What is the Public Perception of Steem?

We all know that Steem is different from other cryptocurrencies. Should it be differentiated from its technological cousins? How does the public, the layman, view Steem now? Should their perceptions change?

A good friend of mine recently passed me this article about cryptocurrencies from the Washington Post.

Here is the quote:

"Trying to predict the future of bitcoin has only grown more complicated in recent months, because digital currencies are being launched almost daily. They have names such as litecoin, steem and EOS, and for Knight, it was these that were the most attractive. As he began investing, he noticed one particular currency surging: mintcoin, which cost about a tenth of a penny. On Jan. 7, he bought 25,000 mintcoin as the value was starting to soar.

Then he tried to ride the wave. The day was just starting, and Knight kept refreshing his phone, charting his progress. The currency’s value climbed a bit more. A few hours passed. He had made $268. He told his wife. He watched YouTube videos about other currencies. And then, just before he went to bed, he noticed the value of mintcoin start to tumble. It was down 15 percent. It was down 30 percent. “The anxiety,” Knight said, shaking his head."

The context of this quote, however, lumps Steem in the same category as other cryptocurrencies.

I think that Steem is fundamentally different.

From what I've seen in my brief time here there are a lot bots and 'Follow Me I'll Follow Back' accounts. They all have their place in the ecosystem and I am not here to comment about them either way. I would like to talk about how Steem is different and maybe plant some seeds on how its public perception can be adjusted to reflect its unique nature.

This article from Dr. Arif Akhtar is an example of what, really, I think is the core of the issue. Dr. Akhtar has a nicely laid out post, but his focus is wrong. Take the below blurb from the article:

"Steem is a form of cryptocurrency network (smart digital money) like Bitcoin. It combines the ability to send/receive money and store information."

His focus is on the low barrier of entry and its similarity to Bitcoin. Dr. Akhtar neglects to mention the social and knowledge components of Steem.

In my life as a real boy, I work as a knowledge manager for an architecture firm. I traffic in information resources all day, but the unique component of my job is when I turn unspoken knowledge or know-how into information. One of the most difficult parts about this is finding the right incentive. Many people don't want to share, or don't know how to share, their workflows, tips, tricks, etc. We use a social intranet at work, to some positive effective, but imagine if it was a Steem based social network, like the one we have here.

Steem eliminates the reliance on altruism when it comes to sharing knowledge and making everyone around us better.

I'm a total nerd, so I often find myself creating analogies to the Star Trek universe. Of particular interest is the high level of education and achievement of the human race in Star Trek. The premise is, we stopped caring about profit and cared more about achievement as an entire species.

In today's world, it is difficult to see how that will ever work.

Steem is the intermediate stage. By connecting knowledge, research, and quality information to a socially-driven profit mechanism, one not tied to institutions, governments, or corporations; information, the sharing of information, and the conversion of personal knowledge into a form usable by those in the Steem community, I think it is possible to reach new heights of human achievement.

This is the direction I would like to see the public perception of Steem take.

Steem is not just another Bitcoin.