The #bitcoinpizza challenge was an attempt to help the community think more about the nature of money and where it comes from in the Steemit ecosystem. It's a tough question, and I'm very grateful to those of you who took up the challenge.
Putting this out there was risky for me. At first I was worried no one would reply. Thankfully, 10 of you did. I had trouble picking my favorites because there are so many different angles to take. Some were detailed explanations, others were great conversations, while others were just downright hilarious. I wanted to make sure everyone who contributed got something. I decided to go with four prize levels. For those who participated: my rankings are arbitrary and don't necessarily reflect the quality of your writing or of your ideas on money. If anything, they're probably influenced more by whatever I ate for dinner tonight. Either way, I picked some I liked so we can wrap this up.
After posting this, I'll send each of you Steem Backed Dollars for your efforts. The introduction post for this challenge made me 217 SBD and my own entry made 16 SBD (not including any Steem Power). That comes to 233, which I then doubled and rounded down to 465 SBD for the total prize pool.
Level 1 Prize - 100 SBD
@steemrollin
Steem: Where DOES the money come from?
This was actually written a month ago, so it didn't have the #bitcoinpizza tag, but it was entered via the comments, and I'm allowing it because it's just such a great write up. If you haven't already, go give it a read.
Level 2 Prize - 75 SBD
@sean-king
Here's My #BitcoinPizza Challenge Entry--Where Does Steem's Value Come From?
(scarcity and influence)
@freiheit
Where does the money come from ? #bitcoinpizza answer [challenging 2 minutes read]
(it's a concept, like language)
Level 3 Prize - 35 SBD
@ajvest
@ajvest's Reply: Where Does The Money Come From?
(funny conversion with some F-Bombs thrown in)
@bacchist
bacchist's Reply: Where Does The Money Come From?
(experience: seeing is believing)
@benslayton
Where Does The Money Come From? - Ben's Reply
(demand and trust)
@jasonstaggers
My Reply to “Where Does The Money Come From?”
(value through social media)
Level 4 Prize - 25 SBD
@altoz
Where does Steem value come from #BitcoinPizza entry
(the network)
@akareyon
Akas answer -- "Where does the money come from?"
(fun story, the bank issues it)
@arcaneinfo
@arcaneinfo Reply: Where Does The Money Come From?
(it's an idea in our minds)
You might be asking, why did Luke spend his own money on this? That's a good question. I'm not really sure. I am sure that I want more people to think about and question their own understanding of money. So many people work every day to earn money and pay bills without even thinking about what it is. I'm hopeful Steemit can change this. It won't come about just through technology. It requires that we, as members of the community, continue to challenge our own thinking and skill up.
One of the best posts I've seen so far on this topic came from @wingz just today:
Where The Money Comes From - "Digging Deeper Into Steem" (Part 1)
In that excellent post, he also links out to these gems:
@wingz
My Journey Peeling back the Economic Layers of the Steemit Onion...
@andarchy
Steemit's REAL Diabolical Plan For WORLD DOMINATION - Part 1
@arhag
Where does the money come from? A look into the economics of Steem.
@churdtzu
Steemit's new economic paradigm, or: Why Steemit might just work
@dan
Steemit's Evil Plan for Cryptocurrency World Domination
I hope you'll take the time to read through these and continually skill up your understanding of how Steemit is creating a new form of money. This money won't be backed by coercion or government decree. It won't be controlled by intentionally convoluted, cronyism policies. It won't be restricted to imaginary physical boundaries.
The future money of Steemit will be what we make of it. Let's get our understanding right from the beginning.
Thanks again to everyone who participated and put themselves out there to better understand money and think through how to explain it to their friends and family.