Steemit Crypto Academy || Season 2: Week5 || Centralization and Decentralization Social Media By Professor @yousafharoonkhan || Posted By @preshdan

This week Professor @Yousafharoonkhan is investigating decentralized and centralized social media, with particular reference to Steemit.

The homework task involves answering questions about decentralized and centralized social media.
So before I dive into the questions, let's take a little look at "Social Media"

Social media is a kind of technology that is computer-based which makes the sharing of ideas, information, and thoughts via the building of virtual networks and communities easy. Social media is internet-based by design, and offers users speedy electronic communication of contents. These contents includes personal information, photos, videos, and documents. Users can engage with social media through a computer, smartphone, or tablet via web-based application or software.

As users puts these electronic services to use, they invent a platform that is highly interactive through which individuals, organizations, and communities can share, discuss, co-create, participate, and modify self-curated or user-generated content posted online. Furthermore, social media are used for documenting memories; advertise oneself, learn about and explore things, and form friendships alongside the growth of ideas from the creation of blogs, videos, podcasts and gaming sites.

A wide range of positive and negative influence of social media use has been noted. Social media can assist to ameliorate an individual's sense of connectedness with real or online communities and can also be an effective communication or marketing tool for corporations, advocacy groups, entrepreneurs, political parties, profit and non-profit organizations, as well as governments.

Social media came into existnce as a way to interact with family and friends but later was adopted by commercial enterprises or establishments that desired to take advantage of a new communication method common among the general public to reach out to customers. The ability to connect, share and dismemberment information to anyone on earth, or numerous people at the same time.

Below are some popusocial media with their estimated number of users

Social Media	Number of Users
Facebook	2.74 billion
YouTube	2.29 billion
WhatsApp	2 billion
Facebook Messenger	1.3 billion
Instagram	1.22 billion
TikTok	689 million
QQ	617 million
Douyin	600 million
Sino Weibo	511 million

Benefits of Social Media

Social media has modified the way that we all interact with each other online. It has provided us with the ability to find out what's happening in the world in real-time, connect with each other and remain in close touch with long-distance friends, access endless amounts of information with ease. In many senses, social media has aided many individuals discover mutual ground with others online, thereby making the world appear more approachable.

Question no 1 :
Write the definition of Decentralized and Centralized Social Media Platforms in your own words.Explain in your own words the difference between decentralization and centralization Social Media Platforms (answer should related Social Media Platforms . (answer must be written in oun words, copy paste or from other source copy will be not accepted)

Definition of Centralized and Decentralized Social Media Platforms

Centralized Social Media PlatformA Centralized Social media platform is a platform that is under the control of a control and commay unit in which the users do not have total authority over their account neither can they determine how long the account would exist, they neither do have the authority to decide the fate of the account. Thisnis a kinda platform where account users are not allowed right to self-expression resulting from a set restrictions and non-specific rule or principle that provides direction to action or behaviour within and around the platform. Centralized social media platform is a platform that dose not give account users total responsibility to definitely ascertain what happens in their account irrespective of the user's social status. Despite all the restrictions and rule of thumb encumbered with platform, it however has a pleasant and good user-friendly interface for the pleasure and satisfaction of the users and customers. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and many more are Examples of Centralized social media platforms.

Decentralized Social Media Platform
A Decentralized Social Media Platform is a complete reverse of what is obtainable in the centralized social media platform. Decentralized social media platform is one that is not kept within the bounds of any form of central authority or command as regards to usage. Decentralized Social Media Platform is a platform in which users have unlimited and unrestricted right to self-expression without fear of having their account shut down. Decentralized social media platform; like Steemit, allows users to exclusively have and own all the keys needed to own, run and manage account. This is dissimilar to what goes on in the centralized social media platform where users are only provided with passwords. Steemit is a typical example of a decentralized social media platform.

Distinguish Between Centralized and Decentralized Social Media Platform

• System and network failure within the decentralized social media platform is near to impossible resulting from the availability of numerous nodes in charge of availability of network, whereas the centralized social media platform experiences system and network failure. The issue of network downtime and system failure seen in the centralized social media platform brings about dissatisfaction if it occurs often and if not resolved on time.

• Decentralized social platform is not subject to any central controlling unit that can change the style of interaction and communication among the users, wherea such exist and is well known in the centralized social media platform.

• Decentralized Social Media platforms are not susceptible to hack with exception to compromise of key, while the centralized social media platform is easily hacked resulting from its central control nature.

• There is intermediary seen In the Decentralized social platform neither the activities of third-parties, whereas such exist in the centralized social media platform and is easily discovered.

• The interface of decentralized social media platform require require great skill or knowledge to navigate through due to the level of complicacy in using the decentralized social media platform, whereas the centralized social medias platform generally has an enjoyable and amicably interface interaction in the process of logging in and usage as well.

Question no 2 :
Which One is The Future of Social media ? Decentralized or Centralized Social media.(answer must be written in own words)

Decentralized Social Media Platform

Although centralized social media platform has been in existence for a reasonable ample time, say decades, the decentralized social media platform has been seen to have one outstanding and exceptional advantage over the centralized social medial platform - "incentives". So far, there is no monetary reward from the centralized social media platform to it's users as seen on the decentralized social media platform where writers that produce same original text - as in centralized social media platform - are rewarded for their post.

Consequently, no user wishes to be confined in a social media platform where heis activities are under regulation, and the security of his account is not assured as is the case with centralized social media platform. This is dissimilar to the decentralized social media platform where users are for their lifetime confident of their account and at all time has guaranteed freedom to self-expression.

The entry process into the centralized social media platform isn't without frictions as one has to go through a verification process that manifest rigor. This is not procurable in the decentralized social media platform that is so easy such that neither KYC nor protocols not even any form of documentation is required to join the platform.

Question no 3 :
How steemit decentralization social media is best than Twitter and Facebook.(answer must be written in own words).

I prefer Steemit to to Facebook and Twitter owing to the insecurity issues associated with Facebook and Twitter. Facebook and Twitter are susceptible to hacking and many accounts has been seen hacked resulting from compromise of individual account even without the knowledge of the account owners. Such is never obtainable with a decentralized social medial platform because of the availability of various nodes who play significant function in safeguarding all users with exception to key compromise.
Come to think of it, all the while I have been on and using centralized socalia media platform - Facebook and Twitter - there's nothing I can specifically say is my tangible profit rather, I am even the one at loss because I spend money to remain in the platform; whereas I get rewarded for every of my unadulterated and prototype post in Steemit social media.

Question no 4 :
What do you say? How do Steemit social media change the lives of millions of its users?(answer must be written in own words)

Frankly speaking and personally, I see Steemit as a life changing social media platform in fact, it an institution that has enhanced the intellectual ability of its users. It has also to a very significant extent made many of the users a bit financially stable and financially empowering users to execute issues that most of us couldn't have done within the boundaries of our previous financial status. Steemit is financially, educationally and socially improving improving user who is getting things done right.

Furthermore, research capability has drastically improved such that content is self-made and rich. The knowledge I have gotten acquainted with in the last couple of months from the platform and reviewing my thesis proves to me that I have intellectually improved.

Question no 5 :
How can we make money with Steemit's decentralized social media.(write your own experience)

The Steemit platform has been seen to have three (3) absolute ways through which one can make money. They are as follows:

• Curation Rewards

Curation in the simplest term means to place upvote on well made, plagiarism-free content posted in the community. Plagiarism is an offence thus expels reward as contents found with plagiarism is downvoted and all curation made on such content are passed to the reward pool. Each curator has an expectation of a 50% curation reward made on any post which is either in form of Steem Backed Dollar(SBD) or Steem Power or both, consequently this is a true or real means of making cash from steemit.

• Authors Rewards

A reward - specifically monetary incentives - is given to all Bloggers for posting a self-made and prototype content to the platform. This monetary reward majorly comes from curators who upvotes 'unplagiarized' articles posted in the community. For every content - is free from plagiarism - that posted in the community that gets upvotes receives about 50% author's reward in form of either Steem Backed Dollar (SBD) or Steem power or both.

• Investment (Buying Steem Power)

Purchasing of Steem Power is a faster means of making money from Steemit social media as it augments the value of curation there by aiding one to make profits from changes in price owing to the fact that the value of steem increases almost on daily basis.

Question no 6 :
How to create communities on Steemit social media ( practicle step by step ) & Promote your homework post on two social media, twitter and facebook (just share link in comments area)

• Step 1: On the landing page, click on the icon "Steemit" (as shown below)

• Step 2: Click on "All post" then scroll down to the bottom and select "Explore Communities" (as shown below)

• Step 3: Click on the "Create Community"
  On the next interface, input a name for the community as the Title and also Community description in the column for ABOUT then click "NEXT" (as shown below)

Step 4: After clicking on NEXT, another interface comes up displaying your Owners Key/Password. It is important to copy and save this. Be sure to mark "I HAVE SECURELY SAVED MY OWNER NAME AND PASSWORD". Click on "Create Community", this will usher in the next interface asking for confirmation of operation at the cost of 3 steem, click "OK" to confirm (shown below)

After clicking "OK" the community is ready for use and from the next interface, the community is set for online activities.

*Conclusion"

The world has been taken by social media by storm, has taken the world by storm, having above 3.8 billion users worldwide. Social media enables us to remain connected with family and friends, helps us to easily find information, add our own charisma to the online world and serves as a teaching and learning platform. Whether an individual platform resonates with one personally or not, the truth is social networks are here to stay.

Thank you professor @yousafharoonkhan for this wonderful lecture and thanks to you all for reading through my post

Cc:
xkool24