"It seems too good to be true."
That's what popped into my head when I first read about Steemit.
I had recently started diving into crypto currency mining after discovering that it was still profitable among smaller coins. I had known about Bitcoin for a long time, but never saw it as a profitable venture due to the high initial investment and low rewards due to the advent of ASIC miners. I began researching alternate currencies and throughout all the different forums discussing Ethereum, Dash, etc., I kept seeing the same name pop up over and over again-- Steemit. It was really starting to annoy me.
It sounded like a weird rip-off of Steam, the game marketplace/library software. I thought perhaps someone had noted the popularity of Steam and decided to create a crypto-currency with a similar name. I paid it little attention and skimmed over posts mentioning anything Steemit-related. Eventually, I got annoyed at not knowing what Steemit was and why so many people kept mentioning it. "Why would people be discussing the same small currency on so many coin-specific forums?" I thought.
Then I googled it. I didn't format it as a question, I just simply typed "Steemit" and this is what i got:
"Meh", I thought. Nothing particularly exciting or eye-catching-- just a website and some sub-categories. Since it didn't appear to be a crypto-currency, I almost closed the tab and moved on with my life...
But I didn't.
Having nothing else to do since my wife is out of town, I decided I might as well see what the hype is about and why I kept seeing the same name over and over again.
Seeing that it wasn't just another currency-specific website, I decided to give it a shot. Maybe I would learn something. I created an account, copied the password, saved it in a safe place, and immediately got to browsing.
What struck me first was the Reddit-like styling and layout of the site. Being an avid Redditor I was immediately at home.
"Wait...what?" I said to myself squinting my eyes as I leaned in towards my monitor trying to make sense of the dollar amounts I was seeing next to the first post. "30 GRAND?!" I thought to myself. "Surely this must be some sort of joke, or maybe they're just using the $ sign for their own currency?" Nope, it's real USD.
"I'm going to get paid to submit posts?!" I thought with a sense of bewilderment. I was in love. This platform merged all of my interests into one place. I could write and read about interesting topics including tech and crypto currencies, and make money just by doing what I already do on Reddit.
My excitement and growing love for the platform did not stop there however. No, I stumbled upon a post explaining how Steemit is creating a new economy and a new way for the world to function. I quickly felt my horizons expanding and my mind struggling to grasp all the implications of a world where everything works on a system like Steemit. I find myself wondering "What does this mean for the world?"
I still don't believe I have even begun to grasp the full extent of what Steemit means for the world. All I can say is that I see great things coming from this project. Just like Bitcoin introduced the world to decentralized currency and markets, so will Steemit bring about a new economy where all participants can benefit and contribute equally.
If you're still reading, here's the kicker:
This entire experience of learning about Steemit, creating an account, and writing this post took place this morning. I only created my Steemit account about three hours ago, and I wrote this post within an hour and a half. I have merely begun my Steemit experience and I am already fulfilling the promise of an open system where anyone can contribute and be rewarded.
Thank you for reading :)