Hey guys. My name is Jerem. I hail from one of the many islands of the Philippines and I'm new here at Steemit (So new that I haven't even introduced myself before this post). This is my first post, so please forgive the wall of text.

I actually got compelled to write this story because of a trending article that I read here: https://steemit.com/steemit/@surpassinggoogle/the-road-map-to-sustainable-steemit-growth-in-the-philippines-and-asia-powered-by-the-steemit-communty

In the above post, the author was talking about developments in Steemit growth in my locale, and also outlining his ideas on how to grow further mainly through small meetups and events.

It was a good read, and was very exciting for me knowing that I'm a part of something before it was (potentially) cool. In this post, I’d like to give my 2 cents on the matter. I do think that Steemit has a good chance of growing in the Philippines. Why?

One, because we are a country of social media addicts

A patiently-listening friend is all you need to waste the day away. It's become a pastime, you know. We were slow before to adapting technology, so when other countries were already entertaining themselves with TV and the internet, Filipinos killed time the old-fashioned way; chit-chatting with the neighbors.

And now that we HAVE adapted the TV and the internet, the gossiping habit never really got lost. We still like talking, only this time, it's through Facebook and Twitter.

My country has been dubbed the "social media capital of the world". It has been for years in a row. A huge percentage of the population has internet access, and most if not all of them have at least one social media account.

And these awards, if you can call it that, are not just for show; we are really active socialites. Going viral is a normal thing because we like sharing and getting likes for the things that we share (which I believe is one of the central features of Steemit). And when we go offline, that viral thing we saw online is going to spread via word of mouth. Whatever we experience, we just want to share with others.

Another thing about Steemit that might appeal to Filipinos is the incentive.

Filipinos love freebies, especially if that freebie is money. In fact, this is so true that people are willing to even give away money, just to get even more. We have all kinds of different scams going on in the Philippines. Even the simplest, who-would-be-stupid-enough-to-fall-for-this types of scams are working because we are very easy to fool when it comes to money.

Now, imagine telling someone that they can earn money just by doing what they have already been doing for 4 hours a day, 365 days a year; sharing stuff online to their friends… They’d jump at the idea without a doubt.

Yes, I understand that money isn’t really the point of Steemit, it’s being able to talk about what you want, with the Steem dollars incentive just being the encouragement. But still, I think this is a huge selling point.

So if I were to suggest ways on how to let Filipinos know about Steemit, my main suggestion will be: to use celebrities. Filipinos are SO OBSESSED with celebrities.

Bad movies earn big bucks just because of who's starring in it. Albums are going platinum from artists who are famous but obviously can't sing. Manny Pacquiao's mom has become an effective product endorser, just because she's the mother of our country's most famous sportsman.

We are so good at making things popular even if they shouldn’t be (just look at the pabebe girls).

A familiar face is one to be believed. If a celebrity here uses Steemit, I'm sure their fanbase would follow suit. You don't even have to gun for big-time TV stars, just our Instagram celebrities would do. Even just small bloggers should at least increase visibility!

Just invite a blogger to try out the platform and let them know about the features of this site. Give it a week, and it should spread like butter on a hot toast. I read that there are already events that are targeting these people, and I say focus more on them.

One obstacle that I would say is a challenge to Steemit adoption is the mystery surrounding the technology. What’s a decentralized network? What’s a blockchain? What is Steem Dollars?

While Filipinos may like trying out something new, they are also prone to avoiding something that is not easily understood. We also have a short attention span, so when explaining Steemit to a regular Filipino, one has to be short and simple.

Another thing, if Steemit IS going to be next big thing here, expect that most of the users are going to be from the younger demographic. As I mentioned earlier, the internet is a relatively new thing here, so the older people are not as comfortable with it as the younger generation are.

Not saying it’s a bad thing. Just hoping the site won’t turn into Reddit, aka an underside of a bridge where trolls come to nest.

Your thoughts? Leave me a comment below.