Hello. My name is Kyle Torpey, and I've been writing about Bitcoin (and related topics) since late 2013. I mostly write for Bitcoin or cryptocurrency focused media sites, but my work has also been featured in places like VICE Motherboard, Business Insider, and RT's Keiser Report.
I've been interested in Steemit-esque platforms for quite awhile now, and this appears to be the first project to gain some traction in the area of attaching money to upvotes or likes. I'm still somewhat skeptical of the platform, but I've decided to learn more about it by trying it out.
How I Became a Bitcoin Writer
I first became interested in Bitcoin back in 2011 when Gawker published a story about Silk Road. Initially, I thought anyone who thought they could get away with something like that on the Internet was an idiot, but I learned a lot about how Bitcoin works over the next year or two and realized I was the dumb one.
By late 2013, reading about Bitcoin was taking up a lot of my free time, and I wanted to figure out a way to turn my fascination with Bitcoin into a job. At the time, I was working in SEO (search engine optimization) and did a lot of copywriting, so I figured writing about Bitcoin would be my best bet. The first article I ever wrote was for Let's Talk Bitcoin, and the second one was for the now-defuct Yahoo! Contributors Network.
The piece for Yahoo! was about the various "Bitcoin 2.0" platforms in development at the time such as Mastercoin and Protoshares. It did well on the /r/Bitcoin subreddit and was eventually picked up by Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert for the Keiser Report. I should note that I no longer hold the views I held back then in regards to altcoins and appcoins. I poked fun at myself for thinking these were possibly good ideas on a recent podcast.
The popularity of the Bitcoin 2.0 article led to a number of job offers. I ended up joining CryptoCoinsNews as editor-in-chief. Later in the year, I moved to Inside Bitcoins as a writer and eventually took over as editor-in-chief there as well. These days, I mostly write for Bitcoin Magazine, CoinJournal, and CoinGecko.
As I mentioned above, I've been interested in a financialized version of Reddit for quite some time. I even shared some of my own ideas on the topic with the Yours Network team, who are building a platform similar to Steemit. Obviously, another reason for being here is selfish in nature; I'd like to see if Steemit can offer better pay than my current writing gigs.
My Initial Thoughts on Steemit
I'm not sure what to think of Steemit so far because I haven't done much research on it. I feel the best way to learn about it is to simply use the platform to post articles. I'll likely continue to post articles here as long as it makes financial sense for me to do so.
I will say that I'm turned off by the altcoin used in Steemit, and I don't plan to hold any STEEM. I will be moving funds into bitcoin or US dollars whenever possible. If the economics of STEEM work like other appcoins, then I don't have much hope for its long term success as a speculation. Daniel Krawisz has written a solid piece on why appcoins (which STEEM appears to be) don't make much sense. I'm not sure why a new altcoin (and perhaps even a blockchain) is necessary for Steemit to function properly. But again, I must admit I haven't done much research on this particular project.
Anyway, I think that's all I have to share for now. I'm looking forward to testing out this platform over the next few weeks!
Twitter: @kyletorpey
Website with links to some of my past work: kyletorpey.com