I began contributing to the Steemit ecosystem shortly after its birth. Like a Tom Petty song, after I was introduced to it, I immediately started grooving. I found the platform provocative, exciting, groundbreaking...and most of all, lucrative.
Everyone said I would make an assload of money writing on it. "It is a blockchain-based blogging platform that pays its users well," they said. This piqued my curiosity, except it made my motivations somewhat impure. It impelled me to only focus on the monetary rewards. I was certainly incentivized to write; as its creators intended, but I also tended to place its innovative nature on the back-burner.
I Promoted Steem to Share the Digital Gold Rush
It is true I analyzed every dimension of Steemit. I learned the nature of the protocol, who designed it, how it leveraged delegated proof of stake to pay users, and how it would revolutionize blogging. I even created an extremely popular video on the subject — because even though I was hungry for money — I wanted to share the Steemit gold rush with others. I wanted to elevate everyone's desire for quick and easy money to new heights.
Needless to say, my video was hugely successful; more than successful. It caused a horde of anarchist luminaries to eventually adopt the platform. Names include Jeff Berwick (who popularized Steemit as a result of my video), Larken Rose, Luis Fernando Mises, Luke Rudkowski, Amanda Rachwitz, and so many more.
My Initial Earnings and Steemit's Death Knell
Before and after I created the video, I raked in gobs of money. I was killing it. This all happened between the months of June and August of last year. I wrote post after post, but many of those writings were taken from old Facebook quips or rewritten from even older blogs. I know there is nothing technically wrong with that, but I wanted to minimize my work and maximize my income. Here is just a short list of a few of my posts and the Steem Dollars they made for me:
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Spanking Children is an Unconscious Act of Vengeance --- $1,457.91
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Anarchism is Deeply, Intimately Personal --- $1,281.81
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Anarchy is Rising, With or Without You --- $521.70
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Everyone Should Hug an Anarchist (Anarchism is a Form of Emotional Exchange) --- $915.88
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I was Spanked and I Turned Out OK—or did I? ---$725.29
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Sterlin Luxan, A Belated Introduction and The Great Steemit Migration --- $3,266.69
Not long after I created my video and the hater's voices peaked, the price of Steem began to plummet. This occurred around September and flat-lined by the beginning of 2017 (See chart below). This downward momentum corresponded with lower user payouts. I noticed users were not making as much. I noticed I was not making as much either. This caused me to lose hope. I believed Steemit was sounding its death knell.
My Beliefs About the Steem Crash: The Great Steem Depression
I had several wild thoughts as to the cause of the price crash. I mostly blamed myself for it. I believed I played a hand in the Great Steem Depression. I egotistically thought my video caused so many people to gravitate to Steemit that it somehow led to the price bust. I thought I inadvertently killed the application.
I also thought the naysayers were correct in their complaints that Steemit was a scam. They said things like "when investor money dries up, the scheme will be over, and everyone will lose." I figured there might be some truth to that and it was being vindicated by the crash. I assumed investors had realized their mistake and were pulling out...or not putting in.
Then I the price collapsed below 10 cents. That was the final straw. I cashed in my Steem chips, so to speak. I thought Steem was finished. I quit the platform entirely.
Confession of a Steemit User and Lessons Learned
I confess I was wrong about that. Not only was I wrong about Steemit being dead, I was wrong harboring my original greedy mindset. I was wrong about what caused the crash. I should have realized Steemit is a brilliant platform from the beginning.
The fact a decentralized, algorithmically-controlled system can pay me based on a user's delegation rights is downright bad ass. It is probably the first time in history a protocol has been invented that can mathematically distribute money in a semi-democratic fashion. If I would have not allowed my initial hot flash of greed to undermine my sanity, I would have been able to see this clearer. I would not have quit just because a little market volatility erupted.
That is the other thing. When the price started to collapse, I should have known there are a myriad of factors that influence price, and newer cryptocurrencies are almost always speculated at high value early on. There is always a time when the market adjusts based on a multitude of variables. Had I invoked my economic knowledge during the time, I would have understood. I would have realized everything would be fine. Instead, I panicked like a mouth breathing, knuckle-dragging troglodyte.
I should have also had the humility to see that my action of creating a video and drawing anarchists into the mix did NOT have a negative effect on the ecosystem. More users means a stronger network effect, not the opposite. More users means a stronger platform in the future, even if the monetary rewards are distributed more evenly. In reality, this means more money for everyone involved in Steemit. I should have been proud of my actions, instead of consumed with greed.
Lastly, I was wrong about Steemit being a scam. Honestly, I never truly thought it was a scam. Doubt only flared up in those early times of economic uncertainty. The price started to drop about the same period the naysayers' voices were the loudest. As everyone clearly knows now, the platform is still being used on a grand scale without any indication it is a scam, scheme, or fraud. Only people who do not understand blockchain tech believe it is a scam. I should have never even raised a single concern about this once I gained knowledge about delegated proof of stake.
Redemption and New Beginnings
I hope I can make amends for possessing so many assumptions based on my greed. I hope I can redeem myself and move forward. I have started this process by thinking about my mistakes and then writing this article to chronicle what happened and how I behaved. I also started the redemption process by getting back into Steemit.
Suspiciously, I got back in right the price began to shoot up a few weeks ago. This might be a tell-tale sign that my desire for riches flared up again. However, after considering my past errors in judgement, I realize I can continue using the platform without having to succumb to my own psychological pitfalls.
Sure, I will naturally be hungry to create and produce things of value within this beautiful ecosystem—especially for the lucrative monetary rewards—but now I have an even better understanding of what this community is all about. I have a better understanding of why this place has value and is able to create so much value. The price I paid for my greed, ironically, was loss of wealth due to believing the protocol was broken.
Well, I am ready to to be redeemed and try again. I am here to stay, even if I do not post as often. This community is amazing. Let's get to grooving again. What do you say?
Sterlin Luxan is a visionary thinker, cryptocurrency junkie, connoisseur of psychology, an MDMA high priest, and the Mr. Rogers of Anarchism. He writes for bitcoin.com, runs a consultancy business in the crypto space, and is a public figure. He created the doctrine of relational anarchism and contributes to many causes in the thriving liberty ecosystem.
