I've been playing with the idea to write a post about what adds value to the Steem blockchain. Now, I guess this is something that's different for each and every person, but I'd like to lay out my thoughts about this subject. 

Now, this will just be a collection of my personal beliefs on how I try to find interesting topics to write about, and what practices I adhere to when using external sources as a basis for my own work. 

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/iOTurXx.jpg</center><center>*Source: [Nick Youngson](http://www.nyphotographic.com/) [CC BY-SA 3.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) [Alpha Stock Images](http://alphastockimages.com/) [Source](http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/handwriting/v/value.html)*</center>

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# Value to the Reader
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**My main focus when writing a new article is to provide value to the reader of my article. Whether it's a personal blog post or an informative article, I always try to give the reader something in exchange for the time spent reading my post.** 


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> **Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.  --[Jim Rohn](https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/jim_rohn_147516?src=t_value)**

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Sometimes I'll dedicate entire articles to providing people with information that cannot be found anywhere else on the internet, at least not in the same way as I've compiled it. The more personal blogs will usually contain a message that might be helpful for people who are dealing with similar issues. 

The point I'm trying to make here is that, for me, I wouldn't get any satisfaction out of writing if I just did it for the sake of writing (and money). I need to think that, at least some of my content, really helps someone out down the line. 

Maybe someone reads my [post about finding jobs in the crypto industry](https://steemit.com/crypto/@daan/find-jobs-that-pay-in-crypto-big-list-of-crypto-job-boards) and they end up finding employment because of that. Perhaps people will support a Pixabay creator when they hear about the [Pixabay Curation Magazine](https://steemit.com/pixabaycuration/@daan/announcement-pixabay-curation-magazine-rewarding-pixabay-contributors).

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/3M4ktqa.jpg</center><center>*Source: by [Kreatikar on Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/website-sitemap-plan-layout-html-3407280/)*</center>

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# Derivative Work & Value Added
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**[Value Added](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_added) is a concept from economics, which is used to show how much the value of a product is increased at each stage of the production process. This concept can also be applied to writing in a certain sense.**
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When I am working on an article that's, *in essence*, a derivative work from multiple sources, I always make sure to provide additional value to the reader. The ultimate goal is to give the reader something that they wouldn't have had, if they had just read each of the source articles. 

You wouldn't copy an article word for word and pass it as your own, would you?  Well, I think it's also somewhat dishonest to re-write an article in your own words. It's absolutely fine and even encouraged to use external sources, as long as you add your own value to the article you're using them for. 

Value can be added in many different ways, the easiest way to add value is to include your own commentary, alongside the information you've gathered from different sources. Maybe you can find a way to compile certain information into something entirely new. Whatever you do, make sure that your final article offers *more* to your readers than any of the sources you've used. 

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<center>https://i.imgur.com/fCJfpuJ.jpg</center><center>*Source: by [Pixelcreatures on Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/original-shield-label-characters-960525/)*</center>

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# Value on the Steem Blockchain
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**It's not that easy to define what's valuable content, but uniqueness might be the most significant factor in determining what's valuable content for the Steem blockchain, especially so when this content provides answers to questions which cannot be found anywhere else on the internet. Now, this is applicable to informative articles, maybe less so to personal blogs, which I also think add significant value.**
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In the case of personal blogs, they're unique by default. People don't usually have to make use of external sources to write about their personal experiences. There's definitely a big demand from readers for unique personal content. 

It gets a little bit cloudy when determining the value of articles which are based on information gathered from external sources. I've touched upon that in the previous paragraph. Content such as that can provide value, if it is not just repeating the basic message of the source article(s). 

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# To Conclude
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**At the end of the day, it's best to write about subjects that you're passionate about. The only thing that I like to keep in mind while I'm doing that, is to also think about the person who's reading my article.**
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If everybody just repeats each other, it'll become boring very quickly. It's not wrong to talk about the same subject, BUT there need to be unique elements to each separate article. 

I've purposefully *not* used the word plagiarism throughout this post, because it adds legal elements to it that I don't care to explain now. Though that's essentially what you could be committing, if you make use of outside sources incorrectly. 

### I will do my best to follow my own rules and add value to the Steem blockchain. I hope you will do so too! 

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