Vlog #39: The operational cost of the Steem blockchain is so low compared to Facebook.
When you consider that the Steem blockchain has the potential to grow to the size of Reddit or Facebook and when you then start to think about how much cheaper the blockchain is to maintain compared to these other platforms it's so awesome.
The Steem blockchain is run by witnesses (real people....I met some of them on Steemfest 1). The witnesses are chosen by the community. The witnesses run a node (or server) to keep the blockchain alive.
They also verify the code of new hard forks (big changes to the steem blockchain) and they have to reach consensus before these changes are passed.
The beauty is that these witnesses (top 19) are being paid out of the reward pool (10%) to run these nodes. (I believe they can make ends meet and even make a profit doing this. It's one of the things I would like to ask them on SF2.)
So now we have a running blockchain almost for free.
To tap into this blockchain we need Frontends. Sites like steemit.com, busy.org, beta.chainbb.com, Esteem all tap into the Steem blockchain and pull out the same data and present it in different ways.
That's why when Steemit.com is down you can still use another front end to tap into the blockchain. All these front ends can be monetized and hopefully make enough so the creators earn a nice profit too.
Users get to use these frontends for free to make awesome content and have the chance to be paid for providing this content.
All sounds pretty good so far.
But it gets better.
The Steem blockchain has no CEO, it has no board of directors that want bonuses and big salaries and it has no employees. The Steem blockchain has no owner. A steem blockchain does not have paperwork or lawyers. It has no revenue model. It has no adds. I'm talking purely about the blockchain. It also has no huge server parks to store all your data. Operational costs are incredibly low.
And every day new Steem tokens are created by this same blockchain and given to the witnesses, content providers and curators. It just maintains itself.
And everyone that has Steem tokens benefits from the blockchain become better and stronger.
For me, it's a mindblowing concept.
I'll talk about it more in my vlog: starts from @ 2:13.
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Great explanation of the inner workings of Steemit. I found it fascinating and learned a lot. What a huge contrast from the monstrous corporate conglomerate that is facebook. I understand now how important it is now that I do my research and vote for witnesses. I never really understood what being a witness entailed. Great post as always. I learn something new from you everyday.
Can we elect more witnesses in the future when servers continuity gets more important and if government get hostile?
Also, do the top witnesses have to compete with prices (is the 10% static or dynamic)?
There are more witnesses running nodes. But I believe only the top 19 get rewards from the pool.
Thanks!
Very true, blockchain has not only brought down the cost but also improved the uptime of data by distributing it in different nodes.
I understand pretty much ALL of the steem eco-system and I'm rapidly building tools with steem based domains for the community too (I don't want to give away more specifics than just that for now)
But I cannot figure out exactly what busy.org is for at all. I read all it's static content pages (About, Help, etc) and they say nothing much at all, about what it actually does. It looks like a steemit RSS feed more or less in appearance. So what's it do? It sure has all the right power whales on it's teams and boards and advisory panels, but it's not clear what it even is for?
Please and thank you?
busy.org is just a different frontend for the Steem blockchain. It's the same data but portrait differently. Some prefer it to Steemit. The difference is if you use busy.org to create content a part of your earnings goes to the creators of busy.org. I think that's a great (and fair) business model.
Thank you!
I just drop 10 cents on you bro
Mr. Green Egg, I hope Steemit can catch wind like facebook with the mainstream. I already two friends on board with steemit so far and they really like the idea. We shall see though!
It is amazing how steem is ran and how there are no money hungry people that only care about benefitting themselves rather than the site.
We all owe the witnesses so much as they maintain everything we do, keeping steem breathing.
I hope this system will be able to sustain when there are millions of users using Steemit.
Yes... When I think of Steemit I always think "Money doesn't grow on trees, but it does grow on the blockchain. On the Steemit blockchain." :)
Of course we all have to work for it, but it doesn't come out of anyone's pocket. It's incredible. Nobody loses. Everybody wins.
It is mind blowing. I don't see how they compete over time. I'm thankful for you exyle and other experienced users who are willing to educate us because I think one problem with Steemit is its complexity. There is a lot more going on than just posting and up-voting.
Once you learn more about the Steem blockchain it will blow your mind. It has done it to mine. And I'm still discovering new insights and possibilities.
I love the no corporation, the no CEO, the no board of directors aspect. It's a revolutionary idea that more and more people are turning on to, .... I think
Tried to say that in dutch - broke my tongue :d
Yeaas, mooore informative videos. I want mooar! It's what people need to keep calm in this heavy volatile days.