It may come as a bit of a surprise, but I didn’t hold any value in the concept of community before coming to steemit. I’m an anarchist through and through, and while to some that can be viewed as isolation, I feel that it’s more about rejecting the established society and doing my own thing. Steemit is my first positive involvement in any form of community. Today I thought I’d discuss why I feel that is, and how steemit is different from the established mainstream societies of the world.
If we look at the economy of steemit as its own thing, it’s clear that it has a unique structure. It can be viewed as a gift economy, which incentivizes kindness to a degree. The kinder we are to new users, the more likely they are to stick around and to bring on more new users, therefore steemit increases in value over time. There is also an incentive for large stakeholders to vote for other users and get curation rewards, even though I feel that those are not properly balanced at the moment. I firmly agree that the concept of curation rewards is sound. Fundamentally, we create value and get back what we put in to some degree. Ultimately we all succeed or fail together.
I personally view the state of steemit at the moment as an anarcho-capitalist community where we are pooling our resources, talents, and skills together to create a new form of wealth. The wealth can obviously be pulled out of the community and taken elsewhere, but there is incentive to keep it inside the community and create more wealth for ourselves and others. If we look past our personal opinions and disagreements about key “bad actors”, it’s clear that we as a community have the potential to do a lot of good for the world. I’ve already personally witnessed the community come together on multiple occasions to change a user’s life over medical issues. It’s pretty amazing.
All of that said, why do I think this community works differently than the societies that we all live in? It starts with the removal of scarcity mindset. Sure there are still users that are hoarding STEEM and SBD and trying to use it as a vehicle to get rich quickly, but there is also a core community of like-minded individuals that want to see everyone succeed. They want to be able to give anyone with an internet connection and a compatible device the opportunity to earn a livable wage. They want to help out to the best of their ability. In my personal life, steemit has been amazing at helping lift the veil of a scarcity mindset. We really can do more together. We are already changing the world. It’s all already happening and there is no more “some day, maybe” about it. This is the value that I see in community. Namaste.
I think I can echo your sentiment. I grew up hating community, because I always saw it as something false. I was supported only if I behaved a certain way and believed in the creed of capitalism, image and consumerism. I've found people along the way who I could meet half way but having a family and community here is priceless. Even though we have bad actors, theres still enough good to fight for.
I always enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions, although sometimes you go over my head which isn't too hard to do btw. You and I are a lot alike a certain ways and I agree with you about this platform and I'm glad to be a part of it!
Glad to hear your liking it here! It's got a variety of interesting people and generally I just ramble about philosophy or post poetry, but I think we are all working together to build it up.
You already know C-3P-Bro.
Yeah ! People Are Making Money So Fast Here & Core Community Is Still Trying To Make It A Better Place For Everyone , They Are Creating Many Different Apps &
Services . #DTUBE #DLIVE #DSOUND #DMANIA . I Was Just Thinking What Would If The Post By Mark Zuckerberg On His Wall Of FB Comes True ! Facebook Already Has Everything & If He Is Going To Give Incentives Then It Might Rank#1 on Alexa Very Soon !
Who knows, I guess time will tell, but knowing Facebook they will probably be selling it as a way to pay for their games and stuff.
spam much?
you can say so ! whatever they do they make a hell of a money ,, i keep reading the haejin vs bernie war , no idea how exactly they make so much money !
I haven't been here all that long, but I completely get what you're saying. The good things I see happening here, the good things I'm being inspired to do here, it's amazing. It is changing the world.
Isolationist anacharist who discovered community? Careful now, you're only a Hobbesian Nightmare away from becoming a statist. :wink:
It's funny how perspective changes over time, but I would say there were points where I felt a lot like Hobbes about people in general. The more I grow and change over time though, it's clear that we're all just doing the best we can.
The word community, or maybe more commune, does conjure up uncomfortable images. There always seem to be rules imposed. But you're right, this does work better. Perhaps because there are no set rules, expectations or boundaries, giving you the ability to set your own. The community is organic, as it should be. Years ago villages were communities that developed and weren't purposefully created.
BTW, love your circle jerk post! It should have done way better than it did, but It may well be immortalised!!
I did kind of have a field day with that one. Focusing on negative behaviors for a long time never really seem to get me anywhere but pissed off though, so I don't make those posts all that often. :)
It may have been about negative behaviour, but you sure put a fun spin on it! I was reading it out loud to hubby and we couldn't stop giggling! If you're going to complain, do it well! Lol