Introducing: multitudes-- writing about science, politics, creativity, and their intersections

Ok, I’ll confess to not knowing a whole lot about this platform, or cryptocurrency for that matter, but here it goes. My name is Nate, and I’m a 22-year-old recent college graduate. I heard about the Steemit platform a few days ago. I have to admit, the prospect of dipping my toes into this site feels a bit dirty. Not because of the community (though some political posts I’ve seen here look pretty cancerous lol), the quality of writing, or the idea that this is somehow a “lowbrow” site. Truthfully, I don’t think Steemit has much of a following to be considered “lowbrow” or anything of that sort because those definitions are inherently in the eye of the beholder and frequently fall into pretension rather than judgment of a community’s content. As moronic, silly, and counter-intuitive as it may sound, my reluctance to dive headfirst into Steemit stems from the site’s monetization of content.

When going to school for writing or the arts in general, there’s an understanding amongst your peers and professors that, despite the exorbitant tuition costs of your program, no one is really in this for the money. How could we be? The barrier to entry for getting an education wholly focused on writing is so high, and the chance of a payout is so slim. This is why so many people who major in one of those arcane disciplines like creative writing or art go on to find a career having nothing to do with what they studied. Either that or they come from money and it never really mattered what they majored in anyway. The student that commits themselves to the arts is one who has resigned him or herself to either outright poverty, or the reality that what they studied will amount to an expensive hobby, no matter how personally rewarding it may be. As ridiculous as it may sound, to seek money from writing feels like a subversion of this ingrained sentiment. But I’ll be the first to admit that upon using a bit of perspective, this notion quickly falls to the wayside. Look at a platform like Youtube, one that has been monetized from the beginning. Amateur and professional creatives have been making money off their content there for a minute. What makes writing any less worthy of monetization than filmmaking? Nothing really, but it’s about changing the culture.

What I find the most intriguing about the Steemit platform is its flexibility. Creators here don’t have to work inside the bounds of an editing program to release content. The content we produce is strictly between you and a work document. That simplicity excites me. Hopefully Steemit can become a widely used content creation platform that rewards creators in a meaningful way through readership, fulfillment, and monetization. For me, I want to use this platform as a medium for my writing on a variety of subjects that interest me, hence the name “multitudes.” Expect some content focused on poetry, science/medicine, politics, music, running, traveling, and basically anything else I feel like! I’m purposefully leaving my aim with this site open ended at this point, making it a place where I can share my cross-sectional interests. I don’t really feel like posting a picture of myself right now, so here are some pics I took at the Chicago botanical gardens a few weeks back.