Hi, @eoj,
I believe the Steemians who understand how progress is made on Steemit and the value of powering up are probably already investing whatever fiat they want to or have to spare to buy SP. If they've been doing it consistently and long enough they probably are past the 400 SP eligibility for this League.
Peeps who have some cash saved or invested and willing to pull it, can just buy 500 SP upfront (or more) to reap the benefits @paulag outlined accrue to those who become minnows.
So I don't think it would be fair to leave out Steemians who want to invest their own fiat but who don't have enough to buy 400-500 or more SP straight away.
If we do that, and leave only earned rewards to be the way to increase stake in Steemit, that would send a wrong signal, I feel. Investing in Steem AND Steemit is good. Many of those who are successful here have not only invested time and energy but also some of their own fiat too.
Also, leaving it to just earned rewards would probably mean it would take a super long time for many to reach 400 SP and Paula would have to wait that long to have any graduates at all.
I think the MAIN benefit of this initiative is to get plankton/redfish in to the mindset of being serious about wanting to increase their stake in Steemit via increased SP.
The League will be a constant source of inspiration to help develop and execute a workable strategy for participants to get their SP stake in Steemit up to that major basic main goal of 500 SP... whatever way is best for each person.
Increasing earned rewards is a given but investing fiat should not be left out as an additional, complementary method. Indeed, seeing some participants doing this may increase the motivation for others to find a way to earn and invest fiat IN Steem also, resulting in higher stake, quicker and graduating from the 500 SP League faster. Then maybe Paula will have a Dolphin League for us to graduate to. ;)
This comment was made from https://ulogs.org
Hi @angelacs - thanks for the thoughtful reply! I agree: if the intent of the league is to simply get up to 500 SP quick, then purchases should definitely be included. Thanks for clarifying @paulag's intent.
I suppose there's a few ways of looking at Steemit: as an investment vehicle, as a social media/blog platform, some sort of hybrid, or something else. It probably depends much on what drew you to Steemit in the first place and what you expect out of it. Personally, I was attracted to Steemit by the possibility of building something from nothing though hard work and quality posts, as per the Steemit tagline:
"Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post. If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!"
That's what drew me here: the possibility that quality posts will be rewarded and with hard work I would succeed in the platform. And while there would be time invested, this could be possible at no cost. If I was good. And patient :)
Now that I'm here, I'm aware there's a lot more going on ;) Flag wars, bit bots, spammers, opportunists, etc. But I remain on the platform because at the end of the day I'm hopeful that quality content will win the day, and that authors and curators will be rewarded for it. I guess we'll see. I'm patient and I'm in it for the long haul. I'll be here for years and I'm planning on converting all earned SBD and Steem to SP to grow my account to have more influence and be able to help beginners, maybe run some contests or leagues of my own in the future :)
Sure, I can plop down 500 SP at any time, but for me, because of how I see the platform, that wouldn't be as interesting of a story as growing organically. I don't believe buying SP equates with more commitment or buy-in to the platform. I think there's a strong counter argument that those who wish to thrive mostly through content creation or curation are adding more value to the platform as a whole than those who simply buy in. But I suspect most folks fall somewhere in the middle. I suppose we can ask - I wonder how many people have used fiat to purchase SP vs. how many have never done so?
I'm also filtering by my life experience: I've lived most of my adult life outside of my home country doing humanitarian work in desperately poor countries. One of the most exciting possibilities of a platform like Steemit is that in theory those with little to no resources can begin to better their lives. I just read that 50% of the world's population now have access to the internet. If they're on the internet, they can have a Steemit account and theoretically open another income stream to help themselves, their families, and their communities. Even if this takes years to happen, the mere possibilities these days give me hope. Exciting times!
Anyway, thanks again for the comment! It's a good discussion and always interesting to see how others experience Steemit!
Cheers,
@eoj