Steemit is a social media and blogging platform that pays users for posting content.
In the video above I compare Steemit with Facebook and explain how I love the distributed, crowd-controlled nature of the platform.
So, you do what you already do on Facebook, on Instagram, or on LinkedIn, etc. – you post content, you share content, and you comment. However, Steemit PAYS you for that. Sound interesting? Read on, it gets more amazing.
A Steemit 101
Take a look at the hot or trending posts on Steemit. You’ll see a page of posts with a thumbnail image and various stats about the posts. They’re about anything: travel, food, business, cats …

The number I’ve highlighted in BLACK is how much the post has made so far both for the creator and the curators (people who’ve shared the post). The creator will always make at least 75% of this figure.
The number I’ve highlighted in RED is how many times the post has been upvoted by Steem users. You can immediately see that, although the money a post makes is entirely determined by its upvotes from the community, the numbers of votes and the dollars paid out don’t correlate. That’s because not all users’ votes are equal.
The number I’ve highlighted in BLUE is the number of comments on the post.
The icon I’ve highlighted in GREEN is what you click to “Resteem” or share with your followers.
The number I’ve highlighted in ORANGE is your reputation score. This is out of 100. The higher it is the higher your reputation is on Steem, the bigger your audience, the larger your payouts.
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How Steemit works – introducing the blockchain
Steemit leverages a revolutionary new technology called the blockchain.
“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.”
Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016)
It’s really just a constantly expanding database or ledger that’s housed on multiple machines around the world. So it’s distributed. The beauty of being distributed means that no third party or centralized authority is necessary to validate anything on the blockchain.
The blockchain is the technology that underpins Bitcoin – the first ever cryptocurrency. So, in the case of Bitcoin, no 3rd parties (banks, governments, exchanges, etc.) are needed to make transactions – no bank fees, no exchange fees, no central banks, no uncertainty over government interference with the money supply, etc.
And similarly with Steemit, no centralized authority (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) is needed. So no ads, no selling of your personal information, no censorship, etc.
The protocol that runs Steemit is the Steem blockchain protocol. Steem is the currency; Steemit is the social media and blogging platform.
The Steem blockchain protocol, in addition to being able to store value ($$$), can also store content. And itt rewards people for creating content, curating content, and even commenting on content with its cryptocurrency Steem.
There are no ads, so where does the money come from?
The Steem protocol, just like the Bitcoin protocol, creates money out of thin air. If that sounds scammy or strange to you, that’s fair enough. However, in this way, there is no difference between cryptocurrencies and US Dollars or any other currency. I came across this concept while researching Nederlandse online casino’s, where cryptocurrency is often used for transactions due to its decentralized nature and the anonymity it provides. This comparison helped me understand the broader implications of digital currencies in the modern financial ecosystem.
Since the decoupling of the US dollar to gold by Richard Nixon in 1971, a system of national fiat currencies has been used. The word “fiat” derives from the Latin meaning “let it become”.
Since the cost of producing any denomination of a national currency is negligible, all money is in fact created out of thin air. However, people believe in a currency’s value. So a US dollar is worth what it is. People prescribe monetary value to precious metals, stone, beads, shells, etc. Human beings have been using money since before they started writing history books.
It’s the same with cryptocurrencies: their value is derived from how much people believe in them, or are prepared to pay for them. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Steem, and all the other cryptocurrencies are traded everyday. Their values go up and down according to the irrefutable laws of supply and demand.

Cryptocurrencies are particularly volatile but above you can see that 1 Steem token is, at the time of writing, worth roughly $1.21.
Compare Steemit to blogging
In the early 2000s, when the internet was in its infancy, great content found its way to the top simply because there was less of it around. Back then, a unique site could easily stand out, and even niche platforms gained attention. Now, with the vast competition online, finding reliable and specific resources, like en norsk casino liste som denne for Norwegian players, can be a challenge. The internet is still full of awesome content, but it’s no longer quirky; it’s competitive, and quality resources are more important than ever to navigate through the noise.
Around about 2012 Google gave up on being a search engine and decided to rank only big brand websites in their popular search results. Now, sadly, only 16 core companies dominate the most popular Google search results.
Social media sites are no better. They reward the already popular, leaving new talent to fight over the crumbs under the table, while the pie gets devoured by shareholders and vested interests.
So, in relation to what’s out there at the moment, Steemit could Make The Internet Great Again.
Compare Steemit to other platforms
Let’s look at Facebook, for example. Not only you have to work for Facebook by providing your best content, they also whore out your information to advertisers, and show you ads. You and your content effectively makes other people rich – you also have to pay Facebook to get your content seen by your own following.
I’ve been engaging with Steemit, posting a lot of stuff, commenting, sharing, etc., for a over month now, and I would love to see it succeed.
OK, I’m interested, where do I sign up?
Head over to Steemit.com and click the “Sign Up” button or link.

You need to provide an email address, phone number, and you may be required to verify your identity. This is to reduce fraud. The best way to verify your identity is by posting a link of a website or of your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn profile.
Once you have created an account that is it!!! You must never forget your password because it CAN NOT be retrieved.
First thing you do after signing up? Follow me, of course: https://steemit.com/@robcubbon oh my, that was lame. 🙁
Steemit wins hands down
Not only are you rewarded in cash for your best content but you are also rewarded for positive engagement.
While other online platforms tend to have a lot of bubbles and flame wars, Steemit rewards positive engagement with people even if you don’t share their opinions.
I always believe it’s worth to try something new consistently otherwise you’ll never really get to understand anything.
I started blogging in 2006 and it was years and years before I made money. So I don’t expect to make money straight away from Steemit (although I have). So I’m going to hang around on Steemit for a while and see what happens.
What about you?
What do you think about Steemit? Crazy waste of time, ponzi scheme, an amazing disruptive technology that will alter the future of web publishing? Or something else?
I will give it a shot
Let me know how you get on, Jill
Rob – I guess I could just say no thanks, but I really am curious. Why would someone like yourself spend even a minute of your precious energy wasting it on this scheme? Seriously – how many of these types of deals have you seen over the past decade? 200, 300? How many survived even a few years? Zero. You’re wasting your most valuable resource on this one Rob – your time.
Gotta say I agree with Kent – I’ve wasted far too much time on this type of stuff- Hubpages, BubbleWS etc etc. You can’t make money out of thin air- if you just print money – what happens is well-known -the currency collapses see Germany in the 1920s and many others.. If no one is making money from the content you won’t get paid long term end of discussion. The only new thing here is the use of a crypto currency
Germany in the 1920s is more akin to USA in 2017 in terms of printing money. Crypto-currencies are finite and have another advantage over fiat currencies in that way. That aside, what’s new about this platform isn’t the crypto-currency it’s the decentralized use of blockchain technology as described in the article. People are making money there, including myself and other people who’ve taken my free course. But it won’t be for everyone. Absolutely, if you don’t want to get involved then don’t. 🙂
It’s intriguing – mostly because YOU think it is, and I respect that. But I think I’ll stick with Pinterest, which makes me real dollars 🙂
haha, that’s good, Louise.
Cheers Rob..
I’m on board with this new beer money scheme.
No seriously I’ll give it my best. I’ve already applied and waiting for approval right now. I’ve heard it now takes up to 7 days to go through – fingers crossed.
This time next year we’ll might be millionaires ! Or we can just watch crazy Jerry Banfield all day on YouTube.
… or on Dtube, as the case may be. It’s just beer money at the moment but I’m having fun and not spending a lot of time on it either. Best of luck, Marty, I hope it works out for you. Let me know how you get on.
I will. and thanks for the free course!
Rob,
Over two weeks now since I put in a request and still no official approval from Steemit.
I honestly can’t see how this platform can work since the vast majority of people will be put off with this annoying delay. We live in an ‘ instant gratification’ culture and this is way too much. This factor alone, in my opinion, will definitely lower the intrinsic value of the whole Steem enterprise.
Plus if it’s really decentralised, as people say it is, then why the wait anyway? Registration should be automatic – as easy as signing up with an FB or Twitter account.
Anyway, I’ll give it more time …
Cheers Rob !
Yes, there are areas of Steemit (remember it’s still in Beta) that are less than satisfactory. I’m surprised you’re waiting after two weeks. They can’t make it as easy as signing up for FB and Twitter because there’s money involved, there would be mass sign-ups from bots otherwise. Let me know how you get on.
Finally got accepted Rob – only after re-applying with gmail. Phew…. Anyway better late than never. Thanks again.
Nice one, Marty.
I don’t understand Rob. So if you get paid for your blog/aka ‘steemit’ posts, where does the money go into? I mean–don’t you have to give them a bank account number for them to deposit it into??? Btw–I heard about Steemit both from you and also from Ani Alexander. Not sure if she’s married or not, but I think you two would make a really cute couple. Maybe she could move to Chiang Mai at some point?
Well, you should take my Steemit course (free at the moment) and you’ll find out the answer in more detail than explained above.
You earn Steem. You move the Steem to an account you have on a crypto-currency exchange – and on the exchange you can then cash it out to your fiat currency of choice ($). I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
I know Ani, she’s happily married and I’ve met her son. I doubt if she wants to move to Chiang Mai and I wouldn’t make a cute couple with anyone 🙂