I think what makes it possible is its cryptocurrencies (steem,steempower,steem dollars); otherwise it would not be possible. While I have read a lot of content on steemit, it is still a bit complicated as to how all this actually works. However If you know about bitcoins, or any other crypto, you would ask the same thing which is; where does its value come from? 1btc= appx $2400 presently and have already reached an all time high of $3000+. In reality bitcoins are made out of thin air and do is fiat currency. So why an increase in value or why a value at all? There are a lot of factors to consider but the outcome will result in supply vs demand. If more demand, then the value increases. In steemit's case , people actually get rewarded in steem for creation and curation of content which is has an actual valued outcome (high quality content). When rewarded in steem for your works, there are external exchange services where people buy and sell cryptocurrencies including steem. There is also delegated proof of stake where having steem/steempower (can't recall which one exactly) sitting in your account will generate more steem (interest) just like in the case of banks. And like bitcoin (coins mined/ made out of thin air) you will be able to cash out at external exchange service due to the volume of buy orders. The value of steem will increase based on demand. If everyone were to cash out together, then there would be a prblem but this is highly unlikely due to the trading volume. There will always be traders making buy/sell orders based on technical analysis and speculations or for whatsoever reason. In theory, the crypto market makes it possible. I may be wrong. This my theory and should be treated as such. I have also not expressed how steemit itself works. However what I have done is try to give you an idea that of how it is possible to pay users reasonably by properly implementing a cryptocurrency system. In a way; it would work out that you are paid from the steem bought by others during trading, i.e when you sell your steem.
What is Steemit for?
A blockhain and social media platform
How can I use Steemit?
To post meaningful and informative things. Just create content. It also a place wheree you can meet and learn from others.
How can Steemit help me?
Trust me, you will learn alot , share your knowlege here and get a chance to earn a few bucks.
How can I help Steemit?
By creating and curating good content
What should I do just post?
Read, post, search for useful information, upvote posts you like, follow interesting people etc etc...(its a social platform)
How does the wallet work?
To store, transfer and exchange your earnings. (Thats what it is used for and i wish that I could go into how it works but I really don't have the time right now, sorry; hope we can discuss this later)
How do you convert/exchange or cash out your Steemit earnings?
Try to research this one , its not very complicated once you get the hang of it.
I've merely tried to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge being here only for one week and having done not enough research. Hope you find the right answers soonest.
Thanks for your reply to mikebike's question which I very much appreciate as I have similar questions. The other answers above are really not speaking for the level of steemit- collaboration. Your answer can inspire me to even engage here as I find it very mysterious and un-understandable, the whole steem thing. It's not self-evident and even doing posts is somehow antiquated in comparison to other platforms. So why would I use this one when I have no idea if it works and if the dollars are nothing better than likes on Facebook?
Can anyone give me a convincing argument for the usefulness of this platform which would justify the initial learning and the extra work for posting?
Thank you
Heidi
You are welcome. I started 5 to 6 months ago. Made roughly $40 SBD which I cashed out when 1SBD was about $13 about 3 days ago. I cashed out after fees , a total of $457. So this covers the effort I had put into my blogs so far. There was a surge demand on exchanges which caused the price to spike up phenominally. It went up as high as ×20. The people who cashed out must have been celebrating. (Supply vs Demand I talked about earlier ;-) ).
Steemit is the first blogging platform built on the blockchain technology. What the tech allows is for a share of value although there are still problems with reward sharing on steemit as the system is flawed. One advantage of crypto currency, is that it makes it possible for people to get paid all over the world without restriction. Before many people were restricted from certain writting jobs as payment processors were not allowed in their respective countries. When holding Steem, SBD or SP (your earning) , it is actually like owning a share of the steemit blogging platform itself. If the value of the platform increases, the value of the currency will also increase. The crypto market is young and booming; it isn't much different than than the fiat exchange market except it is more volatile and is growing expontentially as more exciting projects are being deployed using the blockchain tech. Again, people buying these crypocurrencies are automatically tied to the company itself so of the project becomes a success , the value of the currency will increase significantly, at least double its initial in the longer run.
So the difference between getting paid in fiat vs a cryptocurrency is that you are rewarded with a share in the company who created that currency(digital) as opposed to fiat. The of value steemit will definitely increase over time as improvements are made and more people continue to use the platform. If steemut gets as big as facebook. The value of steemit is automatically shared to all its users via its crypto currency payment. And facebook, well no, not even if you were paid in fiat currency by facebook because you do not own a share of the company. So if you get paid $5, it will always be $5 ;-). With steemit if you get paid 5SBD , this be can worth as much as $100 ;-). This was the the case eithr lastweek or week before. Ok, I've wasted enough time here, let me gets to going!
Hopefully when I get the chance I can actually give a proper argument ;-).
Thank you very much for your reply and the time you took for it. I can understand it now much better although it still sounds a little strange to me. A little like needing to check the exchange rate continuously in order to know when it is best to change dollars into Euros (my case). I still wouldn't know what to do with the credit I could earn posting articles here, but I might try to do it, anyway.
It seems to be a little like Facebook where you need to be present continuously - which is not a thing I like to do: spend a lot of time on social media. Well. I will figure that out, too. My sister seems to be quite successful here on this platform and urged me to come over...