I am not a developer myself, but quite some friends of mine are software developers. Recently, a couple of them have shown some interest in doing a little side project related to cryptocurrencies.
With this article, I want to convince them to choose the Steem blockchain for this project.
Here are 10 reasons why to create an app on the Steem blockchain:
1. Most transactions
The Steem blockchain is the blockchain which holds the record in processing the most amount of transactions per day. More than Bitcoin or Ethereum, or any other blockchain project for that matter.
Taking in account that scaling is one of the issues which any blockchain needs to solve to get anywhere near to being relevant, this is an important factor in measuring the success of a certain blockchain.
2. No transaction fees
The Steem blockchain is not only able to process the most transactions. There are also no transaction fees on the Steem blockchain. And this is done by design.
Any other blockchain I'm aware of, for example Bitcoin or Ethereum, charges a fee when one communicates with the blockchain. This makes it very difficult for end users to start using Dapps (decentralized applications) created on those type of blockchains.
The Steem blockchain solves this problem and does not charge any fee.
3. 19 successful hard forks
Bitcoin has been struggling in updating its protocol for about 3 years now. Hard forks have shown to be divisive, obviously an understatement. Ethereum experienced this when Ethereum Classic was launched, claiming to be the original chain. Bitcoin still needs to show it can find some type of consensus in their effort in trying to scale.
The Steem blockchain, on the other hand, already had its 19th successful hard fork. And the Steem blockchain only exists for a bit more than a year.
That's quite impressive!
The Steem blockchain shows that a hard fork can be achieved in a reasonable amount of time, as long as the decision-making process is integrated in the protocol.
4. steemit.com is being used
Steem has a Web 3.0 social media platform built on its blockchain. Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Steem blockchain is probably one of the only projects where there is a real user base. The Steem blockchain is most likely the only blockchain where the main use case is not only about trading or investing, which is the case for both Bitcoin or Ethereum.
5. The attention economy
The Steem blockchain and steemit.com as a website show how an 'attention token' can actually work. When you think about Web 2.0, most of us will think of social media platforms as Facebook for example.
Now let's think about how Web 3.0 can look like, and where the Steem blockchain can have its place. Steemit shows that many web 2.0 social media platforms can be rebuilt in a Web 3.0 environment, on top of the Steem blockchain.
In the Web 3.0 world, you actually do own the content you create. Next to that, you also get rewarded to "pay attention" via the curation rewards.
6. Two ways to measure importance
The Steem blockchain has two ways to measure the importance of a certain user on the network. (1) Steem Power and (2) your reputation score.
Steem Power can be bought, and will give you more voting power. Your reputation score, on the other hand, can not be purchased. The only way to achieve a higher reputation is by actively adding content.
If you are a programmer, there is a huge opportunity here for you to grab. A lot of the accounts having a high reputation on Steemit are developers adding value to the platform. As a developer, starting a small side-project, could potentially offer you a great amount of influence in a coming Web 3.0 environment.
7. The Steem community feature is coming
At this moment, Steemit.com is what over 95% of the users are using when interacting with the Steem blockchain. This will not be the case in the future. The 'Steem Community' feature, which is planned for Q3, is going to change this.
Concretely, this means you will be able to create your own community on top of the Steem blockchain. Think of it as a type of subreddit, but then more sophisticated and also programmable. A type of "smart contract", one could say.
You will be able to create your own community / platform / website / app. You name it! And you can charge a certain fee for managing this community, when your users are earning Steem.
This means that you would be able to claim a certain percentage, defined by you, on all revenue made via your app.
The community feature, which is planned to be released for Q3 this year, will bring a lot more opportunities for any type of community to monetize their work as a community manager.
Your imagination is the only limit.
8. Delegated Proof of Stake
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently operating on a Proof of Work protocol. Ethereum is planning on moving to a Proof of Stake type of protocol in one year, more or less.
The Steem blockchain is already working on a Proof of Stake type of protocol, named Delegated Proof of Stake. The Proof of Stake type of protocol Steem is using is more democratic than Proof of Work and also doesn't waste huge amounts electricity securing its blockchain.
You can find more information about Delegated Proof of Stake here:
https://bitshares.org/technology/delegated-proof-of-stake-consensus/
9. EOS.io - A new smart contract platform
Dan Larimer, the inventor of the Steem blockchain, is working on building a smart contract platform named EOS. This smart contract platform/blockchain will be built in a similar way as the Steem blockchain. A type of Proof of Stake protocol, similar to the way the Steem blockchain works. No fees, DPOS, and more user friendly in general, compared to other blockchain projects.
This means that any skills learned by developing apps on the Steem blockchain might come in handy if the EOS team is able to deliver on their promise and will be a competitor (or even an improvement) to Ethereum.
Ethereum already has thousands or tens of thousands of developers experimenting with Solidity, the programming language used to program smart contracts on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Steem, on the other hand, probably only has a fraction of that number of developers.
I see a huge opportunity here!
10. Get paid for your work
As a developer, you will get paid for your work. Once building your app, you can post updates about the progress of your app on Steemit and you will get rewarded for your effort.
This is how many of the Steem developers are operating. As the developers who are building apps for the Steem blockchain are adding real value to the platform, it's only fair they get a significant amount of upvotes and hence a possible source of income.
You can check 
Conclusion:
There are very few reasons for a developer not to start a side project and start developing an app on the Steem blockchain. Even if the Steem blockain will turn out to be the MySpace of Web 3.0, you would still be learning new skills which can give you financial freedom.
What are you waiting for?!
Become a self-appointed agent for the Steem blockchain and get paid for it!
Keep you posted,
The Monetary Few