At first glance, Steemit may just seem like another social networking site, until you scroll down to the bottom of the page and see the dollar signs under each post.
Every post on Steemit can be voted on by other users, with each vote representing varying amounts of Steem assets – the platform’s native currency. These digital assets are paid out to content creators every week, which can then be traded up for BTC/ETH and finally cashed out in U.S dollars, or your preferred choice of fiat.
A Home for Artists
Because of the ability to be paid directly for their work, artists have flocked to the Steemit platform, where a simple user interface allows them to upload works of art, pieces of writing and more. The platform incorporates a video upload and streaming site similar to YouTube, named DTube, allowing video creators to make money without using advertisements or crowd-funding.
The entire Steemit system runs from a standard web browser, including the JavaScript-based DTube. When you make a post on the Steemit website, you are altering the blockchain forever. Your post is recorded on the blockchain just like a currency transaction would be, and it cannot be accessed or changed by the Steemit team.
A public record of ownership
Recording posts on the blockchain opens up new possibilities for artists looking to protect their intellectual copyright. Intellectual property rights have always had an uneasy relationship with the internet. The nature of the internet is open-source and anonymous. Within that space, it can be hard to maintain control over your creations, as they are reposted, copied, edited, compressed, re-packed and downloaded by anyone with an internet connection.
With Steemit, however, ownership of the piece is registered on the blockchain from the very moment you upload it. So, in the event of a future copyright dispute, all a creator would have to do is refer the arbiter to their Steemit page.
The downside of this is that your Steemit identity will ultimately have to be tied to your real-world identity. This has to be expected to some degree since publicly recognized ownership is not really compatible with anonymity.
Where does the money come from?
Steem is the currency which is traded on exchanges and represents the market value. Within the network, Steem Dollars are used to pay content creators and are generated from loans based on the collateral of the Steemit market value. As the platform grows in value, so too do the artists who use it. Likewise, a thriving artistic community could result in real market value growth.
