The underlying power of the Steem blockchain - parallel social media engine
So why is there Steem and Steemit, is it not the same?
As a Steemit user you might have noticed different mentions of Steem and Steemit, and while they are related to each other, they are not the same. So what are they and how are they different from each other?
Steemit is a social media platform quite similar to Reddit. However, it interacts with the Steem blockchain, by storing and retrieving data, and therefor is limited to the rules set out for interacting with Steem. The Steem blockchain is basically like a huge ledger which holds every interaction(transaction) that has ever taken place and Steemit acts like a gateway, allowing users to interact with Steem. However Steemit is just one gateway and one perspective to interact with Steem.
Steemit, like Reddit, can be categorised as an micro blogging social media platform. Yet there are many different types of social media platforms, all servicing their own niche. Some of the most notable would be Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Twitter. The true power of Steem is that is possible to build additional gateways, that copy functions of other social media platforms, and interact with Steem in parallel, while holding true to the same core principles, which I believe set Steem apart. Another article on this another time.
The future of Steem
I believe that in 5-10 years there will be clones made of most of the big social media platforms that interact with Steem in parallel. Users will be able to have only one account and use this for the different gateways, each serving their own niche. Users will have the same voting power on each of these platforms, there will be no need to start from scratch on each platform.
So in essence Steemit is not only just competing with Reddit, but over time as Steem grows and more developers start building layers on top of Steem, Steem will be competing with every other social media platform out there. And as long as the core values of Steem stay superior users from other platforms will gradually migrate to Steem and Steem will dominate the social media scene.
Just wanted to share some of my thoughts on Steem and why I believe in it's future. What do you think? Please share below.
This is such great info! But I wonder why would there be a need for other clones of existing social media platforms? Has the internet not become saturated with start-ups of these kinds already? Does anybody know how I can use Steemit it to my advantage if I already have the major social media platforms? There must be something special in it and how we use it could unlock its full potential. Great topic btw. :)
The reason for clones is that current social media platform are owned by a small group of share holders, who get most of the profit. Only the top content creators of these platforms also get a piece of the pie. While on Steemit everybody is a shareholders, you get paid in shared. So unless the shareholders of the big social media platforms are willing to give up most of their profits, there will be a need for something else.
I see. That's so interesting! And saying that "everybody is a shareholder" must mean that the information people are pouring here on Steemit is becoming some sort of the currency of investment. This could be the powerful thing about this platform as people get rewarded in terms of the value of information they present. Such rewards system would also propel the future of this platform. :D
I bet that once a lot of users migrate across from youtube the government will crack down on Steemit some how and find a way to force censorship. Youtube started off as a platform for free speech and has now become yet another mainstream leftist propaganda outlet. You can see this in the trending page with all the Left Wing comedians trending. You will never see a an anti-feminist trending on youtube for example. Even though we know those channels get a lot of views.
I see what you mean and its an important note that regulation over media censorship has already been in tact for quite a while now. And as an addition to what you've said, the government might even be more interested in the money making matters here on Steemit as monetary value of information is readily shown to public. However, given the type of content and information here on Steemit is clearly dictated by the curating environment the platform has in place, that is Markdown, which is dominantly text. I don't think Steemit would aim to be the next video storage and streaming social platform.
I hope so. I have high hopes for steem to replace youtube and facebook. Google and Zuckerberg have had a monopoly on those types of platforms for too long.
For Steem to really take off it should make more of a video based platform similar to youtube but without the censorship and leftist bias in trending etc. Most people don't want to sit and read articles all day.
I will do my best to try and get the word out there that there is a much better alternative to youtube.
Awesome. Sounds like a noble work. But hey, the possibility is endless. :)
Hope you are right brother. I see a bright future for the platform too.. There is nothing else in the world right now that provides such beautiful freedom. Cheers for the amazing article and thanks for making me smile. This should be on trending page 🍻
Goldie
It is.
Steemit is a social media platform very similar to Reddit. However, it interacts with Steem blockchain, by storing and retrieving data, and is therefore limited to the rules specified to interact with Steem. I think so ...
So I could hypothetically create a new, say, Instagram on the Steem blockchain and people would be able to log in with their Steemit accounts?
Yes that is very true, developers are actually working on that right now. I will see if I can find the name of the project.
AFAIK, it is Steepshot.
Thanks!
Thanks for the clear explanation! You have solved a lot of people confusion toward this two words!
I am glad I am able to solve some confusion :D
These two words are the most confusing!
I can see why you think there will be multiple clones in the future, serving different needs but what about closed groups? Do you see any way of producing the closed forums that people sign up for and have access to on a limited basis? I assume that is difficult to deliver on a public block chain and may even be unwanted.
Good information.
Good info. I really hope this happens especially with all the censorship going on and ad money being taken away from creators.
Imagine everybody in the world using those soon-to-be-built social platforms that run on the Steem blockchain. This could mean that the economy as we know it is going to change BIGTIME.
In the long run, this could mean that big banking kartels are going to be destroyed! I sincerely hope that as many people as possible hop aboard the Steem train.
Thanks for the clarification @juliank. Excellent post, as usual👍.
I totally agree, steem is a place where like minded people trade opinions and information world wide that isn't censored. As long as people can talk freely and express their knowledge to others the steemit community will grow and knowledge will transfer freely to the people of the world.