Power to other users so that they can curate content more effectively and you earn a share of profits from their efforts. You can buy Steem Power with Steem, SBD or any other currency by Powering Up. You can even earn Steem Power by curating posts and creating quality content.
In real life, social capital works the same way. The higher your social capital, the more influence you have over others. You can buy social capital by purchasing fancy clothes, big cars, mansions and whatnot. Good looks also count as social capital.
You are either gifted with a high social capital from the start, but you can also simply earn social capital by doing good for the community - be kind, help people, all that. The better a person you are, the nicer the things other people will say about you. You can even delegate social capital by believing and repeating whatever "popular" people say. By believing and repeating them, they get validation, and so do you. You may or may not get some social capital back. But it certainly costs some of yours', to delegate.
Social capital and Steem Power, both tends to make some individuals more privileged than others. Both can be purchased with money. Both give different users, different starting advantages.
Reputation Score = Reputation ?
This is self-explanatory. Reputation in both Steemit and real life work the same way. Your reputation depends on how many upvotes you have received. Your reputation says how trustworthy you are. It is also indicative of how many people have done you favors, which brings us to
Upvotes = Personal Favors
Personal favors could mean anything. It could be a hug, a kiss, a compliment, a beer, all the way up to sex and marriage. Anything other people do for you, is a personal favor. The more favors you have, the more reputation you get. It also helps improve your social capital, just the way upvotes bring you Steem Dollars (SBD) and Steem Power (SP). This brings us to
Steemit Rewards = Social Rewards ;)
Bigger $$$ rewards are the same as ahem..bigger "social" rewards, I guess.
And finally,
More activity in Steemit gives greater rewards = More activity in real life gives you greater social rewards
You don't get the rewards just by writing good content. If you just write good content, it tends to sink to obscurity. You don't get upvotes just by paying bots. Bots can bring you a handful of visibility but ultimately, your success depends on a combination of
- Content quality
- Steem Power
- Reputation
- Activity and persistence
You don't need to have all of these. Combine them as you see fit. If you don't have time to upvote and comment, create good content whenever you can. If you aren't that good at creating quality content, just be persistent and invest in Steem Power.
No matter what you do, some people are always going to be more successful than others. Steemit is no level playing field and that's okay. Steemit has a way to reward you no matter what you have to contribute.
This is how social interactions and dating work too. Just be a good person. Get social capital. Do nice things. Don't lose your social capital. Don't sell it out unless you really have to. Be active. Engage with others. Interact with more people. Build yourself a reputation.
In both Steemit and Real Life, this principle stays the same.
The more you put in, the more you get back