I'm sitting cosy and comfy in an achipelago of decentralisation, far removed from the glossy war-torn ghetto that mainstream social media has become. The particular island I am currently on is called leofinance.io, which resides on the Hive blockchain. These islands of opportunity have no entry restrictions regarding one's identity, ideology, background etc and it doesn't matter how many inhabitants are already here. The communities are encouraging and supportive, everyone is welcome. Those who make the move from the main(stream)land find themselves faced with possibilities beyond anything they may have previously experienced or imagined in the 'traditional zone'.
Sound abstract, mythological, impossible? Maybe it does to an untuned ear, but intriguing too perhaps! However, this is already a not-too-good-to-be-true reality for many. Read on then fellow traveller, if you wish to discover.....
The Poisoned Prison:
I've done my jail time on Facebook. It was my intro to being actively engaged in social media and it kinda felt good in the beginning. I was catching up with folk I hadn't been in touch with for years and there seemed to be a lingering promise of a space in which to creatively express oneself and state one's worldview, philosophy, personal experience etc. Given that many people experience life as a series of restrictions and 'have-to' obligations, this had a powerfully liberating feel about it.
But things soured pretty quickly.
Life-updates began to correspond to a version of self that one wanted to project to the world - fakery crept in. Addiction to being approved, accepted and having one's content 'liked' and commented on positively started to feel heavy. Trolling and conflict proliferated as the space transformed into a platform for 'darker' traits to be expressed and individuals to be targeted by insincere and manipulative forces.
With the growing popularity of social media platforms also grew the awareness of 'power' on the part of the media corporations (Facebook, Google etc). It became obvious (for those with eyes to see) that they were manipulating people's experience and also profiting heavily from the output of users, who almost never ever received any of this value and if so, a mere pittance. Quite apart from pocketing the creative output of millions, the media giants revealed themselves to be censoring and manipulating content, controlling what and whom users could search for and interact with. Most insultingly of all, these wealthy and powerful corporations were found to be gathering and consolidating personal individual data on a massive scale and then selling it on or using it to manipulate the user experience. None of this was of any benefit to the vast majority of people - all of us - using their platforms.
The promise of freedom revealed itself to be a tarnished mirage washed over in fake colour; restrictions and violations became routine with no challenges or alternatives allowed.
What to do but turn around in frustration and scream FUKKK THIS SHIT?
I know, I've been there, I've eaten of that bitter fruit too! I've given my time and effort; expended energy and emotion; expressed my hopes and dreams.
What does one get in return? Does one ever get to monetise the investment of sweat, blood and tears? Indeed No! Instead, I am turned into a collection of data to be sold to the highest bidder; I become the target of troll armies chasing and creating conflict; My precious voice is silenced and I am dismayed by having wasted ten years on this crap.
Does this sound familiar? Is this not a common experience on Fakebook and Pootube?
Ah wouldn't it be great to have a decentralised platform - which is not controlled by any one group or set of interests - on which to express oneself without fear of censorship? Wouldn't it be amazing if you could actually receive - in concrete, spendable terms - the value associated with your unique voice - your posts and blogs, comments, likes, creations and shared experience in general? Wouldn't it just!
The Antidote:
...... of course such a space actually does exist :). What you are reading is an unbounded and open invitation that you, or anyone else, can avail themselves of immediately should they so choose. All levels of experience fit in this space and you will find:
- a platform where your voice cannot be silenced - transparency is 100% and censorship is impossible
- a platform where you receive value (in cryptocurrency) for all creative and interactive activities currently carried out on, for example, Facebook. To spell this out: by expressing what you enjoy and are interested in and by interacting with others with similar interests, you can receive the fruits of your labour rather than giving them away for free
- a platform where a supportive community is self-regulating to the extent that trolling, shilling, spamming and scamming are practically non-existent
- a larger ecosystem of cutting-edge development in the exciting new world of blockchain and cryptocurrency - all accessible to the user and interlinked via a single profile
- a large and growing body of help (human, documents, media etc) for those seeking to become familiar with this space and navigate it successfully
If you are new to this concept and/or would like to explore further, why not get started with a new account at leofinance.io?
Useful links:
- Video walkthrough: How to create a new account
- The LeoFinance homepage - explore
- Leopedia - learn about LeoFinance and the Hive Blockchain
- Cryptocurrency is money
- Example of a newbie post that made a big payout - this is to illustrate how simple the process can be, there are no guarantees
Here is a selection of 21 Leo-themed page-dividers for the community to use ✌
Thanks for reading 🙏
Barge (@krunkypuram)