well just about a month ago, I was a very regular guy on Facebook just like most of the steemians were, before they arrived here. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride here at steemit and life has never been the same.
I just took a pause to look back just a month from now and couldn't help but ponder over the difference between Facebook and steemit, that I thought a post is in order. So here we go guys, my random thoughts and rants on both the social media platform.
May, 2017, still a facebook addict
I remember, everyday, The moment I open my eyes in the morning, I would reach out to my mobile, open Facebook and check out the notifications. Who replied what and How many likes has my posts received. Then my daily chores begin with brushing my teeth and all. That’s a sign of an addict. I was quite a facebook addict.
Throughout the day, every 15 minutes or so, simply put, very frequently, I would check out my page on my mobile, the feeds, my notification page, reply, comment, likes. I repeated it again after another 15 minutes or so.
I did it to just check out what others are doing out there with their lives. Other’s lives has always interested me, as by nature, we human beings always tend to think that the other person is always happier than me, and we want a peek a boo in other's life. We always put a mask on ourselves and post that awesome pic that we took on our week end tour or the barbeque that we grilled at our back yard or the fishing tour that we undertook. I say we put a mask because, I think, Facebook messages are like window dressing. You put the best face forward hiding all the ugliness or pain and the mess in the closet behind. I am yet to see any substantially honest facebook post that shows the other hidden face of one's life. in contrast, everyone is so happy and everybody's life seems just so perfect and great.
Then follows a tinge of envy when we see the friend posing in front of his new house or car or in a foreign country on a boat. But nevertheless I send a message – ‘Awesome dude. I am happy for you.” And then sulk in a corner, with a knotted stomach thinking “ when will I go on a holiday or when will I buy my big car”. A single post on FB has changed a perfectly normal day into a day of misery.
That’s why you see lot of miserable people around today, the facebook addicts are a miserable lot.
I had mentioned in one of my post earlier on the science of Happiness that if one just wants to be happy it is very easy and simple. But the problem starts when one wants to be more happier than the others, who, he thinks are more happier than they actually are in reality.
Read the above sentence above slowly and carefully. It makes a lot of sense and also there lies one of the root cause of misery that facebook brings to us.
Hold your guns. Not everyone is miserable there. There are a group of addicts who are on a knowledge quest there. They dig and sift through pages and pages to find something interesting to read, some information to gather, some knowledge to assimilate that can help them become a piece de resistance, wherever they go, perhaps a party or to impress upon their colleague or friends or at a more mundane level, simply to learn new things, acquire some knowledge and enjoy. I was one of those. that's how I stumbled upon steemit and lot of great people and pages there.
It is a huge mela (fair/ market in oriental slang) there. Everyone strutting their wares, the artists with their paintings, artifacts, musicians with their videos, foodies with their delicacies. Its one big theatre. And it’s lot of fun too ( else why would anyone go to facebook at all in the first place). And all they would accumulate is tons and tons of likes and comments. Your value is counted by the number of followers and the likes you get for every post.
So it seems facebook means different thing to different people.
But the majority of the crowd there are just loitering over there with no purpose what so ever. Like I said, humans like to peek into others life ( not all, but most of them) and see who’s doing what, who’s going where, who’s eating what . all that the loitering crowd do is poke a sentence here and there, like a couple of posts, and flutter around like a butterfly. They have no purpose, bring in no value to the table, but nevertheless they feel quite important believing their yeomen service to mankind by their likes and comments.
June, 2017, steemit happens
I never thought I will get over Facebook addiction and then steemit happened. I just happened to read a post by 
steemit came as a fresh breath in the routine and stale world of social platform. It was inconceivable to me even to comprehend that someone is going to pay me for my articles. I know a few talented people out there make a good amount of money blogging and posting Youtube videos and photos on instagram. But they are like professionals, they have talent, knowledge and they are quite good at it. but for a average dude with basic english, an ordinary job or a student and an ordinary life, to get paid for a post is simply mindblowing.
At steemit, my life changed dramatically. I knew from the offset, that I am on a one way path. what I write is irreversible bcos this is blockchain. you can make an impression or be honest or plagiarize or whatever, you can't undo it. Once it is out there it is there for as long as the block chain remains. I have deleted some posts or have edited numerable posts or comments in Facebook and I know I cant do that in steemit. So that made me extremely careful with my words and with my sharing.
I see that spammers simply don't exist in steemit. Every blog is a well thought write up by everyone, lot of time and effort goes in it and most of the time it is a original blog. So the quality of content and the bloggers here is very high. this is not a place for any run of the mill person who thinks he can make a quick buck here by copy and pasting some stuff. That simply is not acceptable here.
I remember in Facebook, I posted an original post on my trip to Bhutan. It was a very elaborate post with lot of useful information and advise and it was received extremely well by lot of riders to Bhutan. But then I also saw many who copy and pasted the same post as their own and claimed credit for the same. it was very depressing to me, But I let it go. I know that will never happen on steemit and that's very comforting to me.
It is not a walk in the park in steemit. It is really very hard work as the competition is very fierce here. When everyone put in their best effort and share their quality content, competition is bound to be there and it is very healthy sign of a great social platform in making. and when everyone puts in quality content, every blog, every photo, every video is an absolute treat to read or see. there is so much valuable stuff here and it is a treasure of knowledge and wisdom. This gets my vote to be the single biggest takeaway for me from steemit.
But then let's see. I have now lots of international friends, thanks to steemit and they are genuine too. This is another huge take away for me here at steemit.
I was a total noob when it came to cryptocurrency. steemit just flung open to me a new door to crypto, the future internet of money and the way the business will be conducted. I have no doubt that we are one of the very early adapters of the cryptocurrency through steemit and that instantly puts us in a special league. we are contributors to the creation of the new crypto world. Someday I will look back and say proudly, I was part of this crypto revolution and that is a very large reward enough to me.
In a broad manner i Just give a few aspects that differentiates the Facebook from steemit. It's personal opinion and I agree to be disagreed.
Facebook vs Steemit
Well, well... two social platform and the contrast couldn't have been more starker. To sum it up. Facebook and steemit are at the two opposite end of the addiction pendulum and I am happy to be where I belong now.
I conclude my random thoughts with a quote by Ken Hensley "It is hard to understand addiction unless you have experienced it". How true !!!!
Thanks for your time. I appreciate it very much :)
Credits: Images from google -'Labeled for reuse'
My Previous Blogs
I have written a very interesting story on a unique boat building industry, said to be the largest handicraft in the world. These boats are built without any blueprint, no design, no drawing. absolutely nothing. Please read more about it here
Did you know that a 5800 sq kms single piece of iceberg (size of state of Delaware in USA) got shelved off in Antarctica last week? Please read more about it here
Now those who might have missed my earlier blog on science of happiness, please do read it here. I promise you, your perspective on happiness will change and you will emerge much happier.
I sincerely appreciate if you could leave your comments here. Your comments inspire me to write better here.
Thank you very much.