Executive Summary of Recommended Article -

# The Recommended article is: [Steemit Bridges Blockchain and Social Media, But How Does It Work?](http://www.coindesk.com/steemit-blockchain-social-media-how-works/)

![](http://i.imgsafe.org/fe239d0f8a.jpg)
[Image credit](https://www.steemimg.com/image/U8RZ)

**Executive Summary**
When an obscure cryptocurrency with a total market cap of approximately $14m skyrockets to over $400m, people take notice. But, when that cryptocurrency forms the backbone of a social media entity rewarding people for creating content, sometimes with thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for single posts, excitement and skepticism ensue.

# The brainchild of Daniel Larimer, founder of BitShares, and Ned Scott, a former financial analyst. 
Steemit aims to provide a place for individuals to create content, promote the content they believe is good and comment on stories — all while earning money. 
At the root is the currency Steem, which is the typical transferrable, fungible, freely moveable token akin to Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other cryptocurrency. 

# But that same Steem can be put into two different types of smart contracts depending on the particular utility an individual wants. 
The first is called Steem Power, which provides utility and leverage. Steem Power is the backbone of an account's voting-potential. In other words, the more Steem Power an individual has, the stronger their vote is on Steemit. The second smart contract is called Steem Dollars. This is a debt-like instrument that promises to distribute $1 worth of Steem to the token holder at some point in the future. Because it is a stable debt instrument, users who hold Steem Dollars miss out on any Steem price increases. To compensate for the locked value, Steem Dollars accrue interest. At the time of the story, users that hold Steem Dollars will earn 10% a year in interest, paid out in Steem Dollars.

# There are two methods of acquiring Steem on Steemit. 
The first is by writing a blog post. As that blog post accrues votes, the amount of Steem that will be distributed to the writer increase. To incentivize this sort of voting, there is also the curation reward paid out in the form of Steem Power. There are two reward pool distributions. The first is approximately 12 hours after the post has been submitted. The second reward pool distribution occurs one month later.

# Steemit gains its security from a delegated proof-of-stake algorithm, first developed for Larimer's BitShares project, which is a variation of proof-of-stake. 
The more currency held by a wider variety of people, the more secure the network is. While there are certainly naysayers, the reality is that Steemit continues to see more people signing up and participating.