In a previous post I experimented with introducing Steem into my life in a more direct way by offering my professional services as a composer and sound designer in exchange for Steem, instead of regular money. As I explained in that post, I think it’s really important that more of us try to do this kind of thing if we want to enable Steem to catch on as a viable and practical alternative to fiat currency.
Today, I took that idea one step further with my latest client. He’s a a regular and we’ve developed a decent relationship working together. Having had a conversation with him previously about Bitcoin, I thought I’d get his opinion on Steemit as well, so I walked him through the ins and outs of the network and showed him a few of my more successful posts, and those of others. Suffice to say he was immediately intrigued.
So I thought to myself: what’s the best way I can get this person not only interested, but actively involved in Steemit? The answer, of course, was to offer him the option of paying me in Steem!
Although he took a little convincing (mainly because he couldn’t understand why I would want to be paid in such am uncommon way) I persevered and eventually sealed the deal. We worked out the equivalent of my fee in Steem, he bought some on his Poloniex account, and transferred it to me. I’ve since transferred some to my Steemit wallet and powered it up. It was as simple as that. Even better, he also promised to set up his own account and get involved in the Steemit community. All in a day's work!
While this experience was very different to getting cash in hand, and I couldn’t see myself repeating it with every job I do for that reason, I will say that it made me see Steem in a whole different light; as something real and tangible. It was also quite a novel and exciting experience to be paid in Steem outside of Steemit itself, and for something other than writing! Doing this allowed me to catch a glimpse of a future in which we’ll be able to make transactions in Steem and other cryptocurrency as part of our daily lives. Now that’s a future I can believe in!
I encourage everyone to experiment with finding interesting ways to incorporate Steem into their everyday finances. It might just change your entire perspective!