It's not often that a country comes together to snub a tech giant such as Facebook. Zuckerberg's promise of a incredible digital future that could potentially change a commoners life for the better was concluded as a farce. Indians saw something sinister brewing underneath, even as Facebook's marketing propaganda made 'Free Basics' seem like the knight-in-shining armour that Indian underprivileged deserved, to help them get on the Internet.
Facebook's pretence of giving India a gift of a 'curated Internet,' where it encouraged it's own services, and discouraged other websites was palpable. There was no denying the truth irrespective of how they tried to jumble their marketing speak. It had never seen a stumbling block in it's growth history as it did trying to rip-off Indians.
As remarked by a Reddit user in an AMA with Chris Daniels, Facebook VP for Internet.org which includes Free Basics had this to say:
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused by us Indians in not accepting something that is vehemently against free speech and the open internet... We've been stupid with the British East India Company. Never again brother, Never again!”
It's commendable that Facebook wanted to bring millions of people to the internet who had never previously been on the internet. Zuckerberg's argument was that if you get millions from the emerging markets onto the internet, you could potentially provide employment to over 100 million people.
In July 2014, Facebook launched Internet.org in Zambia and in 2016 Google quit this project citing they were simply on trial basis. This zero rated project ultimately became Free Basics for the Indian market. There isn't much to add to this apart from the fact it has failed to make real world impact in getting people on to the internet.
The issue surrounding this wasn't so much that Facebook wanted to bring new users to it's platform in the pretext of providing internet to the masses but also about being in a position to decide which sites it wanted to include in it's list.
The company positioned Free Basics and Internet.org as a philanthropic endeavour —backed by Zuckerberg’s own pronouncements that “connectivity is a human right” —whilst retaining complete control of the platform. This undoubtedly seemed unacceptable as witnessed by it's defeat in India that stood up for protecting net neutrality!
Now imagine, if this was allowed to happen, would there be a possibility that a platform such as Steemit be part of the list of websites that Facebook would allow it's users to view under Free Basics? We all know how that would go!
But the Internet must remain neutral to all.
How Many People Use Facebook in India?
It's no secret that Facebook is vying the Indian market for a multitude of reasons:
- A vastly educated population that can read, write and speak in English.
- Tremendous and untapped potential in the ecommerce space.
- Massive rural population that can be brought onto the internet.
- Huge upside for big data gathering and advertising revenues in the billions.
- Fast paced economy led by a strong leader at it's helm.
- Few curbs on doing businesses online, especially social media platforms.
- Strong social media presence of brands and massive demand for business that want to have an online presence.
The list is quite endless why Facebook wants to grab a piece of the vast legions of the internet with a focused approach towards growing it's user-base from India and elsewhere.
The data from the popular Statistics portal reveals some interesting facts. Facebook's American market is saturated as it has already signed-on most number of users it possibly could have in the past decade from it's country of origin. But, even as there are over 213 millions users from India, it's services is just starting to penetrate the audience in South-East Asian regions, and important markets such as India.
Now what if we could get even 1% of Facebook's userbase from India or any other large market onto Steemit in a year? Chances are this 1% may hold some of the best users we could potentially have, who in-turn will assist in mass on-boarding of users.
Why Steemit Can Succeed Where Facebook Stumbled
The core ideological differences between Facebook and Steemit are that Facebook wants to connect everyone on this planet and in the process it collects user data and profits off this big data on it's platform without any kind of revenue share with it's users or any kind of tangible monetary incentive for using the platform. The capitalist outlook is that it doesn't have to give you back a dime because it provides a service that is unparalleled in it's demand as well as features.
Steemit Inc is different to Facebook as it rewards users to participate on it's platform because it thinks your attention, effort and time is worth something! The value that you and content provide is certainly worth in monetary terms and the community on Steemit values your attention by rewarding you with it's Steem tokens.
Facebook's idea of creating millions of jobs using the internet is great. But, it's a concept that Facebook has failed to bring to life at the time this post goes to press, so to speak.
Steemit isn't trying to solve the problem of unemployment or do anything philanthropic. But, by it's design, it has created a world of new possibilities where it's users could possibly earn a basic minimum monthly income by simply using the Steem blockchain via Steemit.com user interface or any other interfaces to the blockchain. The tokens rewarded from use of the platform have a tangible market value unlike the 'likes' received on Facebook which frankly means nothing. This is just one way of looking at Steemit.
Steemit users who are able to grow their accounts through sheer effort and hard-work are able to earn a decent income per month. This requires consistency which not every one of us has but then the potential to earn exists by design.
If you spare a minute to think about the fact that if you were/are someone from an emerging economy where $250/month means a lot of money, then this is something you could easily earn (or might have earned already) on Steemit by being a regular here for few hours a day. Infact most new users are able to make atleast a decent $100/month here from their active participation. I know over a dozen of my own recruits, all of them crypto noobs who have achieved this.
In comparison Facebook wants to create jobs by getting more users on to it's platform. But what does it provide in return for your use of the platform and it's commercial use of your private data? Absolutely nothing!
Steemit as we know it today is nothing but a social media platform that allows monetization of content. But it is evolving and in the future there maybe many user interfaces to the Steem blockchain that might enable Facebook like features allowing you connect with users across the globe, while continuing to allow you to monetise your attention, effort, and use of the platform.
There are plans in the Steemit roadmap to introduce community features similar to Reddit sub-reddits. These features and many more may allow business to benefit by their presence on Steemit. Maybe one day we could use this platform to crowdfund startups and other important projects on a global scale. The possibilities for using the Steem blockchain are truly immense. It's hard to say where the ceiling really is!
It may seem like i'm a Steem blockchain and Steemit.com evangelist.
But, to my credit I have my experience of using this platform to it's potential. Now, after a year of being here, I've been able to focus solely on Steemit to earn a living from writing and sharing on the blockchain, something that I haven't been able to accomplish on my 9 years on Facebook.
Therefore, I am confident that a smart economy such as India and every other nation in the world stands to benefit from the mainstream use of this platform and it's blockchain technology, and enabling this mass adoption will be one of Steemit's greatest successes!
You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
- Thank You Steemians! I've Crossed the 3000 Followers Milestone! Top Author from India and a Quick Recap!
- Dummies Guide to Basic Steemit Account Security + Account Recovery Guide! Must Read For Steemit Users!