Introducing SteemStart beta, a Crowdfunding Platform built on the Steemit Blockchain
Steemit is a platform with a number of possibilities. It is a gateway for bloggers and content developers to design, create, and share what is on their mind and make something that they once dreamed of, come alive. Steemit has proven that it has the power to change lives and on a daily basis, the user base continues to grow. New technologies are built and new communities are started.
We have amazing technologies built on top of the underlying Steemit Blockchain that has changed the face of how we operate and use Steemit. We have amazing tools, apps, and technology that are created by everyday users that allow Steemit to be a truly decentralized entity.
Today I want to announce another application that I and a few other Steemit users have been working on - I'd like to introduce everyone to STEEMSTART
What is SteemStart?
I have always seen Steemit as a platform where people can make their dreams come true. A place where people can have an idea, design, and build it, and make it a reality. Taking the idea from a kickstarter site and mixing it with the technology behind Steemit, Steemstart is formed. Our goal is to empower people with the ability to liberate themselves from the confines of a traditional work model and help get them started on their own journey of changing their own lives.
SteemStart based backing is in the form of SBD, Steem, and Steem Power. Users can choose to help fund SteemStart campaigns through the traditional method of SBD/Steem donations towards the users idea, or through Upvoting which is kickstarted using our @steemstart bot and various Whales who are backing us. A combination of these will help the campaign get noticed and increase support to help meet the users needs.
What does SteemStart look like?
The SteemStart site is live at http://www.steemstart.com.
Most features are currently disabled until we can complete all features and get the site completely functional, but you can visit and see it for yourself.
How does the site work?
Since it is built on top of the Steemit interface, traditionally the site is blog based - users who have a project, idea, business, charity, etc. that they want to raise funds for simply need to create a post on the site. They will be presented with a series of options such as
- The post category - whether it is a funding for a charity, business, or technology, etc.
- The target amount of funds to raise (which will be entered in the form of SBD
- The standard distribution type - 50/50 or all Steem Power
Once that is complete, they will need to type out a well thought out plan and proposal in the form of a blog post. Initially, the site will require a number of criteria in order to publish the post
- Minimum of 300 words
- At least 3 pictures
Without meeting these criteria, the "publish" button will be greyed out and not allow you to submit your post. These criteria will change as the platform evolves.
Once the post is submitted, our @steemstart bot will find your post and Upvote it to kickoff the 7-day funding period in which people can either donate funds directly to the post or upvote it to help increase the posts value and visibility. The bot will start upvoting posts after 20-minutes of its creation.
The @steemstart bot will be delegated an unspecified amount of SP to ensure it can provide a substantial enough boost to increase campaign visibility.
To ensure that the site is being used properly, we will have a team of curators who will regularly review posts and flag any misuse or abuse of the system. Too many abuses and users will get banned. This will be tracked automatically on the back end.
Because we want users to be able to easily access their campaigns, the site will also offer you the ability to log in using your Steemit credentials care of Steem Connect. Steemconnect is a trusted site which does not store passwords or credentials, so users can rest assured that their information is safe.
How to contribute?
The site is still a work in progress and I will continue to provide updates on its development as we near completion. I am always looking for coders and contributions to help make the site better so if you want to join our team to help bring this to life, feel free to contact me.
You can either contact me through Steemit.Chat at @cloh76 or through Discord using @cloh76.
I can also be found on Steemit through @cloh76 or @cloh76.witness
Although most of the site is coded in PHP and HTML, You can also submit contributions directly to https://github.com/cloh76/steemstart for features that directly tie into Steemit
My hope is that this site will be an additional resource to helping people change their lives and make their dreams and ideas a reality.
As always, please share with me your feedback, input, and comment on things you would like to see.
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While the idea sounds great, the problem is that this doesn't really bring something new to Steem...
I mean we've seen people like @jesta, @xeroc and @furion raise massive sums of money from just doing normal posts. They get plenty of exposure. I've even personally raised money for the EFF and the TOR project just through Steemit.
Same with donations, it's so easy for me to just send 1 SBD to @cloh76 with a memo "steemstart".
A lot of what transpires online with regards support for projects comes down to discovery and exposure. If this site provides a way for people looking to back projects to find the ones they are interested in, then it adds something new!
Yep and that is my intent - to remove all the noise and uncover those posts which are not easily visible and provide a tool where people can fund directly or support through upvotes.
It is true what you have said @someguy123, however my point of view is slighlty different.
Indeed, you might say that it doesnt brings anything really new to our community but I rather would say that SteemStart will help the people to start any project they want without struggling to gather attention.
I always have thought that you need a pretty strong steem account to attract many people to your project. Of course, you may earn just by rewards from the upvotes but I can imagine that SteemStart will give a greater more chance to make your idea come true by using their platform, not steemit: unless you are already a fellow steemian and your account is valued really nice!
Thanks @hirikoto. I agree that people struggle to gain attention when they are new and that was my hope for creating this site. I do value the feedback as it helps me to refine my approach and add features which will truly help the community.
I get where you are coming from, which is why I value the feedback to try and make it unique. My initial intent was to provide a place where posts for startups and new ventures are highlighted. A place where users who don't necessarily get the visibility or have the following - like those you mentioned above, can go to get support for their own projects (ex. minnows who haven't established themselves but have great ideas and projects)
I also wanted to be able to filter the content so that it showcases only crowdfunding-related posts and remove all the extra noise which makes posts hard to find. General posts which clog the Steemit Trending page and make posts with good ideas and projects that are difficult to find.
It's still a work in progress and I'm looking for feedback like yours so that this can evolve into something that will benefit the startup community of Steemit and allow people to directly help fund projects and make them a reality.
thankyou for sharing some techniques @someguy123.. i cant wait to have more from you
The feedback is definitely valuable and helpful!
Thank you for the contribution. It has been approved.
I look forward to seeing substantial code being added to the repo so that it becomes more than a website.
You can contact us on Discord.
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Hey @helo, I just gave you a tip for your hard work on moderation. Upvote this comment to support the utopian moderators and increase your future rewards!
@helo Thanks. I'll have an update to code in the next week.
Hey @cloh76 I am @utopian-io. I have just upvoted you!
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The same concept as steemgigs but this one looks very neat. Hehehe.. Would love to test things out when it is completed
You got a 9.33% upvote from @postpromoter courtesy of @cloh76! Want to promote your posts too? Check out the Steem Bot Tracker website for more info. If you would like to support development of @postpromoter and the bot tracker please vote for @yabapmatt for witness!
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STOPThis is such a great idea! It's incredible how people around Steemit have been encouraged to develop these kinds of systems and all sorts of stuff to provide so much more options to succeed in this fast-growing world.
I'll be happy to check Steemstart now. Thanks, @cloh76!
Thanks. Please let me know your thoughts and any feedback so I can continue to make improvements!
@cloh76 I wonder if you got up yourself on the idea to allow people on the platfom to fund the project with many cryptocurrencies? I dont think we have many sites where you might support developers with e.g BTC,ETH,LTC,XMR,SBD. Like adding more cryptocurrencies will make a huge boost for you I think as soon as the platform will get popular!
Thanks @hirikoto. That is an idea I will consider. I started with Steem and SBD because it already has a mechanism built in where I don't have to rely on external exchanges and wallets. I do hope though that eventually, people can support new ideas and projects using other cryptocurrencies. I just need to figure out how to incorporate it all.
Nice one and very informative
Thanks. Keep checking back for updates!
On point! can't wait
This is a good initiative. Maybe will drive some charity org to steemit this way.
Hopefully. There are so many charities already involved with Steemit. They just aren't seen