Some thoughts about how steem is a gathering place for intelligent and creative peoples.
This is more of an article for my Facebook audience, but.. I decided to share it here as well as someone might find it useful in some manner.
I recently read something on steemit by someone with the name @tcpolymath who I follow and who I respect for his intellect and how articulate he is as well as his blunt honesty and I really vibed with this part of what he said.
"What's more appealing to me about Steem versus the current crop of popular social media sites is the level of interaction here. We actually talk about things rather than flinging emojis and memes and one-liners at each other, and while this can lead to conflict it can also lead to actually getting somewhere. In years on Facebook and Twitter I can only think of one person I've met on those platforms whose perspective really matters to me, and he was already friends with my partner so we would have met eventually anyway. They're OK for keeping up on people you already know, but poor for meeting anyone meaningful.
In six months on Steem there are already dozens of those people. Some of that it probably the ways in which I prefer to interact, and my personal preference for giant balls of text like this one. Some if it is probably fundamental to being an early-adopter community. But a lot of it is just that there's more room here to actually get to know someone beyond knee-jerk reactions, and it's important to preserve that."
Here's his post if you'd like to read more.
https://steemit.com/steem/@tcpolymath/a-declaration-of-principles-at-200-posts
And.. I'd like to add a few of my own thoughts on this real quick.
One is that I think this level of communication can exist on other platforms, and I think it does to an extent in small isolated pockets here and there. But.. It does seem like the majority of Facebook and YouTube and Instagram and Twitter and all the rest are pretty toxic.
It's an interesting subject I've been trying to understand why myself for a while cause I have noticed that there are a lot more intelligent well spoken people over here than any other social media. So it does appear to me that there is more high level quality conversation going on at steem and the conclusion I keep coming to is that it's sort of an "anarchist" or freedom based community.
So the people who are drawn here are often very intelligent in my opinion and well spoken because of such, additionally steem also is a beacon for creative people of all sorts, so even if they don't fall into the liberty or anarchist crowd, you tend to I think get the more creative and expressive types over here as they are looking for more compensation for the work they give out to the world.
And.. Many of these people in my opinion aren't far behind the libertarians or anarchists in that they sense and understand the importance of freedom or else they wouldn't as easily be able to do the things they love, they might be be quite at the "political" level to eloquently explain a lot of this stuff, but I thinkthe whole environment is just very conducive to creative and liberty minded people.
In my whole time here.. I've only come across.. Two people I remember who I would consider unpleasant to the point of it reminded me of Facebook and other social media, and I'm a pretty outspoken guy so.. That's saying something I think.
Okay before this gets too long.. I just wanna mention that.. I have found awesome people elsewhere.
I've met many fascinating people I enjoy interacting with on Facebook and other social media.
Though they are rare and hard to find, usually they gather in small fringe sort of groups that not many people know about.
One of those groups I remember that reminds me of steem and the IFC for that matter is.. An forum called 9/11 free forums which was a website where the experts on all sides of that issue would come to debate in a neutral manner, and it was very civil.. Surprisingly so considering all the other factors. It was really amazing to me to watch the smartest people in the world on the subject interact and debate and get into the math and numbers and philosophy and evidence involved.. Truly helped me advance ahead of my time by lightyears I think.
And then there was another political debate group I was an admin for on Facebook called Vox Populi which was also full of a lot of different and very smart people in their own ways and a bunch of really conflicting beliefs and passionate people which was incredibly enlightening.
Those two places really stick out in my memory.
However.. Now.. Enter steem.. I'd say this place is way ahead of both of those good memories and the IFC going even further to me is even more rewarding, even though it is technically within steem itself, but.. It's a smaller group of like.. Really super smart and awesome and helpful and kind and compassionate people for the most part.
So yeah.. I basically wanted to echo what he was saying about unique people gathering on steem, I think there's really something to that.. I think it's one of the most exciting places to be on the internet right now as there is just an abundance of talent and information and new dialogue going on here that I've just never quite seen anywhere else really..
That's another reason I wish more of my friends from Facebook and other social media would join me over on steem that I don't quite manage to go into enough detail on sometimes.. I mean I've definitely spoke about it before, yet.. It really does deserve more attention on the subject cause I think there is something special going on with that, steem is almost like an incubator for amazing new talent and ideas.
All the new apps and programs and communities and interesting things people are creating, it's just awesome to watch it all, let alone to actually be someone who is trying to add his own piece to the picture.
This is getting long so I'm going to end it soon.
I want to end this on something I'm pretty sure I've mentioned a few times before and that's that..
I think steem itself is sort of like a "Breakaway civilization" albeit it's in a digital space much more than the physical world, it's still like.. A group of people have broken away from the rest and they are like often super brilliant people who are working on cutting edge new technologies and it's to the point where we have sort of created our own "steemian" culture.. People say things like "steem on"! And wear the symbols and gear and often refer to those who aren't here yet as people we are waiting on to catch up.
Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash
Now.. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant, but.. I really do believe that crypto-monetized social media is the future. Even if somehow steem doesn't survive, I believe someone will eventually figure it out.. And in the future people will be able to be rewarded more easily for the information and contributions they bring to the world.
For those of us who try to sell our own artwork and who promote it on social media.. This is like an amazing new level of freedom and empowerment. Especially cause it doesn't have to just be pictures or videos or music or whatever it can literally be almost anything..
This gives almost anyone an opportunity to make some money doing what they love. And I think that's awesome!
Definitely has some issues, but maybe we can work them as a community and make it work better and hey, the real regular government economies all have issues as well that are comparable in my opinion.
Anyways.. Despite the negative or not so great things, I'm very grateful. I never likely would have come up for the idea for the IFC without steem. And.. I have thousands of dollars now where I didn't before for content I was putting out for free before and which I continue to put out for free on other social media.
Yet.. I hear more and more people saying.. They think block chain is basically going to take over much of the internet and most of social media. So.. I guess we'll see what happens! It sure is fun and exciting though being a sort of "pioneer" surrounded by a bunch of other pioneers who many of are doing fascinating and interesting things in this new world that's being created. :)
I guess to end this I would say.. Are you sick of all the trolls and mundane simple conversations that make up the bulk of other social media sites? Want to make a bunch of awesome smart new friends and explore a new digital world that's being created and get paid in the process? I suggest checking out steem. And.. Please feel free to ask me any questions if you have any! I'd be happy to help answer if I can, or help you get started if you want any help. Cheers! :D