How I Went From Steem Agnostic to a Steem Believer in 48 Hours or Less
It was 2011 and I was at Doug Casey's "La Estancia de Cafayate" in Argentina sipping on a Torrontés and dining on some parilla amongst a group of elite anarcho-capitalists when I first heard the word.
"Have you heard of bitcoin?" he said.
It's one of those moments you never forget. I've never forgotten the first time someone asked me, "Have you heard of the internet?" either.
Many people say how they remember where they were when JFK was killed by the financial elites... but I hadn't been born yet, so the "internet", "bitcoin" and the false flag attack on September 11, 2001, are my three memorable moments.
Soon after, still in Argentina, Trace Mayer (see my first Anarchast interview with him here on bitcoin in 2012), a noted anarcho-capitalist and crypto-connoisseur, pulled me aside at another gathering and said, "You have to get into bitcoin man."
Unlike the internet, which I knew was coming due to my being involved in computers since the age of 12, I had NO idea bitcoin was coming.
I replied to him, "Someone just told me about it last night. What exactly is it?"
Not too long after, Trace walked me through opening a wallet, transferred me about $10 in bitcoin (which would be over $2,000 today), and told me to go to an online bookstore that accepted bitcoin and buy something.
I did it all, from start to finish, in about one minute.
My eyes opened wide, "This changes everything!" I said.
He winked.
HOW I BECAME A STEEM BELIEVER
Fast forward five years and I heard the word "Steem" and "Steemit" from a few people.
By this time I was inundated with amazing new cryptocurrency and blockchain innovations. The Dollar Vigilante had become one of the largest financial newsletters in the world and was, by far, the biggest promoter of the cryptospace.
I must hear about something that sounds like it is revolutionary, or better said evolutionary, nearly every day.
So, when I heard about Steem, it was in the background of a dozen other amazing-sounding advancements.
"Social media on the blockchain?" I asked, "Sounds interesting, when I have time I'll look into it."
It wasn't until two days ago that a good friend, Sterlin Luxan @sterlinluxan (see an Anarchast episode with him here) posted a video declaring Steemit to be not only important in terms of social media but also important for getting out the word on anarcho-capitalism, which is one of my passions.
That video got me interested enough to make a short, introductory post on Steemit.
$15,000 later and it had caught my attention!
Now, I realize my popularity in the liberty and crypto space is what made the post gain so much money in upvotes.
But it was then that I began really looking into Steem and Steemit.
I interviewed the founders, @dan and @ned, and was fascinated at what they had built and how they had built it.
Then I began to look into all the potential of Steem and Steemit. I even read the White Paper on it, something I rarely do, due to my allergic reaction to highly technical details.
By the end of 48 hours a light went off in my head.
"This changes everything!" I said... much like I did with bitcoin and the internet.
Don't get me wrong, the internet was more important than bitcoin. Without the internet there would be no bitcoin.
And bitcoin is more important than Steem. Without bitcoin and its blockchain technology, Steem would never have come about.
However, when it comes to publishing information on the internet, something I know quite a bit about, having founded Canada's largest financial website, Stockhouse.com (which reached a $240 million valuation at its peak) and now operating one of the top financial newsletters in the world, The Dollar Vigilante, I can see MASSIVE potential for Steem and Steemit.
Will Steem and Steemit eventually succeed? Meaning, will it still be around in a few years and be exponentially bigger and ubiquitous in the internet media space?
That's anyone's guess. It's only six months old and, like any start-up, will have to make its way through a minefield of potential problems along the way.
In the meantime, count me as one of its biggest fans.
I'll be posting here nearly daily for the foreseeable future, with exclusive content, to support the platform and will be evangelizing it to as many as I can through my other outlets.
Follow me here and please upvote if you enjoy my content.
I'm a Steem believer.
oh well, I believeEVERYONE WOULD BE A BELIEVER if they had earn has you did in 2 post's... trying to squeeze more juice of the orange with this 3 post? oh well, the rich become richer... (steemit wouldn't be the exception).
Ok, now that everyone has attention to this comment...
why not support something really important?
Steemit Thunderclap campaign? -> https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/45276-the-first-steemit-crowdspeak?
@dollarvigilante can you bring you network to support this? and all the others as well... 500 supporters need!
and I'm not a troll: check what I've done so far at steemit -> https://steemit.com/steemit/@brunopro/this-is-a-post-about-my-2-week-s-experience-with-steemit-part-1-ignition-originalcontent-introduceyourself
just trying to help build the best social platform known to mankind...
and if you want to know more about what i'm feeling about all of this read: https://steemit.com/steemit/@brunopro/why-i-m-starting-to-think-that-the-steemit-community-sucks-and-the-number-on-the-thunderclap-campaign-show-it
Cheers to all!
Self-defeating attitude. I've been writing for 6 years straight, every day, and have garnered a worldwide audience. What have you done ? Just complain about how everyone is better than you?
thats right @brunopro, Jeff has earned his reputation for a long long time. When he finally has the opportunity to post on a decentralized soc media platform that rewards the content creators directly instead of advertisers he is finally earning the way he should have all along. This is a revolution in free speech and decentralization. The whole system rewards people that create content that help others. Your reputation relies on it. Get with the game bruno. And thanks Jeff.
Self-defeating attitude, that's the difference between anarcho-communism and anarcho-capitalism :)
As long as money is a tool of power, there will always be masters. In a true anarchist society, additional labels like this are needless. People would be free to do whatever they want, not what "the system" expects them to do. There would be community projects as well as individual ventures, whatever works best.
Btw, blockchains (and open source software altogether) are a prime example of the benefits of social anarchism, and don't follow the capitalist logic: the means of production are not private property, but can be used by everyone.
@cryptosolitaire: I don't believe in the horror stories the movies are telling us about what would happen when the ruling hand would disappear. Yes, society would need to change, and that could hurt for a while. But I believe it would be possible, as humans are wired to cooperate.
But I don't have or want children, so my readiness to accept the risk of a horrible failure is a lot higher than yours :D
Actually true anarchy would be survival of the fittest or best armed.
While it would be interesting, its not really the type of society i would want my grandchildren to have to live in.
I'm with you Jeff. You always provide great content and if you get rewarded for introducing more people (like me) to this brilliant concept, then good luck to you :-) With gratitude.
The 13 inbred Terrorist European Bloodlines support Hillary Clinton
https://steemit.com/news/@cryptocurrency1/the-13-inbred-terrorist-european-bloodlines-support-hillary-clinton
Nice article ... investing in bitcoins is a great idea . i am buying loads of them and piling up on XRP aswell
If some of these naysayers spent just half the effort on their articles and posting as they do on trying to bring others down and complaining that they can't get rich, they would probably have much more success on steemit. News Flash Folks! You have to work for success, it's not handed to you!
I've done a lot for bitcoin, YOU DON'T KNOW ME... I'm just now mediatic as you... sad sad sad comment!
These ladies do a lot for bitcoin. http://cointelegraph.com/news/escort-teaches-other-escorts-about-bitcoin-bnp-paribas-calls-bitcoin-a-disruptive-invention
Ouch shots fired!
That is a beautiful response. Perfect! Never apologize for success!
Jeff's work has changed my life immensely for the better, and I honestly have not even been able to dig through all the content he has created over the years. I am mostly a fan of Anarchast. Some videos I have watched numerous times, and others I have yet to see due to a very deep catalog. And then there is The Dollar Vigilante, his large and active FB following, along with the annual Anarcapulco event. So, $15k might seem like a lot for a single post, but it represents a pittance in terms of all the work Jeff has done over the years. As well, Jeff will most certainly bring a lot of people over to Steemit with his advocacy, and that is far more valuable to the ecosystem on the whole than the amounts he is earning. That's the way it goes.... suck it up big boy, he didn't take any food out of your mouth.
I have 3 million followers on my own website and i wont bring them here, just because i don't believe any of my follower is going to make any money by themselves. I tried myself as a "normal" user and couldn't make it, so they wont make it neither. Only personnalities are making money on here, last month anyone promoting steemit could make money, but today even that is gone.
There is no truth to that statement. Yes it's true people can make money by being celebrities or by having social connections to bring to Steemit but interesting or insightful blog posts get rewarded every day. Not every blogpost is anarcho-cap.
True! I'm just a normal bloke and my second post earned $2600.
They also have paid up voters working around the clock to up vote hidden gems and provide them some funds and build the network.
Again, self-defeating attitude. Just like any other form of media, anyone who wants to make money needs to be able to market themselves and gain a following. Those 3 million followers of yours didn't just fall out of the sky; I'm sure you worked for them. Same here. This is not free money given out to anyone just for showing up, and if that's what your web site followers are seeking, they would indeed be disappointed. It is a platform and an opportunity for those willing to work for it and bring value.
Well said, smooth.
I am of the same belief man. If you want something, work for it and I'm working hard on it. You mentioned some great facts on which I'm agree with you. For the same type of people, I wrote this article. I'd be more than happy if you read it and give remarks on my writing style.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@steemist/patience-and-positivity-plays-a-vital-role-in-success-of-your-steemit-posts-and-it-is-visible-secret-and-recipe-of-success-share
But 'Value' is the challenge ... One mans meat is another man's poison...not so? "How to survive a Lion attack in the wild" article may provide value to an African, but is of no value to a New Yorker !!
@najoh Your "3 million followers" are not following you because you pay them directly and that shouldn't be why you would encourage them to give us a try here. It is safe to assume the "3 million" people that follow you do so because you provide them unique or informative content. Those same followers on Steemit would be able to both monetize your efforts here beyond your wildest dreams and be rewarded themselves in the proccess. Think of a post that got 3 million upvotes? Dream big my friend not small. - Cheers PJ
Point number one, all my followers are french, so not really the best audience. I'm not a celebrity but they are following my brand. I tried Steemit to have some fun and to see if it was possible to make any real money coming out of nowhere, and the truth is, it's as difficult as creating your own blog, brand or business. So why create it here when you can create it somewhere else.
That's exactly what I was thinking - get them on here and up-voting your content - then pay them a percentage of your earnings
This isn't just another blog--just another blog will have a centralized network. Have you not learned anything? None owns this shit. It's yours to make and to share.
WHAT DO HAVE TO LOSE, TALK ABOUT WORTHY TOPICS AND GET REWARDED
Well said! It's the market doing what it does. Allocating money to people working for it...
nice
we have a saying in our country... aaphno jiu ko bhaisi dekdaina arka ko jiu ko jumra gani ra cha... meaning "you don't notice the black buffalo in your head but your sharp eyes spot lices on other's head"
No, Steemit won't be the exception to the rich getting richer, my friend. You get in what you put in - and that's the natural flow of life. It's the market. Free market principles apply to everything except maybe your hurt feelings. You've just proven why socialism doesn't work. In that type of economy or societal ecosystem, your attitude gets "rewarded." By "rewarded," I mean you get to continue to be mediocre. It's downhill from that point. You can pretend to get things for "free;" you can pretend that you followed the path of righteousness that allowed everyone to get a piece of the pie, and you can pretend that innovators are nothing more than part of the evil 1%. Your slave masters want you to have the attitudes that you hold: it makes it a whole lot easier when the inflatable life preserver you're wearing pops, causing you to sink.
Steemit is exciting. Stop being a killjoy.
Looks more like you are spamming the reply area with links to your own stuff. Your lucky you haven't been flagged yet dude. ;-) Just saying.
anyone can earn here bruno I am an ordinary guy and look what happened with me yesterday, read my latest post and see, you just got to keep working at it.
All I have in steemit I earn with by myself, I know it's possible to earn money. What annoys me is the "rich getting richer", but let's see in the future if the CELEBRITIES will bring value to steemit or they just taking out profits without making anything of value....
For the record, I've powered up almost all my steem except for an initial amount just to see if it worked (transferring out for bitcoin). I'm fully on board with building Steemit.
Good to hear!
That's very noble indeed.
then please disregard my previous note about remembering to power up!
have fun and keep up the great work @dollarvigilante
You may find my latest blog post helpful on understanding where precisely the money comes from to pay the blogging and curation rewards.
Celebrities have done the work on other networks to build a large following so that is why their posts are worth more.
trudat! i sure hope others will see it that way soon.
@brunopro Make sure you give away those Steemit pennies of yours - you wouldn't want to get any richer in the eyes of those with less than you.
Say that again @voluntary
one of the greatest values they bring is thousands of more users.
simple.
There's plenty to go around for everyone. Thanks @dollarvigilante for helping to spread the word, increasing our market cap and making my SP more valuable.
Agreed, like most things the rich get richer!! I assume there is a larger following of whales hoping to get a lucrative "up vote"; therefore nobody is bothered about the content of a post! Steem is still extraordinary!! Obviously the success has to be earnt initially and that is the difficulty the majority experience, there is always an element of luck too!!
Spot on !! Sort of 'right place at the right time' luck.
Agreed. @dollarvigilate is riding on his success elsewhere, that got him a personal and private interview with the steemit founders, and instant trending on an 82-word introduction.
So do you really think the celebrities would even see the value?
The rich get richer by providing value @brunopro
It's definitely a numbers game.
@mrgrey to add your point @dollarvigilante 's user base will hopefully bring in tenfold the money into the community than his posts earn.
Dude @dollarvigilante , has been working years to building a community of followers, and he is interviewed @dan and @ned within hours after he learned about the platform. He is brining his followers to OUR platform. I have been writing about earning a reputation in many posts. He has been doing it for years. If you haven't watched the interview please do so.
My first thought was, "Oh' great . . . Berwick making more money."
Then it hit me. "Well, yah, he can do more for a cause in a few sentences than 99% of the people on earth."
So Welcome Jeff!
I'm happy to follow the Dollar Vigilante.
I am Flynn.
@brunopro have you tried subscribing to the Dollar Vigilante newsletter? That`s all I needed to do to make money.
Lol good job!
Steem the cow :)
The irony is you just earned him 12 bucks
my hope for steemit is that the basis of steampower is established on quality and not shitposts like ever other platform, the success of posts like this one make me uncertain the site will remain true to its builders intentions.
It's "builders", very busy men, rushed to do an interview with Jeff Berwick.
You could try writing a post yourself? instead of just bashing Berwick for playing the game
You can check it @brunopro . There's no link to my best text and works I've done because Steemit only shows the 15 last post's, but if you're real curious search for my stuff. Cheers!
The rich become richer because they know how to use the system... All this online tuff has not been written into stone... just like walking you fall but when you get up you keep moving forward... if you want to stay down that's your life goal not ours.. were here to light the world on fire with truth...
Well... I have been a fan of yours for quite a while and i am thrilled that you are here!
Imagine if Bitgold accepted Steem! Ha!
brunopro, dollarvigilante is bringing traffic to Steemit--like me, and countless other of his fans. It helps ALL of us.
Cheers!
I don't mind the rich getting richer. Looks to me like Steemit offers the same opportunities to all of us. I'm learning about lots of new stuff here too. This is much better than Facebook!
WOW
Edit your blog post and change the link to the image to:
I think this should go on a @steemdrive billboard! What do you think @dollarvigilante? :)
If you have the time click on this @steemdrive blog link and vote for any/or all :) of the posts for this campaign to help spread the word of Steemit in the grand fashion of massive billboard displays!
Ahhh thank you @anonymint! How do I get that URL in future? I was told just to upload to imgur.com and paste the link but that obviously doesn't work.
@dollarvigilante you could create a profile at https://www.steemimg.com/ upload your picture(s) there and then copy & paste one of the Embed Codes. I used the Full Image HTML Code for inserting in my introduction story and here in the comments section simply use the Markdown script.
Ah great, thanks! So much to learn!
Anytime! I'm here because of your tipps.
@iosif, thanks for the tip :)
@dollarvigilante, thanks for sharing your story and for all the work you've done to wake people up!
Thanks for posting your video on YouTube. This looks amazing. Bitcoin meets facebook meets decentralization.
Yw. Assuming you are using a modern browser version, right-click the image and choose "copy image address".
I did it like this:
You just need to copy paste the tinypic url between the brackets... Done!
^ yus this
Nice picture anonymint :)
I have been watching your vids on youtube really enjoy your insights jim willy golden jackass is really good too.I like jim sinclare and greg mannarino and if you can try to share about the chinese and japan physical gold and silver exchange. i think we are about to see a real change in prices soon and the chinese people who where told to by gold and silver since 2003 by their government who now price gold and silver in yuan not in dollars . will make their people rich overnight soon !!! and they will be able to move into the ghost cities they have built since they now have money !!! and they created a middle class out of thin air via physical gold and silver.
Jeff,
It's time to return the favor ;)
Have you told Trace Mayer about Steem?
I would love to have him on-board.
Regards
I just messaged him with the link to this post. He doesn't write a lot though.
Maybe he can curate your content and make a killing doing that :)
I have no clue who you are but you seem like a BIG person even before you came here to Steemit. Most of the post about steemit, terms and bitcoins are like a super magical ride for me because I have no clue what people are talking about. Truth is, I will never get it because my brains do not work that way. BUT... I just wanted to say thank you for joining here and helping the platform grow even more. Good luck with all the new posts you will share.
I just watched your interview with @dan and @ned, and it's my most favorite Steemit interview so far! I'd like to ask you for confirmation though: are Dan and Ned really anarchists?
Dan is 100% anarcho-capitalist. Talking to him offline and reading some of this stuff on his blog, he is as ancap as they get! He was also a fan of Anarchast before I even knew about him. Ned said he has been learning everything about voluntarism from Dan in the last 6 months and considers himself one now, although he is not steeped in the philosophy or background on it as Dan is.
I came across this quote on Dan's blog and absolutely loved it, "I use Austrian Economics to engineer the economic incentives which make freedom and non-violence profitable." That is as ancap as it gets! https://bytemaster.github.io/
Excellent quote! :D Thank you for your clarification
by their fruit you will recognize them!
Wow I love the quote too.
Just read @dan's intro post.
It think trying to put labels on people is unnecessarily limiting. Action speaks louder that words.
I love how these connections are made. :) I've been posting about Steemit on Facebook for the past month. I think @sterlinluxan saw a few and got interested, though he probably heard about it from others as well. He did the work, put in the research, and started creating content to help others. Then comes @dollarvigilante and @dragonanarchist followed quickly by @larkenrose. Critical mass is being reached and, the coolest part for me, is it's being reached with really interesting people who value voluntary exchange over coercion and government rule. The future is being birthed right here, and we're all playing a part in it.
Steem on, my friends. The future is exciting.
Yes!
@dollarvigilante I think more content providers will come on board like you when they realise they can get paid directly for their content rather than having a site like Facebook or Youtube taking all their money and tossing them an occasional pittance when they feel like it.
Steemit allows creators to engage directly with their audience without a middleman standing in the way and ripping you off for your had work.
This is the future for content creation. We all hope that Steemit will succeed but even if it doesn't this model is here to stay. @ned and @dan et al have started a kind of revolution here and this momentum will not be stopped.
As happens with all disruptive technology people will initially laugh and scoff, they will call it a scam and a ponzi scheme. They will call people like you a fool for supporting it.
Then eventually when it is a success and becomes established they will go quiet or worse still they will pretend they supported it all along.
All the best - hope you continue to enjoy your Steemit journey:)
Atleast one of your predictions are accurate
You should also look into #bitshares - Dan mentions it in the interview as well.
I had the same when I learned about Bitcoin.
It happened three times more since - With #bitshares, #ethereum and #steemit .. though with steemit it took awhile, like many people in #bitshares I was initially a bit disgruntled by it due to the perception that Dan had deserted bitshares and had been working on steemit in secret instead.
If it ever takes off the ground, maidsafe will also be very, very interesting for you I am sure.
It is good to be on this platform...when I originally started I was in the mind frame that steemit is a way to just make money and that is the reason everyone of us strive to post some or the other feelings or gesture to gain attention from others. But now my views twisted. Steemit has brought me to know more about not just the money phase but to people who go through with their daily day to day motions. I read all this different articles and try to put them together and make my day go by in a positive way that tomorrow will be exciting.