Steemit: Overview: Social Media Platform on Steem Blockchain #GetOnSteem

in #steemit8 years ago (edited)

In this video I go over a brief overview on the revolutionary new social media platform Steemit (https://steemit.com) which is built on top of a blockchain database and ecosystem known as Steem. The blatant censorship from the major social media platforms Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter has grown the need for a more transparent and censorship-resistant platform, which is exactly what Steemit is. The fact that Steemit is built on-top of a blockchain database allows it to manage its own reputation and value system, and thus ultimately translate that into a cryptocurrency much like Bitcoin, all autonomously and with public transparency. Steemit has created a brilliant system of rewarding users with cryptocurrency known as STEEM that be in the form of Steem Power (SP) for social media “influence” or as Steem Dollars (SBD) which can be viewed as investment holdings of STEEM in USD currency. The exact definitions and how this overall payment system works is still beyond my grasp since I am new to this whole Blockchain / Cryptocurrency concept, but I may look into doing more specific videos on these topics so #StayTuned! If you have some insights into these please let me know by commenting below!

While I don’t cover the inner workings of Steemit’s payment process, my overall experience being on the platform has been great, especially the ease in which creating and viewing trending blogposts, as well as connecting with the strong Steemit community. Also, I am truly amazed at the autonomous nature of the overall monetary value and reputation system which makes it a real possibility to earn revenue doing what many already do for free (and which companies make billions off of us) which is simply creating and curating content online. Steemit, as well as the entire decentralized and highly censorship-resistant Blockchain technology, is growing at a rapid pace so make sure to jump on this bandwagon now in order to have a huge head-start in influence and revenue, so make sure to #GetOnSteem!!!

Follow me: https://peakd.com/@mes


Watch video on:

Download PDF Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!As32ynv0LoaIhvQmMlno7JJdwGLYcA


View Video Notes Below!


Download these notes: Link is in video description.
View these notes as an article: https://peakd.com/@mes
Subscribe via email: http://mes.fm/subscribe
Donate! :) https://mes.fm/donate

Reuse of my videos:

  • Feel free to make use of / re-upload / monetize my videos as long as you provide a link to the original video.

Fight back against censorship:

  • Bookmark sites/channels/accounts and check periodically
  • Remember to always archive website pages in case they get deleted/changed.

Join my private Discord chat room: https://mes.fm/chatroom

Check out my Reddit and Voat math forums:

Buy "Where Did The Towers Go?" by Dr. Judy Wood: https://mes.fm/judywoodbook
Follow along my epic video series:


NOTE #1: If you don't have time to watch this whole video:

NOTE #2: If video volume is too low at any part of the video:


Steemit Overview

Steemit Overview.jpeg

I am still trying to figure out just how Steemit and its monetary payments work, so in this video I will go over just a brief overview of Steemit and what it is.

I may do further videos going over some of the Steemit specifics in detail (once I learn more) so stay tuned!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steemit

Retrieved: 13 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/lAujI

Steemit

Steemit is a social news service[2] which runs a blogging and social networking website on top of a novel blockchain database, known as Steem.

History[edit]
The project was founded in 2016 by Ned Scott and Dan Larimer, creator of BitShares.[3][4] The two are founders of the Steemit Inc. company which runs the Steemit website and funds ongoing development of the platform.

Concept[edit]

The idea was described in a whitepaper released in March 2016.[5]

The general concept is similar to other blogging websites or social news websites like Reddit, but the text content is saved in a blockchain. Using a blockchain enables rewarding comments and posts with secure tokens of value. Images can be uploaded and hosted on Steemit. Other multimedia content must be embedded from other web hosts.

User accounts can upvote posts and comments, and the authors who get upvoted can receive a monetary reward in a cryptocurrency token named STEEM and US dollar-pegged tokens called Steem Dollars. People are also rewarded for curating popular content. Curating involves voting comments and post submissions. Vote strength and curation rewards are influenced by the amount of STEEM Power held by the voter.[4]
Steemit has a reputation system, where new accounts start with a reputation of 25. An account's received votes can influence its reputation up and down, incentivizing online etiquette.

STEEM Power (commonly abbreviated SP) is STEEM that has been entered into a smart contract and represents the amount of influence an account has compared to the rest of the network. The more STEEM Power an account has, the higher influence its vote has on posts or comments.

The Steem Dollar (commonly abbreviated SBD) is an asset intended to be pegged to the United States dollar.

There is an internal market on the Steem blockchain and integrated in the Steemit website where STEEM can be traded with Steem Dollars and vice-versa.

As of December 2016, there are more than 120,000 Steem accounts. After an initial public beta for which no payments were made, the hard fork on July 4th, 2016 saw $1,300,000 of STEEM and Steem Dollars paid out to Steemit users.[7]

In most of July 2016, Steem had the third largest market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies monitored by the website Coinmarketcap.com…

Steemit has been described as a novel and "disruptive blockchain-based media community" by Adam Hayes (Investopedia) in July 2016.[4]

https://trends.google.ca/trends/explore?date=2016-01-01%202017-05-16&q=steemit

image.png

Steem is picking up steam!! #GetOnSteem!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain

Retrieved: 13 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/dOSTM

Blockchain

A blockchain[1][2][3] – originally block chain[4][5] – is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, secured from tampering and revision. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block.[6] By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data — once recorded, the data in a block cannot be altered retroactively. Through the use of a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamping server, a blockchain database is managed autonomously. Blockchains are "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically."[7]

Blockchain formation. The main chain (black) consists of the longest series of blocks from the genesis block (green) to the current block. Orphan blocks (purple) exist outside of the main chain.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/generalledger.asp

Retrieved: 18 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/AOUjs

General Ledger

What is a 'General Ledger'

A general ledger is a company's set of numbered accounts for its accounting records. The ledger provides a complete record of financial transactions over the life of the company.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/whitepaper.asp

Retrieved: 15 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/pDNtJ

White Paper

What is a 'White Paper'

A white paper is an informational document issued by a company to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product or service.

White papers are designed to be used as a marketing tool before a sale, and not as a user manual or other technical document developed to provide support to the user after making a purchase.

https://steem.io/SteemWhitePaper.pdf

Retrieved: 13 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/Eubd7

Page 2

Abstract

Steem is a blockchain database that supports community building and social interaction with cryptocurrency rewards. Steem combines concepts from social media with lessons learned from building cryptocurrencies and their communities. An important key to inspiring participation in any community, currency or free market economy is a fair accounting system that consistently reflects each person's contribution. Steem is the first cryptocurrency that attempts to accurately and transparently reward an unbounded number of individuals who make subjective contributions to its community.

Page 5

The Steem community provides the following services to its members:

  1. A source of curated news and commentary.
  2. A means to get high quality answers to personalized questions.
  3. A stable cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar.
  4. Free payments.
  5. Jobs providing above services to other members.

Page 8

The Steem network calls these different asset classes Steem (STEEM), Steem Power (SP), and Steem Dollars (SMD).

Steem is the fundamental unit of account on the Steem blockchain. All other tokens derive their value from the value of STEEM.

Page 10

Steem Dollars (SMD)

Steem Dollars are created by a mechanism similar to convertible notes, which are often used to fund startups. In the startup world, convertible notes are short-term debt instruments that can be converted to ownership at a rate determined in the future, typically during a future funding round. A blockchain based token can be viewed as ownership in the community whereas a convertible note can be viewed as a debt denominated in any other commodity or currency. The terms of the convertible note allow the holder to convert to the backing token with a minimum notice at the fair market price of the token. Creating token-convertible-dollars enables blockchains to grow their network effect while maximizing the return for token holders.

https://www.seedinvest.com/blog/startup-investing/how-convertible-notes-work

Retrieved: 19 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/ha2R9

Convertible Note | Examples and How It Works

A convertible note is a form of short-term debt that converts into equity, typically in conjunction with a future financing round; in effect, the investor would be loaning money to a startup and instead of a return in the form of principal plus interest, the investor would receive equity in the company.

No Micropayments, Tips Optional

Under Steem, micropayments are paid to content producer, but those who vote for the content do not pay. Instead, the cost of the reward is paid for via new tokens.

Furthemore, Steem pays people to figure out who should be paid! This kind of thinking is revolutionary.

Page 18

Rate Limited Voting

A major part of minimizing abuse is the rate-limiting of voting. Individual users can only read and evaluate so many work items per day. Any attempt to vote more frequently than this is a sign of automation and potential abuse. Through rate limiting, stakeholders who vote more frequently have each vote count for less than stakeholders who vote less

Page 19

frequently.

Page 24

Eliminating Transaction Fees

Steem goes to great lengths to reward people for contributing to the network. It would be counterproductive to turn around and charge people every time they attempt to interact with the community.

Page 24

Blockchain technology currently depends upon transaction fees to prevent spam. These fees suffer all of the known problems with microtransactions and prevent blockchains from being used for low-value transactions. Truly decentralized applications must offer users the appearance of free transactions if they wish to compete with their centralized alternatives. This paper outlines the approach used by Steem to eliminate the need for fees and thereby enable a wide range of previously untenable decentralized applications.

Page 27

Bandwidth Instead of Micropayment Channels

The solution to the problems with micropayments is in implementing dynamic fractional reserves.

Page 42

Censorship

Steem is a decentralized network that is operated by miners in jurisdictions around the world. All user actions are publicly recorded on the blockchain, and can be publicly verified. This means that there is no single entity that can censor content that is valued by STEEM holders.

Individual websites such as steemit.com may censor content on their particular site, but content published on the blockchain is inherently broadcast traffic and mirrors all around the world may continue to make it available.

Freedom of speech is the foundation of all other liberties and any infringement upon freedom of speech undermines the only peaceful means of reaching consensus: discussion. Without free discussion voters cannot be fully informed, and uninformed voters are a greater threat to society than losing the right to vote. Censorship is a means of stealing votes

Page 43

through limiting public discourse. Steem is committed to enabling free speech and building a free society.

Solving Organic Discovery via Search Engine Optimization

Most cryptocurrencies generate little value for those who are not actively using the network. Steem, by contrast, generates content and encourages users to share it. This content gets indexed by search engines and ultimately will bring value to a large number of passive users. This search traffic creates organic advertising for the Steem network and grows the network effect.

Under blockchain-based social media, a creator or author would always be able to point to a public record and timestamp showing proof of their content origination. In a circumstance where a creator would like to address those who have re-shared without permission or attribution, blockchain-based records provide public proof that the content was posted by a particular user at a particular time. In the future, blockchain-based attribution could come to be recognized by governments for its authenticity and could hold weight in court, which would give content creators greater powers to control their work.

Page 44

Blockchain-based payouts are completely digital and have no middle-man. Therefore monetization by blockchain-based content rewards should be faster and much lower barrier to use than monetization by advertisements.

Conclusion

Steem is an experiment designed to address challenges in the cryptocurrency and social media industries by combining the best aspects from both. Steem presents earning opportunities to content creators and internet readers in ways that have not existed within the social media industry. Within Steem, individuals earn real rewards online that are directly correlated to their contributions. Those rewards will have dollar value due to the market price discovery and liquidity of Steem, and the people who hold Steem will have more exclusive earning powers than those who do not.

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@mes/new-to-steemit-is-this-truly-an-uncensored-platform-for-a-free-market-of-ideas-and-will-it-continue-to-be-so-in-the-future

11 May 2017 by mes

Archive: https://archive.is/JxSkN

New to Steemit: Is This Truly An Uncensored Platform for a Free-Market of Ideas? (and will it continue to be so in the future?)

https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@mes/new-to-steemit-is-this-truly-an-uncensored-platform-for-a-free-market-of-ideas-and-will-it-continue-to-be-so-in-the-future#@felixxx/re-mes-new-to-steemit-is-this-truly-an-uncensored-platform-for-a-free-market-of-ideas-and-will-it-continue-to-be-so-in-the-future-20170511t193715309z

Note, you can view all the activity on your Steemit account through Steemd.com:

https://steemd.com/@mes

Retrieved: 19 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/20gKT

Since everything is recorded on the Steem Blockchain, Steemd.com is just a website that visually shows and segments the data.

Pretty cool so check it out!

Big thanks to @primerz for the STEEM donation!!

image.png

Note though that you can check out my Channel's Playlists: https://www.youtube.com/user/MathEasySolutions/playlists

I may need to fix up the playlists a bit, but I recommend doing a "Channel Search" for any specific videos/playlists:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MathEasySolutions/search?query=polar+coordinates

Retrieved: 19 May 2017

Archive: https://archive.is/UCv6x

Also, my videos are in usually in chronological order so you can also browse through the videos tab and watch in whatever order you want: https://www.youtube.com/user/MathEasySolutions/videos

Maybe later I can create posts on Steemit that groups different videos together! # GreatIdea

Summary

Steemit is a new social media and blogging platform built on top of the Steem blockchain ecosystem.

Steemit has its own built-in cryptocurrency that pays both content creators and content curators, i.e. those that upvote, comment, and Resteem posts.

So far, my experience on Steemit is great and creating a new blog post and browsing trending topics is very simple to do.

Note: Except only issue I have so far is that you can't edit or Resteem old posts # WTF… hopefully they fix this in their non-beta version.

I may go over more detailed videos exploring content creation, as well as exactly how the cryptocurrency payment system works (once I figure it out haha), so # StayTuned!

The fact that Steemit is built upon a blockchain ecosystem makes it light-years ahead of the current social media giants in terms of transparency, fighting back against censorship, and fighting for free speech.

The likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit make billions off the user-generated and user-curated content of its users, but Steemit looks to put that money towards the users instead.

It is for these reasons, censorship resistant blockchain ecosystem and getting paid to post, as well as the overall ease of use, that I HIGHLY recommend everyone to #GetOnSteem!

Sort:  

oh man i need coffee and time to study all of this thank you for you info

what prevents the government from stepping in and claiming "national security" and just killing it all?

Good question. I think because Steem is distributed across a blockchain database and stored on many different computers / servers etc., it might be very difficult to shut down it down. They might instead target the users trying to access the database or the tools they use to access it, i.e. shutting Steemit down, regulating browsers, ISPs, etc. #BoycottGovernment