On a number of occasions I wrote about a project that I started following over a year ago. This project recently started a referral program which offered immediate tokens to those who signed up using the code. On top of that, it also gave a same number of tokens to the one doing the referring after a period of time.
Recently I went in to look at the results which really started me thinking about what is going on in general.
Before getting to those thoughts, here is what I am referring to. The project is Presearch which is a blockchain based search engine that is in the making. This is going to be a couple year project before they have enough searches indexed to go live. At this point, they are using an interface to tie into other search engines to put their machine learning to use.
The program is as follows. Signing up using the referral code (the link I provided is my referral code) will net someone 25 PRE tokens. These are traded on exchanges so they have an immediate value. Each search that is done using the interface, either from their site or via a browser plug in, is worth .25 PRE. Hence, 4 searches will net a person a full PRE. There is a limit of 8 PRE earned per day.
Since January, I have done the searches each day in an effort to amass the tokens. I really like this project and found this to be a great way to get myself a decent position. As I mentioned they only instituted the referral program of late so most of my holdings are from doing the daily searches.
Web searches are something we all do daily. Without thinking, most of us do dozens of them. And this is where the rub comes in.
Part of the Presearch referral program is to pay the referring party 25 PRE. That goes into effect only after 60 days AND the person accumulated 100 additional PRE from doing searches on his/her own. Essentially, someone will have to earn a little over 1.5 PRE per day or 6 searches.
Here is my referral code:
https://www.presearch.org/signup?rid=105446
Looking through the stats, I see of those who surpassed the 60 day mark, only 25% ended up fulfilling the terms. Of the 24 referrals, only 6 were able to be claimed.
This is what go me thinking. Here is a program that is offering free tokens for something people are doing anyway yet 75% choose not to participate after signing up. Why is this?
Then I started to consider STEEM and what we see taking place on here on a daily basis. Most of you know that we put together a Minnow Uprising for the month of July in an effort to get some additional SP in the hands of the smaller accounts. If you look at the posts in that tag, you will see the participation rate is less than inspiring.
Ironic considering the number of people who tend to complain on a regular basis about how unfair things are.
So this brings up the question are people taking advantage of the opportunity presented to them by cryptocurrency? I use PRE, which is not a project associated with the STEEM blockchain, as a prime example. Why would one sign up and not use the interface to initiate web searches? We know that 5B are done daily on Google alone. Here is a route where people without the necessary resources, i.e. have no fiat, can get some tokens. It is a no cost opportunity that, if it turns into something, can net one a decent amount. Of course, it could fall flat on its face which means nothing lost.
Are these numbers the norm? Do we have a rate of 75% who want things to change but are refusing even to do the minimal to earn something that could have an impact? To me, that seems a bit high considering the referrals came from a pool of people who are already involved in cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, the stats do not lie.
I have one basic philosophical approach to cryptocurrency: to amass as many as I can no matter what the tokens. This is especially true of ones I can earn as opposed to buy. They are the ones that I think will have value in the future.
This is an industry that is only going to get bigger. Perhaps PRE will not amount to anything which is highly possible. However, all tokens are worth a shot if no money is required. These are lottery tickets since we honestly do not know which will be successful.
We are also involved in something that has the possibility of making a major impact in the world Cryptoeconomics, the combination of blockchain and cryptocurrency, are remaking the world of finance. It will not take a ton of the right tokens to substantially change someone's life. Sure there are going to be many failed projects. However, one or two successes could net the average individual more money than they ever made elsewhere.
Personally, I believe STEEM is one of those tokens. I look at the potential and believe that anyone who looks at this blockchain and walks away is missing a grand opportunity. The vast majority do it out of a lack of knowing. Yet there are others who get frustrated and leave because of emotions. Either way, anyone who left in the past only to return, say, a year later tells of the regret. The entire time he or she could have been earning tokens.
Cryptocurrency is a tremendous opportunity. It is not something that anyone is shut out from unlike other opportunities regulated by the SEC that means someone has to be a "sophisticated" investor. That is code for "only the select few get to profit from this". Tokens are different. Anyone can participate and earn them. While the options are slim at the moment, they are expanding. Just recently, the STEEM blockchain had 
I feel it is rather simple. People will get into tokens now, or down the road. But they will get in. It is just a question of when. The tokenized economy is only going to grow. The question I have is when do you want to start amassing your tokens? Would you like to get them now or later?
Being an early adopter always has an advantage.
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