cryptocracy https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/ Freelance fintech writer. Editor, publisher of Cryptocracy at https://cryptocracy.substack.com/. Published fiction writer and poet. Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:12:43 +0000 Van Living: Why My Wife and I Did the Unspeakable https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/van-living-why-my-wife-and-i-did-the-unspeakable?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ We took an old van, converted it into a camper, and hit the road. I am a freelance writer. My wife is a graphic artist. Together, we run a publishing company called Crux Publications. This is why we flew off our rockers .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DixyZSkCxUk&t=98s ]]>

We took an old van, converted it into a camper, and hit the road. I am a freelance writer. My wife is a graphic artist. Together, we run a publishing company called Crux Publications. This is why we flew off our rockers ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DixyZSkCxUk&t=98s

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/van-living-why-my-wife-and-i-did-the-unspeakable Thu, 20 May 2021 18:31:25 +0000 What My Wife and I Did in Savannah, Georgia https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/what-my-wife-and-i-did-in-savannah-georgia?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ My wife and I got rid of almost everything we own to travel the U.S. in a van while running my freelance writing business and our publishing company together. This is what happened when we got to Savannah, Georgia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVgcYhZMD30&t=99s ]]>

My wife and I got rid of almost everything we own to travel the U.S. in a van while running my freelance writing business and our publishing company together. This is what happened when we got to Savannah, Georgia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVgcYhZMD30&t=99s

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/what-my-wife-and-i-did-in-savannah-georgia Mon, 17 May 2021 19:16:18 +0000 Elon Musk Didn't Crash Bitcoin. Did He? https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/elon-musk-didnt-crash-bitcoin?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ You've likely heard by now that Tesla has backtracked on its plans to accept bitcoin as payment for its electric cars. Supposedly, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk caught wind that bitcoin is bad for climate change. Personally, I find it hard to believe that he didn't already know that. At any rate, whether he did or didn't, the bitcoin price has subsequently plummeted to below $50,000 (it's back over $50K today). Did Musk cause that to happen? Stephen Kelso, head of markets at ITI Capital said: Bitcoin is a manifestation of the value of the internet and it stands to reason that social media and the cult of celebrity has, and will continue to have, an effect on driving demand and causing short term valuation crashes. Tesla is not the first nor will it be the last Big Tech superpower to introduce cryptocurrency payment plans. It will also not be the last to back track on such plans with a resulting short term impact on crypto markets, for better or for worse. While some prognosticators, including Kelso, might consider the recent downturn in bitcoin's price to be a "crash" caused by Musk's new payment policy, I think a better way to see it is that Tesla's acceptance of bitcoin as payment in March this year artificially propped up the price of bitcoin for a longer duration than might otherwise have occurred. The interesting thing about Tesla's announcement is that the company is still vested in bitcoin with its $1.5 billion holdings, made just before announcing the company would accept BTC as payment. This signifies that Musk is still supportive of bitcoin's mission while signifying that environmentalists have a point. In other words, Tesla isn't giving up on bitcoin. The mini-crash that occurred this morning is the result of Tesla and Musk letting the air out of overinflated tires. Following the announcement, smaller fish in the bitcoin sea pulled out, causing bitcoin's price to fall further. Many of them were likely new crypto investors. Some of them might have purchased BTC for the sole purpose of buying a Tesla at some point in the future. It will be sad to see them go, but they had to do. The price was too high for too long. I'm not saying the price won't ever return to $60,000. I believe it will. But I also believe it has further to fall. It may go back up again before it falls further, or it may not. But I do believe bitcoin is headed for a real crash some time in the next few months. After that, in due time, we'll see it soar again well past its all-time high. What will be the catalyst for that event? God only knows. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Publish0x. ]]>

You've likely heard by now that Tesla has backtracked on its plans to accept bitcoin as payment for its electric cars. Supposedly, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk caught wind that bitcoin is bad for climate change. Personally, I find it hard to believe that he didn't already know that.

At any rate, whether he did or didn't, the bitcoin price has subsequently plummeted to below $50,000 (it's back over $50K today). Did Musk cause that to happen?

Stephen Kelso, head of markets at ITI Capital said:

Bitcoin is a manifestation of the value of the internet and it stands to reason that social media and the cult of celebrity has, and will continue to have, an effect on driving demand and causing short term valuation crashes. Tesla is not the first nor will it be the last Big Tech superpower to introduce cryptocurrency payment plans. It will also not be the last to back track on such plans with a resulting short term impact on crypto markets, for better or for worse.

While some prognosticators, including Kelso, might consider the recent downturn in bitcoin's price to be a “crash” caused by Musk's new payment policy, I think a better way to see it is that Tesla's acceptance of bitcoin as payment in March this year artificially propped up the price of bitcoin for a longer duration than might otherwise have occurred. The interesting thing about Tesla's announcement is that the company is still vested in bitcoin with its $1.5 billion holdings, made just before announcing the company would accept BTC as payment. This signifies that Musk is still supportive of bitcoin's mission while signifying that environmentalists have a point.

In other words, Tesla isn't giving up on bitcoin.

The mini-crash that occurred this morning is the result of Tesla and Musk letting the air out of overinflated tires. Following the announcement, smaller fish in the bitcoin sea pulled out, causing bitcoin's price to fall further. Many of them were likely new crypto investors. Some of them might have purchased BTC for the sole purpose of buying a Tesla at some point in the future. It will be sad to see them go, but they had to do. The price was too high for too long.

I'm not saying the price won't ever return to $60,000. I believe it will. But I also believe it has further to fall. It may go back up again before it falls further, or it may not. But I do believe bitcoin is headed for a real crash some time in the next few months. After that, in due time, we'll see it soar again well past its all-time high. What will be the catalyst for that event?

God only knows.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

Follow Me

➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/

➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3

➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen_taylor

➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com

➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

This post was first published at Publish0x.

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/elon-musk-didnt-crash-bitcoin Fri, 14 May 2021 14:22:14 +0000 Can You Manage Multiple Cryptosocial Media Accounts? https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/can-you-manage-multiple-cryptosocial-media-accounts?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ Since the early days of the internet, Web entrepreneurs have debated best practices and approaches to running internet businesses. These discussions have included how many websites you can manage as well as how many social media profiles you can monitor at the same time. Now that cryptosocial media has arrived, entrepreneurs will have to figure out how many cryptosocial media accounts they can manage simultaneously. First, lets’ talk about the difference between cryptosocial and traditional social media. How Is Cryptosocial Media Different Than Legacy Social Media? Social media is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. As a tool, there are various uses that are legitimate for social media. That’s true of cryptosocial media and legacy social media. For instance, here are some of the various ways people use traditional social media: [1)] Keeping in touch with friends [2)] Making new friends [3)] Professional networking [4)] Marketing a business [5)] Showcasing one’s talent [6)] Earning affiliate income [7)] Promoting events [8)] Arguing over politics [9)] Sharing ideas [10)] Assembling with likeminded people in groups That’s 10 different ways people currently use social media. With cryptosocial media, all of those ways are still valid, but there is one other way that cryptosocial media users can legitimately use the tool that users of traditional social media can’t. One can use cryptosocial media to earn cryptocurrencies by posting content to the platforms or using protocols to monetize one’s content on web properties one owns. This is an important distinction because if one is attempting to monetize all of one’s content on the Web, then one will have to make some hard choices. One of those is whether or not to continue posting to traditional social media platforms. Cryptosocial Entrepreneurs Must Make Hard Choices There are two ways of looking at social media, traditional and cryptosocial, as a tool. First, one can realize that traditional social media still has a place and can be used as a promotional tool for one’s cryptosocial content. The other way to look at it is that legacy social media can take away from your time posting to cryptosocial platforms and therefore be a distraction that causes you to lose income. I think both of these points of view are valid. If you already have large followings on traditional social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, then you can funnel that traffic to your cryptosocial platforms. By siphoning traffic from traditional social media to cryptosocial media, you could pick up extra followers, likes, and social interaction on your cryptosocial media accounts that should lead to additional crypto income. However, as small an ecosystem as cryptosocial is at this time, you should realize that this approach may not lead to many rewards in the short term. Long-term, you could build your future income using this method. If you do not have large followings on traditional social media or no presence at all, you’ll have to spend time building that following. And, yes, it is very time consuming. Your best bet is to forego that process and simply build your platform on the cryptosocial sites you plan to post your content to. How Far Can You Spread Yourself? All of us have 24 hours in a day and seven days a week. How we make use of the time we have available is very important in terms of our income earning potential. First, I would determine how you plan to use cryptosocial media. As I said earlier, all the same reasons people use traditional social media are valid for cryptosocial media. That means if you use social media for promoting a business, marketing, and other promotional activities because it’s more valuable to you to attract new clients, customers, and partners, then you can treat cryptosocial media as you treat traditional social media and simply incorporate it into your routine the same way you’d incorporate Twitter and Facebook. On the other hand, if you intent is to earn cryptocurrencies for your content, the approach should be different. Realistically, however, there’s no reason you can’t do both. Start by figuring how much time you have to dedicate to cryptosocial content production. Do you have one hour a week or one hour a day to commit to creating content for your followers? How much time you have will determine your income potential. You’ll also want to survey the different cryptosocial options and see which ones might have the best potential for your content. Some types of content does better on certain platforms. For instance, video content seems to do better at LBRY/Odysee even though the platform wants to attract other types of content. Steemit and Hive are social blogging platforms, so if your interest is in sharing cat memes and nothing but cat memes, that might not go over so well (unless your cat memes are on the level of Vincent Van Gogh and Michelangelo. Once you narrow down your options, decide which platforms you like best. I recommend prioritizing them. That way, if you find that you can add another platform to your routine without killing your back (or typing fingers), then you can add the next platform into your schedule seamlessly. You’ll need to gauge how long it takes to create your content and post it. I recommend a web-based time clock for that. There are plenty of options online for time clocks. Just Google it. I also recommend starting small. Start with one or two platforms at first and then add an additional platform once a month before you reach your peak in hourly production. If you’re doing this part-time, and most people are right now, you’ll be dedicating your personal and family time to your cryptosocial project. You want to make sure the time you spend with family doesn’t suffer. Do you have the time to create original content for every platform? If you do, great. If not, you can get away with reposting content from one platform to another. I’d recommend adding a link at the bottom of each piece to the original publication at the first platform you publish each piece of content to. It’s a courtesy to your readers and notifies the search engines about which one came first. Only one will rank in the search engines, so make sure it’s the one you’d like to see in the search results. Reposting content is a time saver, but if you have a lot of the same followers on each of the platforms you post to, you’ll be cannibalizing your results and that will hurt your rewards earning potential. These are some of the things you’ll need to think about in determining how many cryptosocial platforms you can manage at one time. If your goal is to become a full-time content entrepreneur, chart your path carefully and prudently. I hope you succeed. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter - Telegram - Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Voice. ]]>

Since the early days of the internet, Web entrepreneurs have debated best practices and approaches to running internet businesses. These discussions have included how many websites you can manage as well as how many social media profiles you can monitor at the same time. Now that cryptosocial media has arrived, entrepreneurs will have to figure out how many cryptosocial media accounts they can manage simultaneously.

First, lets’ talk about the difference between cryptosocial and traditional social media.

How Is Cryptosocial Media Different Than Legacy Social Media?

Social media is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less.

As a tool, there are various uses that are legitimate for social media. That’s true of cryptosocial media and legacy social media. For instance, here are some of the various ways people use traditional social media:

[1)] Keeping in touch with friends

[2)] Making new friends

[3)] Professional networking

[4)] Marketing a business

[5)] Showcasing one’s talent

[6)] Earning affiliate income

[7)] Promoting events

[8)] Arguing over politics

[9)] Sharing ideas

[10)] Assembling with likeminded people in groups

That’s 10 different ways people currently use social media. With cryptosocial media, all of those ways are still valid, but there is one other way that cryptosocial media users can legitimately use the tool that users of traditional social media can’t. One can use cryptosocial media to earn cryptocurrencies by posting content to the platforms or using protocols to monetize one’s content on web properties one owns.

This is an important distinction because if one is attempting to monetize all of one’s content on the Web, then one will have to make some hard choices. One of those is whether or not to continue posting to traditional social media platforms.

Cryptosocial Entrepreneurs Must Make Hard Choices

There are two ways of looking at social media, traditional and cryptosocial, as a tool. First, one can realize that traditional social media still has a place and can be used as a promotional tool for one’s cryptosocial content. The other way to look at it is that legacy social media can take away from your time posting to cryptosocial platforms and therefore be a distraction that causes you to lose income.

I think both of these points of view are valid.

If you already have large followings on traditional social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, then you can funnel that traffic to your cryptosocial platforms. By siphoning traffic from traditional social media to cryptosocial media, you could pick up extra followers, likes, and social interaction on your cryptosocial media accounts that should lead to additional crypto income. However, as small an ecosystem as cryptosocial is at this time, you should realize that this approach may not lead to many rewards in the short term. Long-term, you could build your future income using this method.

If you do not have large followings on traditional social media or no presence at all, you’ll have to spend time building that following. And, yes, it is very time consuming. Your best bet is to forego that process and simply build your platform on the cryptosocial sites you plan to post your content to.

How Far Can You Spread Yourself?

All of us have 24 hours in a day and seven days a week. How we make use of the time we have available is very important in terms of our income earning potential. First, I would determine how you plan to use cryptosocial media.

As I said earlier, all the same reasons people use traditional social media are valid for cryptosocial media. That means if you use social media for promoting a business, marketing, and other promotional activities because it’s more valuable to you to attract new clients, customers, and partners, then you can treat cryptosocial media as you treat traditional social media and simply incorporate it into your routine the same way you’d incorporate Twitter and Facebook.

On the other hand, if you intent is to earn cryptocurrencies for your content, the approach should be different. Realistically, however, there’s no reason you can’t do both.

Start by figuring how much time you have to dedicate to cryptosocial content production. Do you have one hour a week or one hour a day to commit to creating content for your followers? How much time you have will determine your income potential.

You’ll also want to survey the different cryptosocial options and see which ones might have the best potential for your content. Some types of content does better on certain platforms. For instance, video content seems to do better at LBRY/Odysee even though the platform wants to attract other types of content. Steemit and Hive are social blogging platforms, so if your interest is in sharing cat memes and nothing but cat memes, that might not go over so well (unless your cat memes are on the level of Vincent Van Gogh and Michelangelo.

Once you narrow down your options, decide which platforms you like best. I recommend prioritizing them. That way, if you find that you can add another platform to your routine without killing your back (or typing fingers), then you can add the next platform into your schedule seamlessly.

You’ll need to gauge how long it takes to create your content and post it. I recommend a web-based time clock for that. There are plenty of options online for time clocks. Just Google it.

I also recommend starting small. Start with one or two platforms at first and then add an additional platform once a month before you reach your peak in hourly production. If you’re doing this part-time, and most people are right now, you’ll be dedicating your personal and family time to your cryptosocial project. You want to make sure the time you spend with family doesn’t suffer.

Do you have the time to create original content for every platform? If you do, great. If not, you can get away with reposting content from one platform to another. I’d recommend adding a link at the bottom of each piece to the original publication at the first platform you publish each piece of content to. It’s a courtesy to your readers and notifies the search engines about which one came first. Only one will rank in the search engines, so make sure it’s the one you’d like to see in the search results.

Reposting content is a time saver, but if you have a lot of the same followers on each of the platforms you post to, you’ll be cannibalizing your results and that will hurt your rewards earning potential.

These are some of the things you’ll need to think about in determining how many cryptosocial platforms you can manage at one time. If your goal is to become a full-time content entrepreneur, chart your path carefully and prudently. I hope you succeed.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

Follow Our Socials – Twitter – Telegram – Instagram

Follow Me

➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/

➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3

➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen_taylor

➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com

➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

This post was first published at Voice.

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/can-you-manage-multiple-cryptosocial-media-accounts Fri, 30 Apr 2021 17:58:24 +0000 Is Hive Sweet as Honey, Or Dreaming? https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/is-hive-sweet-as-honey-or-dreaming?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ Early in 2020, Steemit Inc. and the TRON Foundation announced a partnership that was supposed to lead to Steemit and other Dapps (decentralized apps) on the Steem blockchain integrating into the Tron blockchain. That was supposed to be a good thing. What happened next, however, shocked the entire blockchain community. Many of the problems that had plagued Steemit until then finally came to a fore. The chickens came home to roost. When the bear market hit in 2018, Steemit subsequently laid off 70 percent of its staff. This didn’t sit well with the Steemit community and some infighting ensued. One year later, Steemit still hadn’t pulled itself out of the financial hole it was in. The CEO of Steemit Inc. began looking for a buyer and found one in Justin Sun, CEO of TRON. Some media outlets called it a hostile takeover. The sell upset many members of the Steemit community, particularly the witnesses, who subsequently soft-forked the chain to prevent Sun from using his stake with undue influence. One particular point of concern was STEEM held in a Steemit Inc. account and earmarked for development purposes. In return, Sun installed his own top 20 witnesses. That did it. Essentially, every top 20 witness and several of the top Dapps, including block explorers, defected, creating a hard fork that became Hive. What Is Hive? Initially, the Hive token outperformed STEEM. That was short lived. By January 26, 2021, Hive had fallen to 0.1414 while STEEM was at .1809. When Hive forked from Steemit, the platform matched the majority of Steemit users’ STEEM holdings one for one. If a user had 1,000 STEEM, they also had 1,000 Hive. The platforms operate independently and Hive is its own blockchain. It has its own witnesses. On the pavement level, there is very little difference between the two platforms. However, the bidbots have disappeared, even from Steemit. One reason for that is that many of the bidbots on Steemit were owned by some of the witnesses who defected to create Hive. Today, Hive is a thriving community of committed loyalists. Hive’s home page describes the platform as “The Blockchain for Web 3.0.” But what does that mean? In developers’ own words, the Hive blockchain has three primary benefits: 1) It’s fast, with transactions taking place in less than three seconds; 2) Scalable; 3) And powerful. Interestingly, as proof of its power, Hive’s web copy says the platform has been “Battle-tested for 4 years by hundreds of apps, communities & projects around the world.” Of course, that “4 years” is in reference to when Hive was a part of Steemit. In essence, this messaging is a confirmation that Hive is essentially a Steemit clone. It operates much like Steemit does. That doesn’t mean that Hive has all of the same downsides and problems associated with Steemit. For one thing, the site is much more attractive than Steemit ever was. Kudos to the design team. What’s far more important is the functionality. How Hive Functions In the spirit of transparency, I have not used Hive. My account is inaccessible due to my having lost my keys, to both Hive and Steemit, after the fork occurred and before I ever made use of my Hive account. Based on feedback I’ve received from some Hive users, Hive is somewhat better than Steemit, but there are similarities as well as a few differences. Being forked from Steemit, Hive is built on the delegated proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. That means its governance is very similar to Steemit’s. Just like Steemit, the Hive blockchain uses resource credits to empower users to interact on the blockchain. Instead of fees, like many blockchains use, users spend their resource credits each time they make a post, comment on other users’ posts, upvote content, and transact on the blockchain in other ways. However, those resource credits are based on Hive Power, which one earns by using the blockchain, and the replenish at 20 percent every 24 hours. As a result, new users are at a distinct disadvantage. After reading through the Hive whitepaper, the operation of the blockchain is very much like the operation of Steemit. A review of the top witnesses also shows that many of them were the top witnesses at Steemit before the hard fork. Where Steemit issued STEEM and allowed users to convert STEEM to Steem Power, Hive issues Hive and allows users to convert it to Hive Power. Hive’s stablecoin, Hive Dollars (HBD), is the equivalent of Steemit’s Steem Dollars. Despite several similarities, there are some differences between Hive and Steemit. For one thing, HBD market cap can’t be more than 10 percent of Hive market cap. Users holding HBD in their accounts can also earn 3 percent interest on it. That’s a huge benefit, in my opinion. Hive also has a robust ecosystem of dapps that operate on the blockchain. Many of them migrated from the Steem blockchain with the hard fork. Dapps include Splinterlands, Peakd, 3Speak, D.buzz, DLease, LeoFinance, NFTMart, and more. Would I Recommend Using Hive? Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I have no problem recommending Hive. As long as witnesses can control the usage of bots and prevent them from contaminating the rewards pool, Hive should thrive and be a great place to earn rewards for your content. Access to Splinterlands alone is a benefit to anyone into gaming. A look at other dapps currently on the blockchain should indicate more value. I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on Hive’s future development. If you are a current Hive user and would like to help me onboard, I’m considering an alternative account and starting over. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter- Telegram \- Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Voice. ]]>

Early in 2020, Steemit Inc. and the TRON Foundation announced a partnership that was supposed to lead to Steemit and other Dapps (decentralized apps) on the Steem blockchain integrating into the Tron blockchain. That was supposed to be a good thing. What happened next, however, shocked the entire blockchain community.

Many of the problems that had plagued Steemit until then finally came to a fore. The chickens came home to roost.

When the bear market hit in 2018, Steemit subsequently laid off 70 percent of its staff. This didn’t sit well with the Steemit community and some infighting ensued. One year later, Steemit still hadn’t pulled itself out of the financial hole it was in. The CEO of Steemit Inc. began looking for a buyer and found one in Justin Sun, CEO of TRON. Some media outlets called it a hostile takeover.

The sell upset many members of the Steemit community, particularly the witnesses, who subsequently soft-forked the chain to prevent Sun from using his stake with undue influence. One particular point of concern was STEEM held in a Steemit Inc. account and earmarked for development purposes. In return, Sun installed his own top 20 witnesses.

That did it.

Essentially, every top 20 witness and several of the top Dapps, including block explorers, defected, creating a hard fork that became Hive.

What Is Hive?

Initially, the Hive token outperformed STEEM. That was short lived. By January 26, 2021, Hive had fallen to 0.1414 while STEEM was at .1809.

When Hive forked from Steemit, the platform matched the majority of Steemit users’ STEEM holdings one for one. If a user had 1,000 STEEM, they also had 1,000 Hive.

The platforms operate independently and Hive is its own blockchain. It has its own witnesses. On the pavement level, there is very little difference between the two platforms. However, the bidbots have disappeared, even from Steemit. One reason for that is that many of the bidbots on Steemit were owned by some of the witnesses who defected to create Hive. Today, Hive is a thriving community of committed loyalists.

Hive’s home page describes the platform as “The Blockchain for Web 3.0.” But what does that mean?

In developers’ own words, the Hive blockchain has three primary benefits:

1) It’s fast, with transactions taking place in less than three seconds;

2) Scalable;

3) And powerful.

Interestingly, as proof of its power, Hive’s web copy says the platform has been “Battle-tested for 4 years by hundreds of apps, communities & projects around the world.” Of course, that “4 years” is in reference to when Hive was a part of Steemit. In essence, this messaging is a confirmation that Hive is essentially a Steemit clone. It operates much like Steemit does.

That doesn’t mean that Hive has all of the same downsides and problems associated with Steemit. For one thing, the site is much more attractive than Steemit ever was. Kudos to the design team. What’s far more important is the functionality.

How Hive Functions

In the spirit of transparency, I have not used Hive. My account is inaccessible due to my having lost my keys, to both Hive and Steemit, after the fork occurred and before I ever made use of my Hive account. Based on feedback I’ve received from some Hive users, Hive is somewhat better than Steemit, but there are similarities as well as a few differences.

Being forked from Steemit, Hive is built on the delegated proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. That means its governance is very similar to Steemit’s.

Just like Steemit, the Hive blockchain uses resource credits to empower users to interact on the blockchain. Instead of fees, like many blockchains use, users spend their resource credits each time they make a post, comment on other users’ posts, upvote content, and transact on the blockchain in other ways. However, those resource credits are based on Hive Power, which one earns by using the blockchain, and the replenish at 20 percent every 24 hours. As a result, new users are at a distinct disadvantage.

After reading through the Hive whitepaper, the operation of the blockchain is very much like the operation of Steemit. A review of the top witnesses also shows that many of them were the top witnesses at Steemit before the hard fork. Where Steemit issued STEEM and allowed users to convert STEEM to Steem Power, Hive issues Hive and allows users to convert it to Hive Power. Hive’s stablecoin, Hive Dollars (HBD), is the equivalent of Steemit’s Steem Dollars.

Despite several similarities, there are some differences between Hive and Steemit. For one thing, HBD market cap can’t be more than 10 percent of Hive market cap. Users holding HBD in their accounts can also earn 3 percent interest on it. That’s a huge benefit, in my opinion.

Hive also has a robust ecosystem of dapps that operate on the blockchain. Many of them migrated from the Steem blockchain with the hard fork. Dapps include Splinterlands, Peakd, 3Speak, D.buzz, DLease, LeoFinance, NFTMart, and more.

Would I Recommend Using Hive?

Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I have no problem recommending Hive. As long as witnesses can control the usage of bots and prevent them from contaminating the rewards pool, Hive should thrive and be a great place to earn rewards for your content. Access to Splinterlands alone is a benefit to anyone into gaming. A look at other dapps currently on the blockchain should indicate more value. I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on Hive’s future development. If you are a current Hive user and would like to help me onboard, I’m considering an alternative account and starting over.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

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]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/is-hive-sweet-as-honey-or-dreaming Wed, 28 Apr 2021 11:07:00 +0000 Will Odysee Or YouNow Overthrow YouTube? https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/will-odysee-or-younow-overthrow-youtube?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ YouTube is one of the most popular websites of all time. According to Alexa statistics, it is #2 globally in terms of audience engagement. Users spend an average of 18:28 on the website daily. But not everyone is a YouTube fan, and among those who are, many of them do not post their videos to YouTube alone. Two up-and-coming video sharing sites promise to pay users in cryptocurrency for uploading and engaging with videos. What is YouNow? The PROPS Project is notable for a few good reasons. First, it hosts one of the best YouTube alternatives I’ve seen. Secondly, it serves as an ecosystem of next-generation loyalty programs. The whitepaper refers to it as a “tokenized digital media economy.” What’s interesting about the PROPS Project is that it is a sidechain of the Ethereum blockchain. That gives users the ability to interact on the Ethereum blockchain from the PROPS Network, which is an open-source network allowing developers the ability to build apps on the blockchain. The first app built was YouNow, the PROPS alternative to YouTube. YouNow allows users to upload their videos, engage with the videos of others, and video chat with each other through the app. Users earn PROPS tokens by creating digital content through the network apps and interacting with others’ content. PROPS tokens allow users to upvote and recommend content created by other users. Users can also tip each other through the network protocol. Tokens allow users to transfer their reputation from one PROPS app to another on the network. Network validators can stake their tokens and earn additional rewards. YouNow allows users to monetize their own content. Among the platform’s many investors is Philip DeFranco, host of the popular YouTube channel The Philip DeFranco Show, which has 6.33 million subscribers. In 2016, YouTube received a backlash of complaints from several high-profile vloggers, including DeFranco, when it instituted a demonetization program on videos with what advertisers considered objectionable content. Many YouTubers left the platform over it. DeFranco stayed, but he objected to the policy. That’s when he took an interest in the PROPS Project. YouNow users spend an average of 11:33 on the website daily. For obvious reasons, DeFranco isn’t as popular on YouNow as he is on YouTube, but he does have over 100,000 fans, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. YouNow rewards users with achievements as they earn tokens for their actions on the platform. What is LBRY/Odysee? LBRY/Odysee is another YouTube alternative, but it’s a bit more. They call themselves a “digital content” ecosystem. While their specs say books, movies, music, and other digital content, it’s mostly videos. LBRY started as a downloadable desktop app, but the app has been discontinued. Its web-based video sharing platform was LBRY.tv until Odysee rolled out last year. Fully supported, Odysee is the browser-based video sharing platform today. One of the unique aspects of LBRY/Odysee is that YouTubers can sync their YouTube content to LBRY/Odysee automatically. By publishing to LBRY/Odysee, creators can earn the LBRY cryptocurrency, LBC, when users view their content. What’s more, users can post to LBRY/Odysee first and receive more rewards for doing so even while their LBRY content is posted to YouTube directly from LBRY/Odysee. That’s a nice incentive, but it’s safe to say that most content creators will get more views on YouTube. Something else I think is interesting is that LBRY calls itself a decentralized protocol with a centralized organization. In other words, its technology is decentralized, but it’s under the control of a centralized community-owned non-profit organization. LBRY is built on its own blockchain. Users spend an average of 6:29 on the website daily, though Odysee.com is ranked much higher in Alexa’s rankings than YouNow. A search for Philip DeFranco at Odysee.com shows mostly criticism of DeFranco. There was one profile for the YouTube celebrity, but it’s likely a fake account as it has only one upload and a generic avatar as opposed to DeFranco’s image that you see on all of his other social accounts. YouNow or Odysee: Which Will Kill YouTube? Personally, I don’t see YouTube being defeated any time soon. However, there is clearly a market for decentralized video sharing that allows video content creators the ability to earn cryptocurrencies for their content. Both YouNow (Props Project) and LBRY/Odysee have their pros and cons. LBRY/Odysee has the advantage where syncing a content creator’s YouTube channel is concerned. I also think the platform is slightly more attractive. YouNow has the advantage of at least one YouTube star endorsing it. Philip DeFranco has been a longtime supporter of bitcoin and ether, which might be why he endorses the PROPS Project since it is an Ethereum project. The fact that YouNow and PROPS is a sidechain of Ethereum is also a big plus. That means tokens can be more easily swapped with other ERC-20 tokens, a big plus if you do a lot of trading. Having its own blockchain is not necessarily an advantage for LBRY/Odysee since it also means the tech team is responsible for maintaining and updating both the blockchain software and the platform. Being in control of the blockchain means some development time must be spent keeping the blockchain updated, which will take away from time spent maintaining the platform. On the other hand, if the value of LBRY can gain traction, that would be a long-term advantage. Of course, PROPS Project being a sidechain of Ethereum means developers are also maintaining a blockchain. However, YouNow is an application on top of the blockchain. That could make a world of difference in development time. LBRY’s token is ranked #405 in market cap at CoinMarketCap while PROPS is ranked #773. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter - Telegram - Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us ]]>

YouTube is one of the most popular websites of all time. According to Alexa statistics, it is #2 globally in terms of audience engagement. Users spend an average of 18:28 on the website daily. But not everyone is a YouTube fan, and among those who are, many of them do not post their videos to YouTube alone. Two up-and-coming video sharing sites promise to pay users in cryptocurrency for uploading and engaging with videos.

What is YouNow?

The PROPS Project is notable for a few good reasons. First, it hosts one of the best YouTube alternatives I’ve seen. Secondly, it serves as an ecosystem of next-generation loyalty programs. The whitepaper refers to it as a “tokenized digital media economy.”

What’s interesting about the PROPS Project is that it is a sidechain of the Ethereum blockchain. That gives users the ability to interact on the Ethereum blockchain from the PROPS Network, which is an open-source network allowing developers the ability to build apps on the blockchain. The first app built was YouNow, the PROPS alternative to YouTube.

YouNow allows users to upload their videos, engage with the videos of others, and video chat with each other through the app.

Users earn PROPS tokens by creating digital content through the network apps and interacting with others’ content. PROPS tokens allow users to upvote and recommend content created by other users. Users can also tip each other through the network protocol. Tokens allow users to transfer their reputation from one PROPS app to another on the network. Network validators can stake their tokens and earn additional rewards.

YouNow allows users to monetize their own content.

Among the platform’s many investors is Philip DeFranco, host of the popular YouTube channel The Philip DeFranco Show, which has 6.33 million subscribers. In 2016, YouTube received a backlash of complaints from several high-profile vloggers, including DeFranco, when it instituted a demonetization program on videos with what advertisers considered objectionable content. Many YouTubers left the platform over it. DeFranco stayed, but he objected to the policy. That’s when he took an interest in the PROPS Project.

YouNow users spend an average of 11:33 on the website daily. For obvious reasons, DeFranco isn’t as popular on YouNow as he is on YouTube, but he does have over 100,000 fans, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. YouNow rewards users with achievements as they earn tokens for their actions on the platform.

What is LBRY/Odysee?

LBRY/Odysee is another YouTube alternative, but it’s a bit more. They call themselves a “digital content” ecosystem. While their specs say books, movies, music, and other digital content, it’s mostly videos.

LBRY started as a downloadable desktop app, but the app has been discontinued. Its web-based video sharing platform was LBRY.tv until Odysee rolled out last year. Fully supported, Odysee is the browser-based video sharing platform today.

One of the unique aspects of LBRY/Odysee is that YouTubers can sync their YouTube content to LBRY/Odysee automatically. By publishing to LBRY/Odysee, creators can earn the LBRY cryptocurrency, LBC, when users view their content. What’s more, users can post to LBRY/Odysee first and receive more rewards for doing so even while their LBRY content is posted to YouTube directly from LBRY/Odysee. That’s a nice incentive, but it’s safe to say that most content creators will get more views on YouTube.

Something else I think is interesting is that LBRY calls itself a decentralized protocol with a centralized organization. In other words, its technology is decentralized, but it’s under the control of a centralized community-owned non-profit organization.

LBRY is built on its own blockchain. Users spend an average of 6:29 on the website daily, though Odysee.com is ranked much higher in Alexa’s rankings than YouNow.

A search for Philip DeFranco at Odysee.com shows mostly criticism of DeFranco. There was one profile for the YouTube celebrity, but it’s likely a fake account as it has only one upload and a generic avatar as opposed to DeFranco’s image that you see on all of his other social accounts.

YouNow or Odysee: Which Will Kill YouTube?

Personally, I don’t see YouTube being defeated any time soon. However, there is clearly a market for decentralized video sharing that allows video content creators the ability to earn cryptocurrencies for their content. Both YouNow (Props Project) and LBRY/Odysee have their pros and cons.

LBRY/Odysee has the advantage where syncing a content creator’s YouTube channel is concerned. I also think the platform is slightly more attractive.

YouNow has the advantage of at least one YouTube star endorsing it. Philip DeFranco has been a longtime supporter of bitcoin and ether, which might be why he endorses the PROPS Project since it is an Ethereum project. The fact that YouNow and PROPS is a sidechain of Ethereum is also a big plus. That means tokens can be more easily swapped with other ERC-20 tokens, a big plus if you do a lot of trading.

Having its own blockchain is not necessarily an advantage for LBRY/Odysee since it also means the tech team is responsible for maintaining and updating both the blockchain software and the platform. Being in control of the blockchain means some development time must be spent keeping the blockchain updated, which will take away from time spent maintaining the platform. On the other hand, if the value of LBRY can gain traction, that would be a long-term advantage.

Of course, PROPS Project being a sidechain of Ethereum means developers are also maintaining a blockchain. However, YouNow is an application on top of the blockchain. That could make a world of difference in development time.

LBRY’s token is ranked #405 in market cap at CoinMarketCap while PROPS is ranked #773.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

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➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/will-odysee-or-younow-overthrow-youtube Mon, 26 Apr 2021 12:54:11 +0000 Is It Time to Join Trybe? https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/is-it-time-to-join-trybe?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ Trybe is one of the multitudes of up-and-coming cryptosocial platforms. As far as I know, it was the first cryptosocial platform built on the EOS blockchain. Users can follow other platform users, much like on Facebook and other social networks as well as post their content on the platform to be enjoyed by others. On Trybe, while the networking part is more native than on Steemit, the content is much more formal. Out of the gate, Trybe wanted articles only about cryptocurrency, which was limiting to anyone hellbent on sharing cat memes. There is much greater diversity in content now, however, though you won't see many cat memes. Another feature that makes Trybe feel more social is a direct messaging system. Trybe users can actually send messages to each other through the platform without having a pay a fee. Trybe was initially built on WordPress. Being open source, WordPress is notorious for being a popular target for hackers. In fact, early on in Trybe’s life, I tried accessing the site once only to be denied because it had been taken down. All my tokens were still in my wallet so it was an inconvenience more than anything. I've seen no evidence that any users have lost tokens due to Trybe's website being hacked, and the platform has since moved off of WordPress. How Trybe's Tokenized Economy Works Trybe members can not withdraw Trybe tokens until they have at least 5,000 in their account, and the maximum withdrawal amount per day is 10,000 tokens. The minimum is 500. The process could take up to 24 hours. This is a good thing because it ensures that someone with thousands of tokens can't take them all out at once and crash the economy, though I think a staking strategy would be better. One of the requirements for removing TRYBE tokens earned on the platform is that users have to have an EOS account. One doesn’t need an EOS account in order to set up a Trybe account and use Trybe, but if you intend to cash out your tokens (i.e. take the money and run), then an EOS account is essential. The platform does have measures in place to encourage keeping tokens on the platform, and to encourage users to remain active. For instance, there’s a weekly payout bonus to Trybe users who follow the weekly engagement rules. The bonus is based on a ranking system where higher ranking users get higher bonuses. One’s rank is based on one’s total activity on the platform. Members can Power Up to increase their rank, but to do so they must wait for an admin to approve their power-up request. Also, you’ll need a wallet that supports EOS tokens. At one time, users could stake TRYBE tokens to receive bonuses and airdrops. An airdrop is a free token distribution some platforms use as an incentive to encourage user activity or other actions. Trybe now sends users to Staker.one, a cross-chain platform where users can earn additional tokens through staking. What Else You Need to Know About Trybe There isn’t much that is complicated about Trybe, but in order to make the maximum and best use of it, you’ll need an EOS account and a crypto wallet. EOS charges a little more than $4.00 in cryptocurrency just to create an account or a little more than $6.00 if you use a credit card. Users are then encouraged to buy RAM to use the blockchain. If you just want to play around on Trybe and not actually interact with the EOS blockchain in other ways, then you don’t need to buy RAM. This is a barrier to entry that almost all of the blockchains have to get over. Most people, especially older people who have spent the last 30 years playing around on the internet, expect things to work when they show up. The people at Lynx understand that and they’ve built a wallet that pays for new users’ EOS accounts. One interesting thing about Trybe is, inside each account holder’s dashboard, there is a page that lists DeFi projects. If you’re interested in staking and earning additional cryptocurrencies from the coins and tokens you hold, Trybe will help you find projects that allow you to do that. The list is currently very limited, but they update it monthly. Trybe also has a leaderboard. It shows who the top-ranking Trybers are based on TRYBE holdings, number of new articles published weekly, and top engagers on the platform. Trybe is much more attractive than Steemit, but it’s not the most attractive cryptosocial platform I’ve seen. Users create articles that are “educational or informational” and other users can interact with those articles by voting and commenting on them. It’s pretty cut and dry. While I’ve enjoyed the limited time I’ve spent on Trybe, I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite platform. It’s very simple, and that’s a good thing, but new developments come slowly. The publishing interface is also persnickety, meaning it doesn’t publish quickly and may even malfunction. Trybe could also make using it more intuitive. On the bright side, the Trybe team seems responsive and interested in making the platform a desirable place to post your content. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter- Telegram- Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us ]]>

Trybe is one of the multitudes of up-and-coming cryptosocial platforms. As far as I know, it was the first cryptosocial platform built on the EOS blockchain.

Users can follow other platform users, much like on Facebook and other social networks as well as post their content on the platform to be enjoyed by others. On Trybe, while the networking part is more native than on Steemit, the content is much more formal. Out of the gate, Trybe wanted articles only about cryptocurrency, which was limiting to anyone hellbent on sharing cat memes. There is much greater diversity in content now, however, though you won't see many cat memes.

Another feature that makes Trybe feel more social is a direct messaging system. Trybe users can actually send messages to each other through the platform without having a pay a fee.

Trybe was initially built on WordPress. Being open source, WordPress is notorious for being a popular target for hackers. In fact, early on in Trybe’s life, I tried accessing the site once only to be denied because it had been taken down. All my tokens were still in my wallet so it was an inconvenience more than anything. I've seen no evidence that any users have lost tokens due to Trybe's website being hacked, and the platform has since moved off of WordPress.

How Trybe's Tokenized Economy Works

Trybe members can not withdraw Trybe tokens until they have at least 5,000 in their account, and the maximum withdrawal amount per day is 10,000 tokens. The minimum is 500. The process could take up to 24 hours. This is a good thing because it ensures that someone with thousands of tokens can't take them all out at once and crash the economy, though I think a staking strategy would be better.

One of the requirements for removing TRYBE tokens earned on the platform is that users have to have an EOS account. One doesn’t need an EOS account in order to set up a Trybe account and use Trybe, but if you intend to cash out your tokens (i.e. take the money and run), then an EOS account is essential.

The platform does have measures in place to encourage keeping tokens on the platform, and to encourage users to remain active. For instance, there’s a weekly payout bonus to Trybe users who follow the weekly engagement rules. The bonus is based on a ranking system where higher ranking users get higher bonuses. One’s rank is based on one’s total activity on the platform.

Members can Power Up to increase their rank, but to do so they must wait for an admin to approve their power-up request. Also, you’ll need a wallet that supports EOS tokens.

At one time, users could stake TRYBE tokens to receive bonuses and airdrops. An airdrop is a free token distribution some platforms use as an incentive to encourage user activity or other actions. Trybe now sends users to Staker.one, a cross-chain platform where users can earn additional tokens through staking.

What Else You Need to Know About Trybe

There isn’t much that is complicated about Trybe, but in order to make the maximum and best use of it, you’ll need an EOS account and a crypto wallet. EOS charges a little more than $4.00 in cryptocurrency just to create an account or a little more than $6.00 if you use a credit card. Users are then encouraged to buy RAM to use the blockchain. If you just want to play around on Trybe and not actually interact with the EOS blockchain in other ways, then you don’t need to buy RAM. This is a barrier to entry that almost all of the blockchains have to get over.

Most people, especially older people who have spent the last 30 years playing around on the internet, expect things to work when they show up. The people at Lynx understand that and they’ve built a wallet that pays for new users’ EOS accounts.

One interesting thing about Trybe is, inside each account holder’s dashboard, there is a page that lists DeFi projects. If you’re interested in staking and earning additional cryptocurrencies from the coins and tokens you hold, Trybe will help you find projects that allow you to do that. The list is currently very limited, but they update it monthly.

Trybe also has a leaderboard. It shows who the top-ranking Trybers are based on TRYBE holdings, number of new articles published weekly, and top engagers on the platform.

Trybe is much more attractive than Steemit, but it’s not the most attractive cryptosocial platform I’ve seen. Users create articles that are “educational or informational” and other users can interact with those articles by voting and commenting on them. It’s pretty cut and dry.

While I’ve enjoyed the limited time I’ve spent on Trybe, I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite platform. It’s very simple, and that’s a good thing, but new developments come slowly. The publishing interface is also persnickety, meaning it doesn’t publish quickly and may even malfunction. Trybe could also make using it more intuitive. On the bright side, the Trybe team seems responsive and interested in making the platform a desirable place to post your content.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

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➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/is-it-time-to-join-trybe Mon, 19 Apr 2021 14:00:41 +0000 Why Steemit's Bidbots Still Piss Me Off (And I Don't Post There Any More) https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/why-steemits-bidbots-still-piss-me-off-and-i-dont-post-there-any-more?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Steemit will always be important to the cryptosocial sphere for one important reason: It was the first to market with a native cryptocurrency and the first cryptosocial platform to see its cryptocurrency, STEEM, rise to within the top 10 by market capitalization among all cryptocurrencies. Granted, the volatile nature of the crypto market makes that last achievement somewhat trivial, but it would be a mistake to trivialize the path that Steemit has paved for future cryptosocial platforms. Launched March 2016, Steemit is based on the principle that user-generated content on social media websites should be compensated. Unfortunately, many users learned how to take Steemit’s greatest strength and turn it into a corrupt system of greed, much like junk bond salesmen do with the Wall Street capitalism. STEEM has since fallen below the top 100 and will likely never see a return to market cap rank double digits. What Is Steemit's Greatest Strength? According to Wired Magazine, by October 2017, the site had paid out $30 million in STEEM to 50,000 users. That’s an average of $600 per user. But most Steemit users haven’t earned anywhere near that. The same Wired article mentions one user who earned $41,000 in a few months. An honest assessment of Steemit must point out that the success of first-generation users was due in large part to the bull run that saw bitcoin rise from under $1,000 in January 2017 to over $20,000 eleven months later. The bitcoin bull market took the entire crypto market with it, including STEEM, which ended the year at $3.01, up from $0.1612. Steemit’s compensation scheme is so complex one almost needs an advance degree in math to understand it. Bloggers post their content and voters upvote or downvote weighted partly by their Steem Power (the higher the SP the more one’s vote is worth) and partly on personal preference (although, this option is not available to new users). After seven days, based on the number and weight of votes, content posters and upvoters receive a percentage of rewards in the form of STEEM and Steem Dollars, the platform’s native “stablecoin.” Steem Dollars were supposed to counterbalance the volatility of STEEM, but it didn’t work perfectly. The idea behind SP was to stake one’s STEEM and keep it on the platform to strengthen the economy. If a user wants to cash out SP, they undergo a 13-week process called “powering down,” which transfers the SP back into liquid STEEM. The user can then convert STEEM into bitcoin or another cryptocurrency at a cryptocurrency exchange through a multi-step process. But that isn’t Steemit’s great strength. While users have an opportunity to earn value for their content, what sets Steemit apart from Facebook, Twitter, and the countless other centralized social media platforms is its underlying nature. Being a blockchain, anyone can build their own application on top of it. And many an enterprising Steemian did just that. In fact, many of the user-created applications (called dapps, or decentralized apps) worked better than the Steemit interface for posting content. And other dapps simply served a useful purpose. But there was one application that was particularly annoying and which served only to undermine the basic premise of Steemit--that users could earn cryptocurrency based on the quality of their content. How Bidbots Destroyed Steemit When I joined Steemit in March 2018, STEEM was at $1.83 and was No. 29 in the market cap standings. I also noted that its trending posts page was full of crap with very high earnings, but I didn’t know why that was the case at the time. I jumped into Steemit and started posting, and quickly learned how to promote my posts so that they earned a modest payout in an environment of declining STEEM value. Steemit’s platform has a lousy user interface (UI), even today. Posting is clunky and non-intuitive. As noted earlier, most of the alternative posting dapps worked better than the native posting UI. Because Steemit had no native networking tools at the time, users set up Discord communities for the actual networking. I found this to be rather disconcerting, although I did manage to find a few communities that were worth my time and which allowed me to build my following. That allowed my earnings to increase over time even though the value of those earnings steadily declined. An autovoting app allowed platform users to automatically upvote other users’ posts, which was efficient, but it meant that many of the upvotes I received for my posts weren’t read by the parties upvoting them (and I’ll admit that I also upvoted many posts I didn’t read). One could argue that the autovote dapp was unethical, but, if used correctly, it was a handy tool. I made sure I could trust a person’s content before I added them to my auto-upvote list, but I’m sure many Steemians simply autoupvoted posts for the earnings they’d receive. Far more deleterious were the bidbots. Bidbots are computer programs that facilitate payment for upvotes. Steemians would place bids for the privilege of receiving an upvote. The person with the highest bidder would designate which post they wanted upvoted by the bot and the bot would visit their post at the appointed time and upvote it. This, in turn, resulted in autoupvotes by other users who followed that bot. Many users learned to use several bidbots simultaneously to drive up the number and value of their upvotes into the hundreds of dollars when their posts likely would have received no more than a handful of upvotes organically. The net result was STEEM and SBD diverted from users with higher quality content to users with lower quality content, which essentially undermined the entire premise of the platform. There was a risk in using bodbots to upvote one’s content. If you overbid, you’d actually lose money. But if you bid just right, not only would you profit from the bidbot’s upvote, but the upvote was followed by the upvotes of other Steemians following the bidbot. It was a terrible racket and several alternative cryptosocial platforms have launched since for the sole purpose of excluding bots. What Will Be Steemit’s Legacy? Steemit fell apart in early 2020 when Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, bought the platform. Some of the witnesses blocked Sun’s access to company-staked STEEM. Sun, in return, installed his own witnesses. Not long after, the Steem blockchain forked and many high-profile witnesses created Hive as an alternative offering many Steemians Hive tokens equal to the amount of STEEM in their accounts. Overall, what made Steemit a great place to blog was other Steemians. I made a few friends on the platform and will forever be grateful for the time I spent there. While I earned a modest return on my investment in time, the amount of time I spent on the platform far outweighed the value received. Still, I think Steemit will go down in history as paving a path to a whole new way of thinking about content posting on social media websites. People will be talking about Steemit for decades. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter- Telegram- Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Voice. ]]> Steemit will always be important to the cryptosocial sphere for one important reason: It was the first to market with a native cryptocurrency and the first cryptosocial platform to see its cryptocurrency, STEEM, rise to within the top 10 by market capitalization among all cryptocurrencies. Granted, the volatile nature of the crypto market makes that last achievement somewhat trivial, but it would be a mistake to trivialize the path that Steemit has paved for future cryptosocial platforms.

Launched March 2016, Steemit is based on the principle that user-generated content on social media websites should be compensated. Unfortunately, many users learned how to take Steemit’s greatest strength and turn it into a corrupt system of greed, much like junk bond salesmen do with the Wall Street capitalism.

STEEM has since fallen below the top 100 and will likely never see a return to market cap rank double digits.

What Is Steemit's Greatest Strength?

According to Wired Magazine, by October 2017, the site had paid out $30 million in STEEM to 50,000 users. That’s an average of $600 per user. But most Steemit users haven’t earned anywhere near that. The same Wired article mentions one user who earned $41,000 in a few months.

An honest assessment of Steemit must point out that the success of first-generation users was due in large part to the bull run that saw bitcoin rise from under $1,000 in January 2017 to over $20,000 eleven months later.

The bitcoin bull market took the entire crypto market with it, including STEEM, which ended the year at $3.01, up from $0.1612.

Steemit’s compensation scheme is so complex one almost needs an advance degree in math to understand it. Bloggers post their content and voters upvote or downvote weighted partly by their Steem Power (the higher the SP the more one’s vote is worth) and partly on personal preference (although, this option is not available to new users).

After seven days, based on the number and weight of votes, content posters and upvoters receive a percentage of rewards in the form of STEEM and Steem Dollars, the platform’s native “stablecoin.” Steem Dollars were supposed to counterbalance the volatility of STEEM, but it didn’t work perfectly.

The idea behind SP was to stake one’s STEEM and keep it on the platform to strengthen the economy. If a user wants to cash out SP, they undergo a 13-week process called “powering down,” which transfers the SP back into liquid STEEM. The user can then convert STEEM into bitcoin or another cryptocurrency at a cryptocurrency exchange through a multi-step process.

But that isn’t Steemit’s great strength.

While users have an opportunity to earn value for their content, what sets Steemit apart from Facebook, Twitter, and the countless other centralized social media platforms is its underlying nature. Being a blockchain, anyone can build their own application on top of it. And many an enterprising Steemian did just that. In fact, many of the user-created applications (called dapps, or decentralized apps) worked better than the Steemit interface for posting content. And other dapps simply served a useful purpose. But there was one application that was particularly annoying and which served only to undermine the basic premise of Steemit—that users could earn cryptocurrency based on the quality of their content.

How Bidbots Destroyed Steemit

When I joined Steemit in March 2018, STEEM was at $1.83 and was No. 29 in the market cap standings. I also noted that its trending posts page was full of crap with very high earnings, but I didn’t know why that was the case at the time. I jumped into Steemit and started posting, and quickly learned how to promote my posts so that they earned a modest payout in an environment of declining STEEM value.

Steemit’s platform has a lousy user interface (UI), even today. Posting is clunky and non-intuitive. As noted earlier, most of the alternative posting dapps worked better than the native posting UI.

Because Steemit had no native networking tools at the time, users set up Discord communities for the actual networking. I found this to be rather disconcerting, although I did manage to find a few communities that were worth my time and which allowed me to build my following. That allowed my earnings to increase over time even though the value of those earnings steadily declined. An autovoting app allowed platform users to automatically upvote other users’ posts, which was efficient, but it meant that many of the upvotes I received for my posts weren’t read by the parties upvoting them (and I’ll admit that I also upvoted many posts I didn’t read).

One could argue that the autovote dapp was unethical, but, if used correctly, it was a handy tool. I made sure I could trust a person’s content before I added them to my auto-upvote list, but I’m sure many Steemians simply autoupvoted posts for the earnings they’d receive.

Far more deleterious were the bidbots.

Bidbots are computer programs that facilitate payment for upvotes. Steemians would place bids for the privilege of receiving an upvote. The person with the highest bidder would designate which post they wanted upvoted by the bot and the bot would visit their post at the appointed time and upvote it. This, in turn, resulted in autoupvotes by other users who followed that bot. Many users learned to use several bidbots simultaneously to drive up the number and value of their upvotes into the hundreds of dollars when their posts likely would have received no more than a handful of upvotes organically. The net result was STEEM and SBD diverted from users with higher quality content to users with lower quality content, which essentially undermined the entire premise of the platform.

There was a risk in using bodbots to upvote one’s content. If you overbid, you’d actually lose money. But if you bid just right, not only would you profit from the bidbot’s upvote, but the upvote was followed by the upvotes of other Steemians following the bidbot. It was a terrible racket and several alternative cryptosocial platforms have launched since for the sole purpose of excluding bots.

What Will Be Steemit’s Legacy?

Steemit fell apart in early 2020 when Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, bought the platform. Some of the witnesses blocked Sun’s access to company-staked STEEM. Sun, in return, installed his own witnesses. Not long after, the Steem blockchain forked and many high-profile witnesses created Hive as an alternative offering many Steemians Hive tokens equal to the amount of STEEM in their accounts.

Overall, what made Steemit a great place to blog was other Steemians. I made a few friends on the platform and will forever be grateful for the time I spent there. While I earned a modest return on my investment in time, the amount of time I spent on the platform far outweighed the value received. Still, I think Steemit will go down in history as paving a path to a whole new way of thinking about content posting on social media websites. People will be talking about Steemit for decades.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

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➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

This post was first published at Voice.

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/why-steemits-bidbots-still-piss-me-off-and-i-dont-post-there-any-more Wed, 14 Apr 2021 00:03:40 +0000 Publish0x: Why It's My Favorite Cryptosocial Platform https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/publish0x-why-its-my-favorite-cryptosocial-platform?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ Publish0x (pronounced Publish) calls itself a “crypto-powered blogging platform,” which is about as honest as it gets. And I would argue that it’s one of the few blockchain-based social media platforms that actually lives up to its promise, as small a promise as it is. Unlike other social media websites that launched around the same time, Publish0x didn’t force users to buy its native token to participate on the platform. They didn’t have an ICO (initial coin offering) and make pretentious promises about how users can “invest” in the Publish0x crypto economy and watch some cleverly named cryptocurrency soar to the moon ushering in an age of health, wealth, and eternal happiness. Another thing that is different on Publish0x is that it has no native cryptocurrency. That is, no currency of its own. Writers and readers earn ERC-20 tokens, which currently include ETH, AMPL, and iFARM. At various times, Publish0x has also distributed BNTY, HYDRO, DAI, BAT, and LRC to members. In addition to earning cryptocurrency for writing and reading, Publish0x has an Ambassador Program that pays cryptocurrency to platform users for promoting the platform. In fact, if you click on a link to Publish0x in this article, I’ll earn 5 percent of every tip left by you as long as you are active on Publish0x, at no expense to you. In December 2020, Publish0x reported that users had tipped each other 10 million times since launch and the site had grown 600 percent year or year. Publish0x has also seen an increase in traffic and the number of the cryptocurrency brands that use the site for publishing brand updates and other branded content. The platform has grown so much that the founders have warned users that fake accounts are being used to scam users and steal crypto earned on the platform. Publish0x also hosts writing contests for crypto projects. In 2019, they hosted four contests. They were so popular that the platform hosted more in 2020. Winners of the contests win cryptocurrencies from the sponsoring projects. Publish0x is one cryptosocial platform that seems interested in improving itself. Some expected changes on the horizon are the potential inclusion of tokens not on the Ethereum blockchain for tippers, meme contests, and other events. My Publish0x Journey - The Short Story I joined Publish0x in July 2019. I made my first post in December the same year and followed with a couple more. Those posts have earned a modest amount with the highest being $5.70 on 449 views. That’s far more earnings-per-view than any article I’ve ever published Medium, or any other revenue-sharing site I’ve participated on over the last two decades. I find it also beneficial that those posts are still earning. My post metrics show that I’ve earned crypto on this post as recent as today. I don’t remember why now, but after my third post, I stopped posting on Publish0x for almost a year. Meanwhile, because Publish0x changes the crypto it offers posters from time to time, I lost any BAT, HYDRO and other crypto that I had not cashed out (and I hadn’t cashed anything out). But in November 2020, I started posting to Publish0x again. I’ve been posting about once a week since. In March 2021, after Publish0x announced that posters could cash out ETH and AMPL to KuCoin, I requested my first payment. At that time, I had earned the equivalent of $45 in crypto, though I didn’t cash it all out because I couldn’t request payment for FARM through KuCoin. That still required a wallet that supports Ethereum. While I have a MetaMask wallet, I’m not familiar with it enough yet to feel comfortable making that request. If Exodus supported FARM, I’d have made a payout request for that as that is where my largest earnings are to date. Shortly after my payout request, Publish0x announced it was exchanging FARM for iFARM and converted all my existing FARM to iFARM tokens. They’re sitting there until I figure out how to cash them out. The Nitty-Gritty: Why Publish0x Is Currently My Favorite Cryptosocial Platform I like Publish0x for a number of reasons, and it’s shaping up to be my favorite cryptosocial platform. Here’s a rundown on the reasons why: 1) It’s attractive and easy to use. 2) Onboarding was simple and super-easy. 3) Posting, friending, and tipping (essentially, everything to do) on Publish0x is simple and easy. 4) Posts earn crypto in perpetuity, unlike some platforms where there is a limit on how often posts continue earning. 5) I can earn ETH, a huge bonus being that ETH is No. 2 in market cap and the leading altcoin. 6) Posts earn one of three different cryptocurrencies at random, which is a big plus because it allows crypto earners some diversity in earnings; if one of the tokens loses value quickly, the other two tokens could balance that out. 7) Their Ambassador Program allows Publish0x users to invite their friends and earn more crypto for promoting the platform. 8) Having acquired only 313 followers in a few short months, I’ve managed to earn more than $70 in cryptocurrencies. That means, at 3,000 followers I have the potential earn much more, potentially in the range of $100 to $200 a month. With 30,000 followers, the potential is in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 a month. There is some real earning potential at Publish0x. 9) Publish0x provides statistics on each post as well as overall metrics on post performance allowing me to gauge which content is performing best. 10) I’m also seeing a lot of engagement on my posts. Other users comment, ask questions, and enter discussions. With each new post, I also see new followers. Everything is on the platform and there is no need to set up a Discord server to experience community. 11) While I have, to date, only set up one blog, Publish0x allows users to set up multiple blogs. I like that. If you write about multiple unrelated topics, as I tend to do, you can set up a different blog for each topic and expand your audience reach. In fact, I am thinking about doing just that. 12) Tipping other users is fun and very simple to do. Whenever I tip other users, I also earn a small percentage of crypto myself just for doing so. The Publish0x economy is very simple and not based on a native cryptocurrency. I think this is a plus. For one thing, it’s much less pretentious. Publish0x serves a useful purpose because it isn’t focused inwardly but outwardly. If there is a downside, it’s that most of the content is still crypto-focused. Keep in mind that my earnings have mostly come from posting twice a week for five months. I do tip other posters, but not often. I show up on the platform twice a week to repurpose posts I publish at Voice first. So the earnings I’ve made have been made with republished content with no promotion (I haven’t shared the posts on any social media sites, which means most of my views are coming from on-platform viewers). In my view, Publish0x is doing a lot of things right and very few things wrong. There are a few downsides, but those are minimal compared to the upsides. I’d love for you to join me on Publish0x. DISCLAIMER *This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter \- Telegram- Instagram Follow Me ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Voice. ]]>

Publish0x (pronounced Publish) calls itself a “crypto-powered blogging platform,” which is about as honest as it gets. And I would argue that it’s one of the few blockchain-based social media platforms that actually lives up to its promise, as small a promise as it is.

Unlike other social media websites that launched around the same time, Publish0x didn’t force users to buy its native token to participate on the platform. They didn’t have an ICO (initial coin offering) and make pretentious promises about how users can “invest” in the Publish0x crypto economy and watch some cleverly named cryptocurrency soar to the moon ushering in an age of health, wealth, and eternal happiness.

Another thing that is different on Publish0x is that it has no native cryptocurrency. That is, no currency of its own. Writers and readers earn ERC-20 tokens, which currently include ETH, AMPL, and iFARM. At various times, Publish0x has also distributed BNTY, HYDRO, DAI, BAT, and LRC to members.

In addition to earning cryptocurrency for writing and reading, Publish0x has an Ambassador Program that pays cryptocurrency to platform users for promoting the platform. In fact, if you click on a link to Publish0x in this article, I’ll earn 5 percent of every tip left by you as long as you are active on Publish0x, at no expense to you.

In December 2020, Publish0x reported that users had tipped each other 10 million times since launch and the site had grown 600 percent year or year. Publish0x has also seen an increase in traffic and the number of the cryptocurrency brands that use the site for publishing brand updates and other branded content. The platform has grown so much that the founders have warned users that fake accounts are being used to scam users and steal crypto earned on the platform.

Publish0x also hosts writing contests for crypto projects. In 2019, they hosted four contests. They were so popular that the platform hosted more in 2020. Winners of the contests win cryptocurrencies from the sponsoring projects.

Publish0x is one cryptosocial platform that seems interested in improving itself. Some expected changes on the horizon are the potential inclusion of tokens not on the Ethereum blockchain for tippers, meme contests, and other events.

My Publish0x Journey – The Short Story

I joined Publish0x in July 2019. I made my first post in December the same year and followed with a couple more. Those posts have earned a modest amount with the highest being $5.70 on 449 views. That’s far more earnings-per-view than any article I’ve ever published Medium, or any other revenue-sharing site I’ve participated on over the last two decades.

I find it also beneficial that those posts are still earning. My post metrics show that I’ve earned crypto on this post as recent as today.

I don’t remember why now, but after my third post, I stopped posting on Publish0x for almost a year. Meanwhile, because Publish0x changes the crypto it offers posters from time to time, I lost any BAT, HYDRO and other crypto that I had not cashed out (and I hadn’t cashed anything out). But in November 2020, I started posting to Publish0x again. I’ve been posting about once a week since.

In March 2021, after Publish0x announced that posters could cash out ETH and AMPL to KuCoin, I requested my first payment. At that time, I had earned the equivalent of $45 in crypto, though I didn’t cash it all out because I couldn’t request payment for FARM through KuCoin. That still required a wallet that supports Ethereum. While I have a MetaMask wallet, I’m not familiar with it enough yet to feel comfortable making that request. If Exodus supported FARM, I’d have made a payout request for that as that is where my largest earnings are to date.

Shortly after my payout request, Publish0x announced it was exchanging FARM for iFARM and converted all my existing FARM to iFARM tokens. They’re sitting there until I figure out how to cash them out.

The Nitty-Gritty: Why Publish0x Is Currently My Favorite Cryptosocial Platform

I like Publish0x for a number of reasons, and it’s shaping up to be my favorite cryptosocial platform. Here’s a rundown on the reasons why:

1) It’s attractive and easy to use.

2) Onboarding was simple and super-easy.

3) Posting, friending, and tipping (essentially, everything to do) on Publish0x is simple and easy.

4) Posts earn crypto in perpetuity, unlike some platforms where there is a limit on how often posts continue earning.

5) I can earn ETH, a huge bonus being that ETH is No. 2 in market cap and the leading altcoin.

6) Posts earn one of three different cryptocurrencies at random, which is a big plus because it allows crypto earners some diversity in earnings; if one of the tokens loses value quickly, the other two tokens could balance that out.

7) Their Ambassador Program allows Publish0x users to invite their friends and earn more crypto for promoting the platform.

8) Having acquired only 313 followers in a few short months, I’ve managed to earn more than $70 in cryptocurrencies. That means, at 3,000 followers I have the potential earn much more, potentially in the range of $100 to $200 a month. With 30,000 followers, the potential is in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 a month. There is some real earning potential at Publish0x.

9) Publish0x provides statistics on each post as well as overall metrics on post performance allowing me to gauge which content is performing best.

10) I’m also seeing a lot of engagement on my posts. Other users comment, ask questions, and enter discussions. With each new post, I also see new followers. Everything is on the platform and there is no need to set up a Discord server to experience community.

11) While I have, to date, only set up one blog, Publish0x allows users to set up multiple blogs. I like that. If you write about multiple unrelated topics, as I tend to do, you can set up a different blog for each topic and expand your audience reach. In fact, I am thinking about doing just that.

12) Tipping other users is fun and very simple to do. Whenever I tip other users, I also earn a small percentage of crypto myself just for doing so.

The Publish0x economy is very simple and not based on a native cryptocurrency. I think this is a plus. For one thing, it’s much less pretentious. Publish0x serves a useful purpose because it isn’t focused inwardly but outwardly. If there is a downside, it’s that most of the content is still crypto-focused.

Keep in mind that my earnings have mostly come from posting twice a week for five months. I do tip other posters, but not often. I show up on the platform twice a week to repurpose posts I publish at Voice first. So the earnings I’ve made have been made with republished content with no promotion (I haven’t shared the posts on any social media sites, which means most of my views are coming from on-platform viewers).

In my view, Publish0x is doing a lot of things right and very few things wrong. There are a few downsides, but those are minimal compared to the upsides. I’d love for you to join me on Publish0x.

DISCLAIMER

*This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.
*

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

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➡ Cryptobloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

This post was first published at Voice.

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/publish0x-why-its-my-favorite-cryptosocial-platform Fri, 09 Apr 2021 20:05:49 +0000 Taking Down Facebook: How Cryptosocial Platforms Can Compete https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/taking-down-facebook-how-cryptosocial-platforms-can-compete?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ In 2020, when Facebook, Twitter, and other large social media platforms banned conservative and alternative-right political groups, many users defected to Parler and MeWe. Parler CEO John Matze said his platform gained 4.5 million users after the 2020 presidential election. MeWe surpassed 5 million users in June 2019 while Parler claimed to have more than 10 million users in November 2020. Neither of these come close to Facebook’s 2.7 billion daily active users, but they don’t really need to if they serve a viable niche. By contrast, Minds claimed to have more than 3 million users on its Wefunder page in 2017. In December 2018, that number was updated to 1 million. How Not to Grow a Social Media Audience If we could define the audience these three platforms are aiming at, I’d call it the anti-Facebook crowd. The messaging seems to be, “We’re not Facebook, therefore, we must be great.” That’s not a marketing strategy. It’s much better to define who you are rather than who you are not relative to someone else’s success. When Katy Perry kissed a girl, she didn’t enter the pop music scene with the tagline, “I’m not Taylor Swift.” She had her own style. Like it or not. And that gets to the heart of effective marketing. It must do two things: 1) Attract that which you want to attract 2) And repel everything else Minds calls itself a “free speech platform” and encourages users to “take back your social media.” Parler’s home page copy says, “Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being ‘deplatformed’ for your views.” Both of those are direct shots at Facebook. MeWe’s tagline is “No Ads. No Spyware. No BS.” Again, the idea is to attract an audience by stating what the platform is not. If these three social media platforms are aiming to attract the same audience, why is it that Parler and MeWe were so successful at attracting disgruntled Facebook users in 2020 while Minds was not? I suspect it may be for two reasons. First, Parler and MeWe seized upon the opportunity. Whether the platform marketeers juiced up its user base to spread word about their anti-Facebook personas or that came from the ground up is irrelevant. It happened. Facebook users upset over the platform’s policies left in droves and went to Parler and MeWe. I didn’t see anyone say they ditched Facebook for Minds, which brings me to my second point. It’s all about the crypto. In other words, in the minds of the Minds user base, and probably its owners and developers, the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency for mouthing off about all the things you don’t like in the world is the selling point. But if that’s the only selling point you have, then the only people you’ll attract are people interested in earning cryptocurrencies for communicating their ideas. You’re leaving out everyone else. What I’m getting at is Minds needs to follow Parler and MeWe at least part way down the path of free speech and no censorship. It needs to be more than just a tagline. Why Cryptosocial Media Needs to Expand Its Messaging In sales and marketing, perception is reality. How potential clients, customers, and platform users view you determines what you are. That’s true whether you like it or not. If the only message potential users hear is, “Crypto is great, earn some!,” then I’m afraid you’ve lost most of your audience before you’ve had a chance to get in front of them. Reality is the best medicine for bad thinking. The question to ask is this: What do users want in a social platform? For every user, the answer to that question will be different. One trick that marketers use to determine who they want to attract to their product or service is to create audience personas. You do that by categorizing each type of individual you believe would benefit from your platform. Here’s a sketch: *\ Crypto lovers - Say no more. If it’s all about crypto, I’m in. \ People who want to be heard - Whether alt-right Donald Trump fans or commies blogging for mommies, if they have a message and want to spread that message, they’ll want a platform that promises them the freedom to speak without fear or threat of censorship. \ People who just want to express - From therapeutic digital art to emoting at the drop of a dime, these folks don’t care about the money or the fame, they just want to log on, release their energy, and express their innermost desires. \ Data ownership freaks - These folks aren’t on Facebook because they don’t like being tracked. They want a platform that allows them anonymity, privacy, and the ability to hide from lurkers, and that doesn't track them with cookies. I think you get the point. Your audience consists of more than people who love cryptocurrencies—unless it isn’t. In which case, keep on truckin’! The bottom line is, cryptosocial media won’t grow unless it expands its messaging beyond “It’s all about the crypto.” Two More Ways to Grow Your Cryptosocial Brand Any time there is new technology, there is a new language to learn. Cryptosocial platforms don’t do themselves any favor, nor will they attract an audience beyond the early adopter nerds, if they just throw around a bunch of buzzwords. In the “How Does It Work” section of its home page, Minds tells potential members that they can “Earn tokens for your daily contributions and use them to upgrade your channel, boost your content for more reach and support other creators.” I can’t help but wonder how many alt-right Facebook defectors know what a token is, or even care? The alternative right is a very small part of the overall user base of Facebook. If Facebook had aimed its service at the alt-right, it would never be as popular as it is today. The reason it grew to such prominence in the first place is that its usefulness was so universal that one’s political persuasion was irrelevant. One’s gender, religion, marriage status, and every other demographic is mostly irrelevant. Facebook has something to offer everyone even if everyone isn’t interested. Any social media platform that aims to overtake Facebook in popularity must think beyond the boundaries of its own walls and get to the heart of human nature. What do people want in a social gathering? But there is something else you must do too: You must speak the language of the users you want to attract. If they don’t care about crypto, find out what they care about and educate them on how your platform helps them achieve what they want to achieve. Kill the mumbo-jumbo. The other thing you’ve got to do is make it easy for the new user to get started. I’m utterly amazed at how many cryptosocial platforms make it difficult to join. On Steemit, in 2018, I had to either pay a fee in the native cryptocurrency of the platform or wait two weeks for approval by email. I think it actually took longer, if I recall. Other platforms have their own hurdles, but almost every single cryptosocial platform I’ve joined has had hurdles. Even if you do everything right, there’s no guarantee you’ll knock Facebook off its mountain. Facebook took four years before it overcame MySpace in traffic. Even then, that was the beginning of its journey to social media dominance. And it will be much more difficult to overtake Facebook than it was for Facebook to overtake MySpace, for a number of reasons. Blockchain technology is difficult enough as it is. It’s hard to understand and it’s hard to explain. The last thing cryptosocial media platforms need is additional complexity. Make it simple for the Average Joe, explain the benefits of your platform clearly, and make onboarding easy as apple pie. If you do can do those three things, you at least have a fighting chance. If you can’t beat Facebook, you can at least survive long enough to say you tried. DISCLAIMER I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions. This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice. If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community. Follow Our Socials - Twitter \- Telegram- Instagram Follow Me* ➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ ➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3 ➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen\taylor ➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com ➡ CryptoBloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us This post was first published at Voice. ]]>

In 2020, when Facebook, Twitter, and other large social media platforms banned conservative and alternative-right political groups, many users defected to Parler and MeWe. Parler CEO John Matze said his platform gained 4.5 million users after the 2020 presidential election. MeWe surpassed 5 million users in June 2019 while Parler claimed to have more than 10 million users in November 2020. Neither of these come close to Facebook’s 2.7 billion daily active users, but they don’t really need to if they serve a viable niche.

By contrast, Minds claimed to have more than 3 million users on its Wefunder page in 2017. In December 2018, that number was updated to 1 million.

How Not to Grow a Social Media Audience

If we could define the audience these three platforms are aiming at, I’d call it the anti-Facebook crowd. The messaging seems to be, “We’re not Facebook, therefore, we must be great.”

That’s not a marketing strategy.

It’s much better to define who you are rather than who you are not relative to someone else’s success. When Katy Perry kissed a girl, she didn’t enter the pop music scene with the tagline, “I’m not Taylor Swift.” She had her own style. Like it or not. And that gets to the heart of effective marketing. It must do two things:

1) Attract that which you want to attract

2) And repel everything else

Minds calls itself a “free speech platform” and encourages users to “take back your social media.” Parler’s home page copy says, “Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being ‘deplatformed’ for your views.” Both of those are direct shots at Facebook. MeWe’s tagline is “No Ads. No Spyware. No BS.” Again, the idea is to attract an audience by stating what the platform is not.

If these three social media platforms are aiming to attract the same audience, why is it that Parler and MeWe were so successful at attracting disgruntled Facebook users in 2020 while Minds was not? I suspect it may be for two reasons.

First, Parler and MeWe seized upon the opportunity. Whether the platform marketeers juiced up its user base to spread word about their anti-Facebook personas or that came from the ground up is irrelevant. It happened. Facebook users upset over the platform’s policies left in droves and went to Parler and MeWe. I didn’t see anyone say they ditched Facebook for Minds, which brings me to my second point.

It’s all about the crypto.

In other words, in the minds of the Minds user base, and probably its owners and developers, the opportunity to earn cryptocurrency for mouthing off about all the things you don’t like in the world is the selling point. But if that’s the only selling point you have, then the only people you’ll attract are people interested in earning cryptocurrencies for communicating their ideas. You’re leaving out everyone else.

What I’m getting at is Minds needs to follow Parler and MeWe at least part way down the path of free speech and no censorship. It needs to be more than just a tagline.

Why Cryptosocial Media Needs to Expand Its Messaging

In sales and marketing, perception is reality. How potential clients, customers, and platform users view you determines what you are. That’s true whether you like it or not. If the only message potential users hear is, “Crypto is great, earn some!,” then I’m afraid you’ve lost most of your audience before you’ve had a chance to get in front of them. Reality is the best medicine for bad thinking.

The question to ask is this: What do users want in a social platform? For every user, the answer to that question will be different.

One trick that marketers use to determine who they want to attract to their product or service is to create audience personas. You do that by categorizing each type of individual you believe would benefit from your platform. Here’s a sketch:

* Crypto lovers – Say no more. If it’s all about crypto, I’m in.

* People who want to be heard – Whether alt-right Donald Trump fans or commies blogging for mommies, if they have a message and want to spread that message, they’ll want a platform that promises them the freedom to speak without fear or threat of censorship.

* People who just want to express – From therapeutic digital art to emoting at the drop of a dime, these folks don’t care about the money or the fame, they just want to log on, release their energy, and express their innermost desires.

* Data ownership freaks – These folks aren’t on Facebook because they don’t like being tracked. They want a platform that allows them anonymity, privacy, and the ability to hide from lurkers, and that doesn't track them with cookies.

I think you get the point. Your audience consists of more than people who love cryptocurrencies—unless it isn’t. In which case, keep on truckin’!

The bottom line is, cryptosocial media won’t grow unless it expands its messaging beyond “It’s all about the crypto.”

Two More Ways to Grow Your Cryptosocial Brand

Any time there is new technology, there is a new language to learn. Cryptosocial platforms don’t do themselves any favor, nor will they attract an audience beyond the early adopter nerds, if they just throw around a bunch of buzzwords.

In the “How Does It Work” section of its home page, Minds tells potential members that they can “Earn tokens for your daily contributions and use them to upgrade your channel, boost your content for more reach and support other creators.” I can’t help but wonder how many alt-right Facebook defectors know what a token is, or even care?

The alternative right is a very small part of the overall user base of Facebook. If Facebook had aimed its service at the alt-right, it would never be as popular as it is today. The reason it grew to such prominence in the first place is that its usefulness was so universal that one’s political persuasion was irrelevant. One’s gender, religion, marriage status, and every other demographic is mostly irrelevant. Facebook has something to offer everyone even if everyone isn’t interested. Any social media platform that aims to overtake Facebook in popularity must think beyond the boundaries of its own walls and get to the heart of human nature. What do people want in a social gathering? But there is something else you must do too: You must speak the language of the users you want to attract.

If they don’t care about crypto, find out what they care about and educate them on how your platform helps them achieve what they want to achieve. Kill the mumbo-jumbo.

The other thing you’ve got to do is make it easy for the new user to get started. I’m utterly amazed at how many cryptosocial platforms make it difficult to join. On Steemit, in 2018, I had to either pay a fee in the native cryptocurrency of the platform or wait two weeks for approval by email. I think it actually took longer, if I recall. Other platforms have their own hurdles, but almost every single cryptosocial platform I’ve joined has had hurdles.

Even if you do everything right, there’s no guarantee you’ll knock Facebook off its mountain. Facebook took four years before it overcame MySpace in traffic. Even then, that was the beginning of its journey to social media dominance. And it will be much more difficult to overtake Facebook than it was for Facebook to overtake MySpace, for a number of reasons.

Blockchain technology is difficult enough as it is. It’s hard to understand and it’s hard to explain. The last thing cryptosocial media platforms need is additional complexity. Make it simple for the Average Joe, explain the benefits of your platform clearly, and make onboarding easy as apple pie. If you do can do those three things, you at least have a fighting chance. If you can’t beat Facebook, you can at least survive long enough to say you tried.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial advisor, nor do I give financial advice. The above information should not be considered financial advice but is for informational purposes only. Neither I nor Cryptowriter are responsible for financial losses incurred as a result of acting on this information. Please consult a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

This post is published for Cryptowriter in association with Voice.

If you enjoyed this content feel free to use our ️EXCLUSIVE SIGN UP PAGE to skip the queue and gain full access to our Cryptowriter community.

Follow Our Socials – Twitter - Telegram- Instagram

Follow Me

➡ Cryptocracy Newsletter: https://cryptocracy.substack.com/

➡ Cryptocracy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cryptocracy3

➡ Allen Taylor Twitter: https://twitter.com/allen_taylor

➡ Taylored Content: https://tayloredcontent.com

➡ CryptoBloggers: https://cryptobloggers.us

This post was first published at Voice.

]]> https://cryptocracy.writeas.com/taking-down-facebook-how-cryptosocial-platforms-can-compete Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:39:27 +0000