I joined SteemIt in October of 2016. It was totally different then. Obviously, there were a lot fewer people, but that's not what I'm referring to.
The whole "vibe" was different. It's hard to explain, but I'll give it a try. I think the biggest difference that I can think of is that you actually got rewarded more or less depending on the quality of your content. That may sound like a blanket statement, but actually, it's pretty direct.
For example, if I threw together a two-minute post, I could expect a "two-minute" reward. In other words, I wouldn't get too much of a response, and the value of the post wouldn't be very good. In fact, it probably wouldn't get rewarded at all. On the other hand, if I took two hours and created an interesting, well-researched piece of content, I could expect to be rewarded handsomely.
This made perfect sense to me at the time. I figured that was the way it was supposed to work. If only it had stayed that way.
I put out ten or twelve posts in my first month. I did pretty well with them. Some of them made ten or twenty dollars. A few made thirty or more. I even had one post break a hundred bucks! However, I run a successful online business, and so that had to take precedence. I'm a "one-man show," and things got busy, so my SteemIt endeavor had to take a backseat. I was away from the platform for quite some time, at least 6 months.
Things began to slow down and I had some time for SteemIt. I put together a pretty decent article (at least I thought it was) and hit the publish key. I put the lid down on my laptop and went off to binge on Netflix. A few episodes of Stranger Things later, I decided to check on my article. Boy, what a surprise. THREE VOTES (and one was my own)! No problem, I thought. Maybe folks just didn't like the subject matter. After all, I'd been away for a while. Maybe I was getting rusty.
I tried a few more times. Same result. No good. Now, I'm no Stephen King . Not by a long shot. But I can string a few sentences together when I put my mind to it. I have to say I was perplexed. Things got even more interesting when I decided to look at what content was actually doing well.
There was a lot of deserving content being rewarded. I'm not going to sit here and say there wasn't. There are a lot of talented writers here on SteemIt. However, I noticed a pretty surprising trend. There was a LOT of SHIT CONTENT with hundreds, even thousands of votes!
It didn't take long for me to identify a disturbing trend. It seemed like there were a few Steemians who always grabbed the spotlight. Frankly, their content really wasn't anything special. I quickly had another revelation. Most of the "trending" content was about Bitcoin, Steem, or some other cryptocurrency. That's cool. I mean, SteemIt is built on a cryptocurrency. It only makes sense that it would become a natural platform for people to write about crypto.
I think we need to be careful, though, because there is much more to life than crypto. I'd hate to see SteemIt turn into a place where 90% of the articles are about crypto.
One thing has become crystal clear, and it's not something I'm very happy about. You have to buy resteems and maybe even votes if you want to receive any kind of exposure. I'll admit, I've purchased resteems. I've even bought a few votes. I've always felt pretty guilty afterward. I mean, why should I have to "pay to play?" I'm not a fan of it. I feel like I'm manipulating the system. I feel like I'm paying people to notice my content even though I feel like it's good enough to be noticed on its own.
Shouldn't my content be able to stand on its own merit? Over the past few days, I've been trying to see SteemIt through the eyes of a newcomer. What would someone who is brand new to SteemIt think? They've been told that SteemIt is decentralized, that it's uncensored, that they can be rewarded for posting quality content. But, are those things really true for someone who is brand new?
I can speak for a few people I've recommended SteemIt to. They hated it. They couldn't understand why anybody would take the time to put quality on a platform that they didn't own. They couldn't understand the benefit of posting their content here instead of on their own personally owned website. Now, back when I joined in 2016, I would have loudly and proudly disagreed with them. Today, I have to say that I don't really have an answer for them.
SteemIt has really done a number on my confidence as of late. I'm beginning to think that maybe it's me. Maybe my content just SUCKS! Maybe nobody looks at or votes for it because it's just no good. Of course, people will comment "good post" and then upvote their own comment, while not even taking the time to upvote my post. So, there's that. And there's always the folks who will comment and ask me "please follow them." Somehow, they always forget to upvote my post as well...
Anyway, let me give you a link to a piece I posted yesterday. Maybe, if you have a minute, you can take a look and see if it's worth more than the sixty cents it's earned so far.
https://steemit.com/blog/@contentking/the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald
Don't even get me started on all of the recent "flag wars" going on. That makes the platform look really good. I really can't comment on that because for the life of me, I couldn't tell you what's it about. On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than a penis measuring contest, but what do I know?
Well, there is ONE THING I know, and that is that I'm coming to the end of my rope.
Good thing for me that I've never been a quitter. I can usually succeed at anything I put my mind to.
Damn, this sure isn't going to be easy...
Well, hope you enjoyed my rant! I'm hoping to break 5 votes. Do you think you can help?
We have a real problem with tools to find and showcase real talent. Agreed.
The Trending page is simply annoying and fixed.. Agreed.
In any fast-paced social media platform, your first and most difficult goal is to get noticed. There are a lot of people who aren't Stephen King and can string some words together.
I think you understand the issues and obviously speak clearly... Now, what are you going to do to get the attention? Voting bots are an advertizing tool. I look forward to seeing more of your sentences strung together.
Welcome back!
I've been posting as much as I can about stuff besides crypto that interests me. I'm trying to fill my feed with gaming, cosplay, politics, and photography. I'm not making super huge bank with every post, but that's fine. I'm finding people that I like to interact with, and building out my network there.
I had to learn the hard way that you shouldn't be blogging here because of the money you can earn, but because you love being here. If you love being here, the enthusiasm is magnetic. You'll draw in more people who upvote, comment, resteem, etc. Those shares will bring in more, and the people you talk to become friends who you can count on to give you the boost you need.
"Choose a job you love and you never have to work a day in your life."
-Confucius
Yes I think this is important. And I totally agree. At first it took me by surprise ( and in not a good way) when I was creating Content that I thought was high quality. And not being Rewarded.
But I cannot tell you how many very, very Successful people here I have talked to in the last few weeks who tell me to put the Earnings aside and do NOT even think about it the first couple of months. It's simply a Process.
And for those who can endure that ( the Grind) , they will see the Rewards come eventually. But in meantime , you really have to have Passion about being here and interacting.
Heck, right now I have a recent Post about 'How to Make engaging and profitable Comments' at Steemit. And it's at a big $.06 worth of Upvotes lol. Of course I believe it should be more than that as it really is a high quality article with great tips. But it is part of the Grind, no doubt ;)
I wrote about this in depth a couple days ago, drawing on what I learned from another failed social network:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@ddrfr33k/where-steemit-does-it-right
I have to agree with @robertandrew. Until you've hustled enough to get a following it's not enough to have really great content. There's just too much competition out there. I have seen people who started later than or around the same time as I did and are getting a really great following and equivalent rewards but I admit they're posting more difficult-to-create content than I am and some of them are doing it more frequently than I am (even though it probably takes me as long to write my posts - I'm kinda a slow editor).
The attention I'm getting is similar to what you're saying you used to have but it's like the art world, you have to make a bunch of interested contacts and I've been hustling to make those contacts. I like what I'm doing so it isn't really working but I'm putting in enough time that I could be working a regular job. I seriously read a lot of posts that I consider quality content on topics that really interest me to the point that I can make intelligent feedback and I also get some decent upvotes for intelligent replies which is really nice too - also feedback for content in a roundabout way. Another thing is that I stop visiting bloggers who can't be bothered to interact with and upvote anyone else's quality comments or posts (one, the other, or both). I'm not picky about them not always upvoting my content but they need to appreciate their followers.
I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I've also bought a few votes that weren't for other people but I steadily refuse to upvote my own posts/comments as I've decided that it should be evident that I consider my posts and comments to be upvote-worthy or I wouldn't post them. I know, I'm a rebel! 😊
That's a really good analogy. Thank you for that. Never thought of that particular Niche and that is so true. No matter how good a damn artist you are it takes Contacts and getting to know people etc..etc..to get yor Art shown in a gallery.
Yes I can totally relate. For instance , there is a certain Steemian that we ALL know pretty much. He's only been here since April or May. But he brought over a HUGE Following from other outlets like FB and YT.
But it is pretty much all about him ( he even openly talks about his fav subject to talk about: "himself" lol and I just do not even full with him and his Content anymore , to be frank ).
I am making a vow right now that when I do start to make a substantial income I will continue looking for undiscovered talent, helping develop and supporting that talent thru engagement, upvoting, and resteming them and make that a huge "Cause " I embrace and work hard at !
I always knew steemit must have been different back then. Yes, there are a lot of good contents now but it doesn't match to the many "bad" things going on.
I don't know of you wouldn't mind me translating this post to French.
It will really be of much benefit to the new small upcoming French community.
I would of course give you credit as the original author and put your link in the post.
Yes, that would be fine.
Reality Bites!
and online audiences are fickle. :) I see you like sunrises, I caught a nice one the other day. :)
The system here is gamed, like most places. It's still a place to post valuable content, and I do, I simply stopped paying attention to how much I get paid. In the end (for me), steem represents a place to archive very valuable information which is still esoteric.
40 years from now, should the steem blockchain still be around, it'll be very interesting to go back over this content. ;) I'm interested in how much of it becomes mainstream, and in what it's done to elevate the quality of cannabis in the world. :) I'll also be happy to see the improvements I've made in my sentence structure, punctuation and information detail. :)
Go BE Awesome
and let the chips fall where they may. :D
Good thoughtful post. I have a similar view as I was caught up reading about the flag wars. There are people (or bots) that don't follow anyone, have bought big SP influence and sell bot voting service and rake in the money. Then they down vote the heck out of anyone with high quality content who take in a good amount of reward and call them reward pool rape.
I hate to say this, but I've come to the conclusion that something like steemit is actually a good reflection of society. There are a lot of good people in this world, but there often seems just as many bad characters looking for an easy way to life by scamming, hacking, etc. It's unfortunate, but a site like this that is decentralized is just crying out for people to cheat. So I'm actually convinced now that there has to be some element of centralization where at least the biggest abuses have some counter balance. Or they could code something into the system to stop the bots or change how much power is given for flagging.
Some people have tens of thousands of followers-and I do not know why. I try to follow good content, or at least interesting people who may not have yet the hang of good content. You have done your research on the Edmund Fitzgerald, and it is very interesting.
i wonder if they bought Steem and that attracted the gold diggers? maybe?
I READ AND RESPECT YOUR POSTS! PLEASE DON'T STOP!
I have been aware of SteemIt, and it's problems, for about 18 mo.; an active member for 2 wks. I never skip your posts on my feed. They are educational and I can tell you spend time on research to keep them relevant.
The sentiment expressed here seems to be growing almost as fast as the number of new users. It appears to me, most of them come primarily for the money, but certainly not all. Add in the overbalance of wealth( voting power - this is not a criticism, just an observation)at the top and we have a perfect storm. Human beings always act like human beings, and growth pains hurt. From what I'm seeing, no easy fast solutions are at hand.
My hope is to learn from you and your friends commenting here, earn respect with pertinent content and make a little money . I can't do that without you and yours. So, please keep doing what you do.
I can't do it without you!
I totally agree with you. My last post was about sort of the same matter. The whole vibe and culture here on the paltform.
It just doesn´t seem right. If the culture and the structure of this platform is not going to change. It wil never be mainstream adopted.. or atleast grow to a certain degree that it´s a big player in the world.
I used voting bots.. I have actually no clue what to think about it.. Check my last post im intrested in what you think of it. It is mainly about what I call forced positivity, everyone putting up a show and other, in my opinion.. broken things on steemit culture.
Going to read right now
You got my vote! What you said is very true. People only care to get your vote or to follow them. Even if my vote doesn't worth much. Don't give up. I love your article!
Thanks! Your vote IS valuable and appreciated, no matter what the monetary value is.
thanks for your upvote mate.....i appreciate and following ya
Yes indeed the quality of content palys a vital role in content writing.thanks for sharing your views.
I just resteemed this post... which is a good read and helpful. Although a little depressing, helpful. I would like to agree with @robertandrew about the working and grinding it out for 6 months to see a real payoff. I will keep at it and see what happens. At least I have found a community where I can share my opinions, advice and interesting things that I find online. I am also writing more as a result. Something I have been meaning to do for a while, but somehow never had the time. Nothing like dangling a crypto carrot in front of a person to get them off their butt!