Say what you will about Steemit. Call it a scam. Say that the "whales" are all bought paid for, and that "the game" is rigged. Even go ahead and bash cryptocurrencies in general, saying they're not real money.
Say what you want. I'm getting paid to write.
The best thing, though, is that I am getting paid to improve.
As I was just thinking of ideas for my next piece, my most recent Facebook share popped into my mind.
I had shared a somewhat acid meme regarding World Trade Center 7 and 9/11. It wasn't what you would call "vitriolic," per se, but it was what you might call "condescending."
I thought of the piece I had just written for Steemit about an hour ago. I had written it from a real place, and put real time and effort into making it something that might bring value into someone else's life.
This value is of course subjective, but via the exchange of ideas, thoughts, experiences and the very important human connection that comes from sharing our weaknesses, we can find healing in the minds of others.
As I'm remembering my Facebook post I think: You know what? What is really going to change people? Will my labeling total strangers "bootlickers" and Stockholm Syndrome sufferers ever really do much for the cause of liberty, or bring about real change in the world?
My post on Steemit had a much different quality than that meme. It's a different vibration. It might get people to look at things a different way because the tone is respectful, and I am actually sharing a piece of myself, instead of just bonking people over the head with an avalanche of facts and merciless cold-steel-logic knives to the face.
Since I have been on Steem I have seen a few things which have really impressed me. A couple of which it would not be much of a stretch to call miracles. Have you ever seen an Anarcho-Capitalist and an Anarcho-Communist have an actual conversation and respectful dialogue? Perhaps hell hath frozen over.
Now, if you know me, you know I have no problem with vitriol. We need it. We need the acid attacks. We need ridicule. To some extent I even believe these are necessary even for the preservation of human dignity. I also believe it is sometimes necessary to call someone who is acting like a bonehead, a bonehead.
All of the above is simply to say this:
When people are incentivized to do well, and that incentive connects with a passion, good things are going to happen.
Why do I take an extra second to think, revise, edit and consider, before I make a comment or post on Steemit?
Well, part of it is the money. But another part, and maybe the most important part, is that because of the money people are engaging here on a very real level and putting out quality work. Compared to sites like Facebook, etc., I see earnestness coming through, and so I want to give it myself, in return.
I deleted my Facebook post. There's always plenty of chances to post acid memes and call people I barely know "statist bootlickers."
That frequency of "communication" will always be there, and I love it for what it is, but I'm more excited now about this cryptocurrency and platform where a great deal of people actually seem to be giving a damn.
To hell with war. Let's Steem this motherf***er all the way home to Peace Town, peoples!
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, writer, and musician residing in Niigata, Japan.