The Reason You Don't Understand Steemit: It's Like A Gift Economy Not A Commodity EconomysteemCreated with Sketch.

in #gifteconomy7 years ago (edited)

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I’ve been getting a lot of Steemit Chat messages that I’m currently not answering. I apologize.

Actually, I’m getting messages from all over social media requesting my advice about Steemit and cryptocurrencies. I’m not accustomed to this level of attention and I find that I’m now unable to respond to everyone. However, I don’t want to ignore people as I think that’s rude, so I have started to think more about how I can help people better understand Steemit.

I now understand why people find it so difficult to comprehend: Steemit has characteristics of the gift economy and we’re all living in a European-dominant commodity economy paradigm. Let’s first explore the gift economy.

A Gift Economy is one where status is given to individuals based on what they give to others as opposed to a commodity or exchange economy where status is given to those individuals who have the most (Pinchot 1999). -Learning To Give

Native cultures are based on the philosophy that humans are the stewards of the natural world, and not consumers of the world’s resources. Unlike European American values, “wealth” in Native American culture is not measured by net worth, but rather by a combination of spiritual qualities, material goods, and behavior. Leaders are selected for their ability to take care of the tribe by sharing their wisdom and wealth (Millett and Orosz 2002). -Learning To Give

So, let’s take a look at a concrete example of the gift economy in action on Steemit.

A well-known, popular Steemit user, @papa-pepper, exemplified this gift economy behavior towards an individual, @darthnava, who was going through a difficult life situation. @darthnava recently wrote a post in which he described his challenging medical situation: he received some life-threatening MRI results and found out that he would be needing surgery immediately. He also revealed in his post that he didn’t have the funds to cover this life-saving operation. The Steemit community responded swiftly and proactively, with a huge majority of the whales (large account holders) upvoting his post to over $17,000, which was more than enough to cover his medical expenses. However, @papa-pepper went out of his way to donate $2,ooo USD out of his own pocket to @darthnava.

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After @papa-pepper made his huge donation, the Steemit community once again went wild with upvotes, cheering on @papa-pepper’s generous spirit and the entire community lifted up @papa-pepper, almost to a king status. Many could not understand his gesture. This indicated to me that most are still existing in a European-dominant commodity economic model. I grew up in a community that has elements of the gift economy, so it didn't surprise me too much. Plus, I already knew papa was a gift giver.

These upvotes turned out to equal a significant amount of money, too. This type of behavior is more reminiscent of Native American tribal culture, not European commodity culture in one very specific way: @papa-pepper acted from his own conscience, not from an institutionalized philanthropy paradigm. He didn’t donate to a charity, he donated to a person directly by acting from his own conscience. Here’s @papa-pepper’s belief system in a nutshell:

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It’s a simple statement but one that is currently not embedded in our mainstream commodity-centric, obsessive net-worth culture:

“It is important for us to help one another when the opportunities present themselves.” -papa-pepper

We did learn, however, in @papa-pepper's video, that he is making up for his past bad behavior by becoming a generous, caring man. But I think many of us realize that we would never even know his story if Dan Larimer hadn't engineered Steem to work in the context of the gift economy. Steem's design brings this out.

The gift economy is further understood when we look at what happened to @papa-pepper after he had made the huge monetary donation.

The Steemit community was so overjoyed by his act, that they began upvoting his comments about his donation. These upvotes from the community turned into a significant sum of money. @papa-pepper’s account was then padded, but the real boost came in the form of his enhanced character, increased status and leadership position as a caretaker of the Steemit tribe. Steemit at this stage, it is a tribe, I would assert. And @papa-pepper like myself, came into Steemit with nothing, and also does not have a huge account. His account is a medium-sized one, and he’s considered to be a dolphin. There are plenty of accounts much larger than his. But his account is growing due to his behavior and status as a power giver. This is opposite of what is currently being touted as a successful, killing-it-entreprenuer bro meme:

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image: http://antiwantrepreneur.tumblr.com/

Nothing about @papa-pepper’s act was institutionalized, as it came directly from his heart, not through some organized philanthropy foundation. Empathy was its fuel.

This is in direct conflict with the European-dominant model of wealth hoarding and emphasis on net worth. Furthermore, in the European model, the donor would not instantly receive back a portion of his donation. S/he might get a tax break, but those funds would not be returned instantly by the community which received the gift.

Of course, lots of wealthy people give money to philanthropic foundations and gain status by giving such donations. But @papa-pepper is from a modest background and was not a rich man when he entered Steemit. His natural gift-giving behavior is the reason he’s become rather well-off in Steemit. Plus, he’s an active blogger with a wealth of creative ideas that are inclusive of others. I believe his spirit is a real example of the gift economy and the primary reason he’s doing so well on the Steemit platform. And hence, why it’s so hard for newbies to grasp his success. Understanding his success requires a gigantic mental paradigm shift that no one really explains or breaks down into digestible directives (until now :)).

This means that there’s a culture of giving, and that giving to others can increase one’s status, wealth and position in Steemit. The more one gives to the community in the form of useful energy, the more one receives in the form of money.

It is the super nerds who hold the purse strings in Steemit, not the sleazebag marketers with zero substance.

The other thing that’s different in this example is the fact that @papa-pepper’s act was so direct, and affected the community in a direct and immediate way. That is partly because the friction of banking has been dissolved. A flash of empathy can result in a life-saving donation in less than 2 minutes.

The gift economy is the true reason that posts from open source programmers receive such high payouts on Steemit.

Creating open source software and other programming projects is a very time-consuming, meticulous endeavor. And if it’s open source, then no monetization mechanism really exists within the code itself. Steemit recognizes and monetarily rewards the gifts of these open source programmers, thereby creating a stable way for these programmers to continue making their Steem software projects. Steemit completes the circle that has been broken for a long time, both with programmers and other creative types who generate un-monetizable gifts of the mind.

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Nature and our imaginations are abundant beyond our wildest dreams. It is because of small-minded, greedy men that most of humanity suffers today.

If it wasn't for Satoshi Nakamoto's open source gift of blockchain technology to the world, it's doubtful you and I would be here right now.

Steemit is a sustainable model for creators of all kinds, as well as others who create and share abundance, and I’m not aware of anything else like it on the internet. It could be the first time that true intelligence is considered to be the dominant money-generating commodity. Think of it as intelligence-as-a-service (IAAS).

Of course, there are popular posts that make a lot of money, too, but the highest grossing Steemit post of all time was created a programmer named @xeroc. Here’s a screenshot of the $46,973 Steemit post that details the open source Steem GUI:
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Being successful on Steemit is linked to how well you can navigate inside a functioning gift economy. Time to throw out the old worn-out paradigms and learn something very valuable for the present and future.

If you're a writer on Medium, and want your articles to be included in the Medium publication, Steem Stories, please put a link to one of your articles in the comment below and I will add you as a writer.

Also, if you're on Facebook and want to be a social media manager for the Steemit Newbies Facebook Page, please comment below. I'm in need of assistance.

Thank you,
Stellabelle (accept no substitutes)

"I have researched the magic shapes of the happiness no one escapes."

And in case you're thinking I'm referring to Uber when I say "gift economy", I'm not. I worked for Uber, and it's not the sharing economy that everyone thinks it is. It's the exploitation economy, wrapped up inside a fancy app.

Stellabelle has written one book, Un-Crap Your Life, which is available on Amazon. She can be found most days on Steemit. She also works for the Dash DAO as an editor, writer and video creator.

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Hi Stellabelle,
I couldnt agree more with your post! It's truly amazing how the steemit community can help eachother both with money but also wiyh sharing real knowledge. I read your i ntro to your book on amazon Un-crap your life and it is totally spot on how many people feel today struggling to keep ypurself motivated and like you said changing they way you go about your life. Every person on thos earth🌍 has something to share that makes a difference and we are more powerful than we think. We just need to take back the power so we can decide ourselves what to do with our lives. People today are striggling just to keep a status quo this needs to change and it will soon thats what i believe the 99,999% of people will have a more meaningful life o es this old economy will go down amd STEEMIT is a life changer for ull of us.
Keep up the great work @stellabelle😁 Full Steem Ahead!
Best regards,
André @survivebubble
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Great and thought provoking read, definitely puts a new perspective to the way things work here. Thank you for sharing this, a gift giving economy is one that can be definitely sustainable.
Curious to know, what help you would require on FB. Would certainly like to pitch in.

Indeed it is thought provoking. I also think that giving needs effort. Taking comes more naturally. If you believe in evolution then you know that the earliest people thrived because they took, protected their own interest. The giving probably came at a later time as a matter of need, to support their community or to survive amidst other competing or much stronger communities (tributes).

If you have a theistic worldview however, you know that man was made after God's own image, we have His qualities although it got corrupted. So deep inside we are coded for acts of kindness. @papa-pepper's actions are not at all strange. It's just rare. He practiced what the Bible calls true religion.. being kind to another person.

I think both economies are at work here. The commodity economy is the underlying model. You get paid for your efforts (posting, voting, curating, commenting, resteeming, steemgigs, etc.). The more influence and SP you have the bigger transactions you can make and effect on the ebb and flow of the economy. Commodity here then is effort and influence. Above that underlying model is your gift-economy. It's unseen, it transcends the underlying Python code. It's the human spirit. You could never predict how a post can become viral and change lives whatever the content is. It's the x-factor that fuels this whole thing.

Just my 2-SteemCents.

I found this to be an inspirational read. Thanks for sharing.

Upvote and followed. What a wonderful piece.
I guess you are an American. From your write-up, anyone would think like that. I am an African, and your described GIFT ECONOMY was integral part and a strong characteristic of most African economy before the arrival of European colonialist and introduction of their economic system. I understand your post so well because the whole pictures you painted are familiar. Thanks and weldone for your hard work.

yes, well i think gift economy is superior to European model. Gift economy creates happiness, European model creates division and poverty. That's my 2 cents. yeah, i am American

We should have exported this kind African culture to the world, rather than the European economic model. is it still easy to find places where people live like this?

It is no longer in measure. The system had been watered down, and you only see small particles of its effects in the rural settings. I hail from among the Igbo community. I remember our childhood days when people lived and shared things in common. People desired to help one another. Shout in the middle of the night, the whole community will run out, conven in your house to know the reason.
Today, I resident in Abuja, the capital city, where people mind their businesses. A neighbour who wants to be nice can only call police to come and find out why you shout and rescue you. It is a self-centered life, economy, no give and take.

i hope we can take the best of the old ways and the new. Sometimes it seems we are taking the worst from both but I think it is changing as we connect more with each other though these roundabout means. I would be happy to learn more about your experiences :-) see you around here

We are the Gift Revolution
Gifts for everyone! It's a great motivator!
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Are you making fun of the gift economy idea here, @pitterpatter? I wonder if you're misunderstanding what it is...

lol love your gif. Only if i could find something that motivates me to get going. I'm not talking about weight loss but financially and career wise.

Hi,

My hubbie and I are new to Steemit.

Jack (my husband) was on Facebook back when most people were still using Windows 2000, so he is not new to social networks, although up until recently he was only on Twitter, since Facebook did their thing a few years ago.

I am still on Facebook, more so because of the communications it offers and the fact that most of my family and friends are there does make it a good tool to communicate with them. Similar to Skype and/or Viber but with a "social network" fragment to it.

Over the past few days both my husband and I have taken different approaches to our being here, he wants to get into it 100 miles per hour, make new friends, follow as many people as possible to see who all is out there and so on.

I on the other hand am just chilling out, posting what I like, what comes to mind, what puts a smile on my face, obviously I am still under the influence of Twitter limitations to text and somewhat the Facebook "Big Brother" ordeal!

Learning as I go along.

My hubbie told me to read this and to watch an interview with you (posted on Steemit) did so and have to admit that you have spiced up my interests.

Apart from the usual pow wows we have, this weekend we shall be sitting down and pow wowing over Steemit.

THANK YOU.

That is what this all boils down to.

In fact I shall make this a post and list the links to the articles I am referring to.

Sylvia

Steemit is not a money making platform. You share your Realistic thought. If Community like then upvote. If they not upvote that's not mean you are worthless, that means you are out dated, you have to renew yourself come with new idea thats community like.

I was reading through steemit .. I found this post, I cacht my atension and made read it... It is a new point of view on how this works here.. This is a very interesting post .. thank you for the post .

Interesting post, thanks for sharing 100 upvoted from @chanthasam

I enjoyed it as well. :)

ME TOO!! WOW

Keep working, stop paying.
There are more important things than money.

What would we reward @papa-pepper with if money wasn't an option?
Love.

Support. Admiration. The emotional needs if there are no physical needs. Maslov's pyramid, ya know?

Yep, but crapitalism places no value on such things.

Better to short circuit the paradigm, to just keep working, while refusing to buy that work back from it's distributors.

Let us build a community that supports humanity and reaches for happiness and the stars!