To fully understand Steemit, let us start with one of the problems it was created to address. Wall
Street values Facebook at more than $350 billion. Facebook has great technology, it has built a
successful business, and it has established itself as the face of social media. But most of
Facebook’s valuation comes from its users: one billion of them around the world.
Why are Facebook’s users worth so much? A company with access to one billion people is a
huge market for advertisers. Companies want to reach Facebook’s users to sell them products
and services.
When big companies come calling, Facebook and other social media sites are only too happy to
sell them data they have gathered on their own users. They gladly sell advertising to these
companies. Advertising is content that someone has paid to put in front of you. And Facebook is
happy to let big corporations dictate the content that Facebook’s users see first.
Why would Facebook and other social media sites sell out their users this way? Even if the
Facebooks of the world began as tiny, innocent startups with good intentions, they now are
owned by mega-banks, corporations and rich individuals. These owners and shareholders
demand constant growth and increased profits; truth and privacy are lower priorities.
In their world, people are money. Users are a commodity to be mined for information, so that
these same companies or their clients can turn around and target the site’s users with the right
kind of advertising. Then they can sell lots of products and services, and make more money off
the site’s users. When you post on most social media sites, you are fueling a vicious cycle, and
you certainly do not get paid for posting or voting like you do on Steemit.
Facebook allows people to share their life, opinions and beliefs to people they know. But what if
Facebook had a bias and kept on silencing opinions it doesn't like? Just think about the collusion
with Germany to censor conversations regarding mass-immigration or the Gizmodo article about
how a former Facebook worker came out and said that they routinely suppressed conservative
news and finally the story that the social network banned a Canadian libertarian for criticizing
Facebook’s practices. These are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Both Facebook and Twitter are owned by large shareholders, including J.P. Morgan Chase,
Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Clearbridge, Vanguard, and T. Rowe Price, each
of whom own around one percent or more of one of these companies, some on behalf of their
clients. Morgan Stanley, which owns 5% of Twitter, has a huge amount of potential control over
that company’s content. Reddit is owned by a large private media conglomerate that was built by
buying and shutting down competitors. It has created news monopolies and raised advertising
rates in one market after another in a practice that the famous investor Warren Buffett has
likened to an “unregulated tollbooth.”
When your largest shareholders are mega-banks and big companies, they either control or have
the power to controlthe agenda and content. But they’re not the only ones. Goldman Sachs,
Morgan Stanley, and Chase are all mega-banks on the so-called “too big to fail” list of the United
States government and other powerful governments worldwide. They are considered
“systematically important” banks and the world’s major governments permanently stand ready to
bail them out if needed. These banks’ CEOs sit on the boards of the regional Federal Reserve
Banks in the United States and the banks actually receive stock in these government institutions.
If you are looking for more government connections, consider that Saudi Arabia’s royal family
controls that country’s government and a Saudi prince now owns 5% of Twitter.
Hmmm, let’s recap here. Powerful banks and governments hold enormous potential control over
Facebook and Twitter, while a monopolistic and controlling company controls Reddit. We
haven’t even started on other social media sites, but you get the idea. We are not saying that
these institutions run the sites on a day-to-day basis, but when stories emerge about censorship
and certain content being banned, think about who has ultimate control over them. Is it any
wonder that social media sites get criticized for monitoring their users and controlling the flow of
content?
Steemit is controlled ONLY by its community members. There is no agenda. Most certainly,
there is no large corporation or government calling the shots. Even if a large corporation were to
buy into Steemit with a large stake of STEEM Power, regular Steemit users can achieve the same
status through the hard work of posting and upvoting. Over time, that power can grow
proportionally. On Steemit, everyone has an opportunity and anyone can be a factor.
We still believe in the free and open marketplace of ideas. We believe that when differing
opinions are allowed to compete against one another, everybody learns more about those issues
and perspectives. Everybody has a chance to discuss and debate ideas. May the best idea win,
and may everyone treat each other with respect and understanding.