Urdu community Contest / S2W1 – Steemit versus Other Social Networks - You cant go wrong by @iamchukwudi

How many social media platforms can you think of today? If you're asked to mention, no doubt you'll mention the likes of Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter, and Snapchat, among others. But with the plethora of social media platforms, we can simply divide the world of social media into two types:

Steemit and the Others

Because among all the social media platforms, Steemit is a special one that is impacting lives through incentivising user engagement. Steemit is special in its own way, and this post hopes to highlight its uniqueness. Let's begin!

My Experience with Other Social Media Platforms

^{Image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay}

I have experimented with several social media platforms, including the likes of Facebook, Tiktok, and Twitter. While other platforms I use daily are not, in their primary design, social media platforms, such as WhatsApp Messenger (an instant messaging app) and YouTube (a video sharing platform), they also come with some social features which could give one those social media vibes.
For both traditional social media platforms and non-traditional platforms combined, I have always had an unhealthy relationship with these platforms. As a person who appreciates deeply the time value of money, it never really sank in on me the idea that I would be socializing and just socializing.
Compounding everything is that my business and work do not depend much on the use of social media platforms. So, social media, to me, was just another avenue to go along with the trends. I was like:

Since all my mates are doing it, and it seems like harmless fun, why not try it out as well? So I did.

At this point, all my social interactions over electronic media are done through WhatsApp Messenger. Yea, WhatsApp could be considered a social media platform with the introduction of the "WhatsApp Status" feature. At best, I am either viewing people's statuses or occasionally reacting to them.
My main stronghold with WhatsApp Messenger is that I interact mainly with my circle of friends and family, and aside from the Status feature, there's no deliberate attempt to make it highly intrusive and addicting, like other social media platforms.
So, basically, I don't have much of a social media life and presence. So, what do I have? Steemit was to the rescue.

Time Spent on Steemit Vs Time Spent Elsewhere

^{Image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay}

One index used in judging the worth of time spent on any activity is **productivity. Productivity, in its most basic understanding, is making something useful out of an object, be it abstract or tangible.
Why all the productivity lectures? It's simple. Spending time on traditional social media platforms makes one end up feeling guilty and bad that valuable and scarce time has been wasted. But this is an entirely different situation after blogging on Steemit.
Steemit makes you not just an ordinary social media user, but a blogger, a title only shared by a few Web2.0 early adopters. But currently, I can boast of being a blogger and, with Steemit in the background, I can defend this case anytime anywhere.
Traditional social media is highly attention seeking with polarising content that does little to teach or inform. That's the direct opposite of being on Steemit.
Being on Steemit is a highly intentional process. You have to think about it and even plan for it. Reading and researching on Steemit exposes one not just to quality content on the internet, but exposes one to the basic tenets of education—reading and researching.
At the end of the day, spending time on Steemit feels like working and comes with some level of self-fulfilment and a sense of value, while compared to traditional social media platforms, it feels wasteful and regrettable most of the time.

How Steemit Compares to Others: Pros & Cons

^{Image by kropekk_pl from Pixabay}

There are at least two sides to everything-the advantages and disadvantages. While Steemit may sound so nice in the ears, the saying, "all that glitters is not gold", still holds true. Let's quickly explore the pros and cons of Steemit versus other social media platforms.

Steemit vs. Others: Advantages and Disadvantages

Steemit	Others
Steemit operates on a semi-decentralized system that provides users with the majority of the benefits of a decentralized network, such as privacy, ownership, and semi-free speech	Whereas the others are highly centralised networks that provide a false sense of privacy and ownership while imposing a high level of censorship.
Steemit rewards users for their engagement on the platform. On Steemit, you don't have to grow to the status of an influencer to enjoy the rewards, from the first post, you can earn author's rewards.	On traditional social media platforms, you have to grow to the point of being an influencer before you can gain sponsorship, and monetizing one's content is a real pain.

Others Vs Steemit: Pros and Cons

Others	Steemit
Other social media platforms have a stronger user base as they tend to be more popular and easier to get by. With this sole advantage, they are better spots for advertising.	Compared to traditional social media platforms, Steemit is just a kid, as its user base is less than 1/100th of Twitter, which is one of the smallest social media platforms, thus, making Steemit unfit for advertisers.
It is more social-centric compared to Steemit. By this, I mean that other social media platforms play more nicely as social media platforms; they link you to people you know and just put you in a sort of social bubble.	Steemit is first, a crypto-blogging/microblogging platform built on the Web3.0 principle with a focus on privacy and security, two features that do not always play nice with the methods involved in building a traditional social media platform. So, Steemit is less social as a result.

Final Words

There is a lot to be said about Steemit in comparison with traditional social networking platforms. Like everyone else who has discovered the beauty of Steemit, I undoubtedly appreciate its simplicity and emphasis on rewarding those who add value. This is more important than anything else that other social networking platforms may have to offer.