Synopsis

Today I will talk about one of the biggest problems on the platform. Showing how people have different perceptions of the same thing (the dollar) and how it leads to greed run amuck on the platform. I also give a pragmatic example and go in-depth on the topic and really try to get the point across. I then conclude this post with a summarization and final thoughts as well as a special note.

The Dollar

All or at least most of us have it seen at one point or another, greed is fairly common amongst us. In reality, it is human nature for greed to arise and it allowed for a lot of evolution and progress throughout society. However, while greed may be an issue as discussed previously there lies another perhaps even bigger problem on Steemit. It all starts with those of us in the west who think one dollar means nothing, it is understandable to see why. A dollar to people from the West seems like nothing and in some essence, they are right a dollar simply does not buy you a lot. That perception of money is a double-edged sword; on one side, the people from the West have a strong argument leading to the formation of a certain mentality interwoven with bias. On the other side, people from the East view the dollar witha higher regard will tend to work harder for it and value it more.

How it Ties into Steemit

Steemit is a global platform with over 60,000 daily users and is going to keep gaining more traction, the people who use Steemit are from all around the world. When that happens, there will be culture clashes and rightfully so. People are from different places and are used to different things, also keep in mind that most people don’t like change. It is also ever so prevalent on the internet where you can essentially be anonymous and people believe they can say whatever you want with no one finding out it was them. Perhaps you have not noticed the greed on Steemit and that is great; however, you are most likely a small minority as it has been a problem on Steemit. What makes it even more complicated because Steemit is a decentralized blockchain, there is no one authoritative figure that can put an end to it. Rather it comes back to and relies on the community to not support or reward greedy people nor their behavior. It is a very complicated issue with no real simple answer. One of the causes of greed on this platform has already been discussed in a previous blog post. Also, keep in mind that Steemit is not a get rich quick scheme and you should not treat it as so, rather put the time and effort into the platform through sheer dedication.

A Pragmatic Example

Take for example a country from the East such as the Philippines. One Dollar is equal to 50 Philippine Pesos. Now keep in mind the price of everyday items in the country such as a 1.5 liter (.4 gallons) bottle of water costs 32.97 Philippine Pesos (₱) which comes out to 65 cents. The average cost of a gallon of water in the United States is $1.22. There are a lot of reasons behind this; one of the most important reasons behind this difference is the price of living in each country. The poverty line in the United States for an individual in 2017 was if they make less than $12,060. On the other hand, the poverty line in the Philippines for 2014 was 100.534 ₱ which comes out to $1,981.36. You are probably going to bring up a fair point of criticism and say that this is just one country in the West. While that is correct and the price of living varies between countries the trend still follows suit that a dollar is worth more than most currencies in the East. You must also keep in mind the mentality that we talked about in the first part of this post.

Conclusion

Although it may seem like the platform is going nowhere and we are not making progress. Rest assured the platform and the community as a whole are making progress, the people who crave greed and money are slowly being filtered out from the platform. There is no need to have sleepless nights over it, just keep doing your thing and find the motivation to continuously post. It will be worth it in the end, just watch. One of the biggest things I want you to take away from this post is having a more open mind and don’t just think from your own perspective. Granted it sounds cliche, imagine and visualize yourself as someone from the other side of the world and watches how that changes your perceptions of things.

Personal Note

I apologize for not posting more frequently, I really am sorry about that. It’s not that I haven’t had time although college has just started for me. It’s merely been a matter of finding motivation for the right posts and getting bogged down in other posts. I don’t want to spend too little time on my posts and have them turn out poorly. I would rather have them take more time and make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing and is high-quality content that I know people would enjoy. However, there is good news I realize now that to be successful on Steemit I just need to take my own advice. That is not to sound pretentious or arrogant; rather take the advice that I have already laid out and apply it. I need to treat Steemit like a business and you don’t neglect your business for a week and expect it to be running just fine. From now on I will try to block out time in my schedule and solely focus on Steemit. Again, I am genuinely sorry you. You do not have to accept my apology or feel sympathy for me and that is completely fine and respectable I am merely stating the truth and informing you of what I have been up to.

Thanks for reading, if you have any constructive criticism post it

Sources and References

Google Imageshttp://www.businessinsider.com/bottled-water-costs-2000x-more-than-tap-2013-7
https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-FPL/
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Philippines