*Photo Credit, DonkeyHotey, original work on Flickr
As the world watched Bernie Sanders give his endorsement speech for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, more than a few supporters felt that they (and their candidate) had been wronged. Who could blame them? As an independent, I wasn't thrilled with the way the process worked (or didn't). What can Berniecrats do now?
Currently, it seems like there is very little chance that Bernie Sanders will be elected President; but if one person embodies a movement, what good is the movement? As 
Here is how Steemit.com, a brand new cryptocurrency social media start-up can fuel the revolution for spurned supporters of all party and political affiliations!
Decentralized Currency
What does currency have to do with it? We all know that the grassroots candidates can't possibly hope to compete monetarily with the Big Banks and their political contributions to establishment candidates. So work with a currency they have no control over!
What Does That Mean?
Cryptocurrency is a currency that is created and used online. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and RedditCoins are all examples of cryptocurrency. This currency is typically minted and distributed by "mining". Mining is accomplished by miners all over the world using computer hardware (either in their personal computers or in rigs set up specifically for the purpose) to process transactions. It is "decentralized" because there is no central body governing the currency and individual transactions are processed by random miners all over the world.
Payouts on Steemit are determined by the number of upvotes a post gets and the reputation of the people giving the upvotes. So if a few influential users on the platform like your stuff, you get paid more. Likewise, if a lot of not-so-influential users like your stuff, you also get paid more.
For more in-depth (and probably better) explanation on STEEM, see these links:
https://steemit.com/steem/@arhag/where-does-the-money-come-from-a-look-into-the-economics-of-steem
https://steemit.com/steemit/@burnin/steemit-unofficial-faq
https://steemit.com/steem/@ned/the-first-phase-of-the-steem-faq-and-wikee-consolidation-of-knowledge
How Does That Help The Revolution?
It helps in a few different ways. The main way being monetary. By writing about the things that they are passionate about (which they would likely do anyways), political supporters can earn money for their content.
This also works for political candidates! If candidates join the platform, they can distribute their message and platforms to a worldwide audience and boost their campaign dollars while doing it. This is a completely untapped market on Steemit and allows supporters to make political contributions by upvoting. It evens the playing field and allows candidates to truly work for their constituents and not pander to the pockets of Wall Street and the Big Banks.
These posts require upvotes to make money, so recruiting like-minded users is key to generating revenue on Steemit. The more upvotes a post gets, the higher the payout, and the better the author's reputation becomes. These factors will compound and lead to higher reputations and bigger payouts. This money can then be used to fund candidates and causes that they care about! This means more Berniecrats on the platform creates more money for Berniecrat candidates!
Content Creation in an Unsaturated Environment
As I said in the point above, creating content that promotes the candidate will provide funds for supporting said candidates. In addition, the political topics on Steemit are very unsaturated and the first groups in will have the advantage of being pioneers and capturing a large market share before late adopters.
Incentivized Interaction
On Steemit, reputation is everything. Your reputation is determined by the quality of your posts (which is reflected in your payouts). Steemit will grow at a rapid pace as people realize that it incentivizes the creation of good content, unlike platforms like Twitter and Facebook that pay for good content in the form of pats on the back from your social circle. It also incentivizes the curation of (and interfacing with) content, so that people who otherwise may not have come into contact with your work will be incentivized to interact with it.
Open-Minded Discussion
On other social media platforms, political posts inevitably lead to less-than-civil discussion and debate. On Steemit, this behavior is heavily disincentivized, and users that participate in negative discussion that does not contribute to healthy debate often find themselves penalized for their behavior and unable to contribute meaningfully to future discussion. For the most part, Steemit is a community with a higher average intellect than other platforms and the community is generally open to healthy debate on any and all topics.
Control Based on Quality
The platform also allows you to positively influence the direction of the community based on the quality of your personal work. As you put out quality work, your reputation grows and gives you more power to influence other posts and give them more coverage. This is in contrast to Facebook, which has come under recent allegations for censoring the content disseminated to its users.
Decentralization Negates Censorship
Now, going back to Bernie Sanders' campaign. There was a lot of controversy around media bias and coverage of Hillary over Bernie Sanders. In a lot of ways, this media bias had a clear impact on the campaign and the results of the DNC. That's part of the beauty of Steemit! Because all transactions (posts, comments, votes, monetary transfers) are processed via blockchain, there is no one entity that controls content availability and state and corporate censorship isn't a factor here.
It Does Require Some Effort
While the concept is simple, in order for a movement to be effective there are still some key things that need to happen.
- Good Quality Content: It's not enough to repost your favorite picture of Bernie Sanders hugging a baby. You need to produce quality content that looks good, reads well, and provides good information. That's how you influence the existing community.
- Recruit Your Candidates and Your Friends: Write your favorite candidate and let them know about Steemit.com and that you are ready to support their content! In order for posts to really take off, it's not enough to get upvotes from a few people in the existing community. You need to bring people in. Bring like-minded friends and colleagues. Collaborate. Contribute. Vote.
- Find Each Other: This post is a great vehicle for that. Comment here and in other people's posts and let them know you support what they're saying. Follow each other as well. It is a great tool that is underutilized. That's how you truly build a community. Sound off and let us know you're here.
Jump on this Breakthrough Technology Right Now to Put First-Mover Advantage to Use for the Revolution!
You have a huge opportunity to make a difference for and raise funds for down-ballot Berniecrats, and the associated issues with Steemit. It is a tool like no other and it is the answer to the dissatisfaction with current social media platforms. Get in on the ground floor and start moving the needle! Click below to join now and keep the revolution alive!
After you join Steemit.com, add a comment on this post so other supporters can follow you; and follow the other supporters you see in the comments. This is how you start a community of support for future content!