Market Value vs. Maker Value
So what’s the difference between 1 USD and 1 Steem? Should we really even compare the two? Both are “currencies” but there are big differences between fiat currency and crypto currency. Steem is a currency rooted in decentralized applications (DApps) that reward online engagement. It’s complex stuff! Steem represents a new kind of value ecosystem that transcends way beyond the ink and paper of our old friend George Washington.
Still, with pretty much everything - we are hard-wired to compare through the lens of market value. We look to see what 1 Steem is worth in USD, an old school currency that - arguably - has very little to do with it. This hardwiring is a really tough habit to put into perspective. For cryptocurrency newcomers, it’s practically impossible to think about Steem in terms of Maker Value and not just in terms of Market Value. To give you a sense of this hard-wiring, let’s look at a phrase that our team hears all the time, it goes something like this:
“This post took 3 hours and I only earned 10 USD worth of Steem. It’s just not worth it.”
That’s a very common reaction. (It was certainly ours early on.) In fact, this was probably everyone’s first gut reaction with respect to blogging on Steemit. Newcomers look for familiar precedents to draw comparisons from. They compare what they know best. Primarily, crypto-newbies look at their existing jobs and hourly wages. However, once you begin to peel back the layers of this blockchain onion there’s much, much more to consider.
1 US Dollar is very different than 1 Steem
Beyond the market swings and investment potential, Steem carries an incredible amount of utility right here and now. This unique functionality makes it far more dimensional as a resource than the 2D paper money we're so familiar with. Let's take a look at some of the biggest differences, below.
| $1.00 USD | What can a “Maker” can do with one dollar? |
|---|
- Well, it’s not exactly secure (you can easily lose it, have it stolen or copied)
- It’s certainly not agile (it’s tough and costly to send from A to B)
- It loses value over time (through both physical damage and depreciation)
| 1.00 STEEM | What can a "Maker" do with one Steem? |
|---|
- A “Maker” can own it directly (it’s not debt, it’s theirs and theirs alone)
- It’s agile (takes 3 seconds to send anywhere across the globe)
- It’s resilient (when staked as Steem Power, it earns interest)
- You can utilize your ownership of it to wield influence within the whole Steem economy!
- You can help other Makers (like you) earn Steem
- You can vote on witnesses (or stewards) of the blockchain who are tasked with making critical decisions on infrastructure
- You can even lend (delegate) your stake in Steem to others (all the while you maintain full ownership of that stake)
One Steem has so much more functionality and stewardship to offer than a paper dollar. All of this added ability makes it almost impossible to look at the traditional or “Market Value” of the two side by side.
Cultivating Awareness and Crypto-Empathy
Through workshops, exhibitions, our publication and incubator - we're advocates of crypto-empathy. It will take a good deal of patience and awareness to re-wire our perceptions of currencies, and what they should inherently provide for us. Steem is an incredible example of this re-wiring in action. A whole community is learning about Steem organically online, right now. This new social network and economic landscape is taking shape. The primordial soup of Steem is evolving right before our eyes and we - the whole community here - get to help shape it.
For the newcomers who have stumbled upon this article, consider reading a bit further! Here are a handful of posts that dig into the functionality of Steem:
| Blog Post Description | |
|---|---|
 | Welcome to Steemit! - A welcome post for newcomers to Steemit and creatives interested in the world of cryptocurrency. |
 | The Benefits of Powering Up - A comprehensive guide to powering up. |
 | What is a Steemit Witness? - The roles and responsibilities of a witness explained. |
 | How an Upvote Works - Where the money and the rewards come from. |
Want to support Steemit content like this? Consider joining our curation trail! You can learn more about the @sndbox incubator mission here and our 2018 program schedule, here.
Help us spread the word. Follow our Twitter and YouTube Channel!
For any suggestions on potential tutorials or resources, please let us know in the comments below. Be sure to follow 
