**Before democracy human society had something that was known as a 'census suffrage' system. In effect this meant that those who had the most, were the ones who had a vote. And their vote was weighted by what they owned. This class, known as aristocracy, or the elite, also had their own money system. That was created by them and was intertwined with every aspect of life, back then. And allthough we think that we live in a democratic system, we actually still live in that 'census suffrage' system. That brought forth things like governments, multi-nationals, banks and mainstream media. It is all related to each other. Nowadays meaning the more you 'own', the more 'power' in this system you'll have.**
[Steem on Graphene](https://github.com/cryptonomex/graphene), or SonG, is, in effect, a stakeholder company on a blockchain. That means it uses the 'census suffrage' system, like any stakeholding based company. SteemIt dot com is a visualization of this Steem on Graphene stakeholder blockchain company. And [SteemItPond dot com](http://steemitpond.com/) just shows this to you in a different way, what [SteemD dot com](https://steemd.com/@oaldamster) does in a more complex way. The difference is that at SteemIt you can actually interact with part of the Steem On Graphene system. Meaning you can actively create Social Media content that becomes part of the product that releases Steem. SonG {Es on Gee} is not a co-operation company where every stakeholder gets an equivalent payment. It is biased towards 'trending', or it works as a 'census suffrage' system. The Steem on Graphene 'VESTS', better known as Steem Power, holders determine who gets the most value by upvoting or even none by downvoting.
### It is not a democracy, not one Steemer - one vote, it's a company
People who invest in ideas, startups and what not, do this because they trust to get a return on their investments. And that this is way more than they would get when put it in a credit account at a bank. There is some form of speculation needed there by the way... In effect there is a gamble and you might lose all that you had invested and more. If something, like a startup, gets 'trending' that means it will pass the treshhold needed for 'it' to become a profitable investment. And the more invested in a stakeholder company, the more voting weight there is. And this means that somebody, or a group of investors, can have a lot of influence in the way that products or services are being created. Investors want a good return, at least a bit more than inflation and devaluation costs, but rather some more than that.
So, any stuff, it being products or services, does not matter. As long as it gets created and a big enough return is generated. Those who are huge stakeholders will have a big influence on the way things develope, short term and long term. And if these large stakeholders start a joint venture, they can have a majority share in the company. Or it could even be one that controles it all, just by having most of the shares. In the Steem on Graphene realm these shares are known as VESTS, and their amount determines ones voting power, in either way. The more VESTS one owns, the more influence one has in the whole system, that works according to 'census suffrage' rules.
And before blochain technology we were used to companies getting a registration at a chamber of commerce. But as Bitcoin allready proved for creating digital crypto fiat valuta, digital technology that can get data secured into and by a blockchain. It can hold and secure contracts, brands, services and also complete companies. And that is, in effect, what Steem on Graphene is, at least that is my conclusion so far. And 'it' can do things that analogue companies cannot do, or not as relatively easy. So this might be a true evolution that is going to change the way we are used to deal with, like having an account that has value in it. And also the way we go about with contracts, how we are able to proof that we own a house that we live in. No matter what a bank in the old analogue economical system tries to enforce.
SteemIt, as a Social Media platform on the Steem on Graphene blockchain is a product or service of this stakeholder company construction. And the ones creating the fresh, exciting and new content, will also become a stakeholder in this decentralised company. But in effect it still is a 'census suffrage' type of stakeholder company. And I think that it is important for all members, stakeholders, being creators or just investors, to understand this. For it might hurt the value of Steem on the market if it keeps on getting misunderstood.
### Think of yourself of being an atom, many of them make a powerfull Graphene molecule
When I started at SteemIt, about 7 weeks ago, I had no idea about it more then: "Hey, cool, blogging on a blockchain, that is freaking awesome!" I was done with Bitcoin, Ethereum and all of that same old, same old. And then I noticed SteemIt, a true innovation, and as a geek, I do love these kind of 'to weird to work' things. Because they usually tend to work and well, that is part of my life story, so I would fit in just fine, I thought. And it pays me to join? Ah well, okay, at Minds dot com I was about to get Bitcoin, but then they made a credit system. (reMinds me to do another SteemIt promotion there...) Anyway, liked the logo, the idea, blogging, writing, posting my work, my art, my geek ideas. Fed up with Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter and the likes.
And I thought that if it were a few dollar cents that I would get because of the received upvotes, that would allready be more than my involvement in Slothcoin had brought me. But that one I still love and will keep, it made me a multi-millionair, well in Sloth, but it did, and I really like those creatures. Sometimes good things take time, a Sloth is the living proof of that. But then SteemIt as a concept surprised me when I received more than just a few cents. Well, I'd have to state that it really made me speechless at some point. So I plucked my Fruit Of Work and it did feel good, still does. Also I was able to share because I care. Even makes me feel better.
As time went by, only weeks by the way, I came to understand more of the inner workings. And I saw the discussion rise about equivalency. Bot fights, badly programmed copy-paste bots coming to life, whale attacks and what not. Many things that could be considered stakeholders misunderstanding they are hurting their own share too. There is no gain in any way by just shouting or using whale kind of power, simply because you can. That is not smart, because that behaviour hurts the price stability of Steem, and thus your own VESTS value. At least that is how I see it.
Recently I started to doubt if it wasn't better to get out off this Steem on Graphene stakeholding company on a blockchain. In effect that means: Powering down, or slowly removing my part in this company on the blockchain. And I'm not only a VESTS owner, allthough a minor one mind you, I do also create content on a regular basis. Meaning I'm part of the production groupe of Steemers that actually bring value to this company, literally by creating content. That pays for a lot, because part of that created value goes into the backbone support of the Steem on Graphene system. And I'm totally okay with that, because it in symbiosis with the rest. We need each other in this company on the blockchain.
And if you want to change things and you think you are only small. Even believe you're just plankton (whalefood), then try to think of it in another way. You are an atom, or maybe allready more atoms and there are many more just like you. Now the beauty of this Steem concept is that there are not many restrictions to what you can do. And you may think that one atom does not make a difference, but by adding another 5, you get Graphene, and that will give you some power.
Now in the time I've been here, at SteemIt, I came across some awesome fellow human beings from alle over our beautifull living and breathing planet. And with these I could start a Graphene molecule, to gain more Steem Power, by working together in the Steem realm. So maybe that might be a way to gain more influence in this huge fast growing virtual stakeholder company on the Graphene blockchain. Because I don't think it is, at this time of writing, easy to implement a democratic voting system in favour of the 'census suffrage' one. If consencus would be reached on that in a Steem Vote Cast though, well that might change things.
But if that would be a good thing to do for the market value of Steem, I doubt it. Allthough I could be wrong off course. Anyway, I'm still around, and I'm still holding my VESTS in the Steem on Graphene blockchain company. And just created another piece of content. With a few other 3D printing design ideas still in the back of my mind, I wish you well and a prosperous time at SteemIt.
Steem On!
https://robohash.org/oaldamster.png
That's me as a SteemD robot ;-)