What?
Alright, I am an asshole! I get it. You guys said it many times. Yeah? So let me write about it and show that how it is done. Shall we? Here am I trying to explain things to you where I know that the explanation is futile. Oh, Yes! Also this is the first time I am posting at this community, I do believe this is long overdue!
Auto-vote
Majority of hive voting is by auto-vote. For those who do not know what that is, there are services like hive.vote which is a public and free service, where one can automate their voting by using only posting key. Their is nothing generally wrong with this activity. There are curation program which you can follow, which sometimes are manual votes. If you follow them, you can 'feel' that you are voting manually. Also if you have a small group of people who if follow, like and vote anyways, you can set up a pre-determined percentage and vote their post in automation,
The problem arises, when two things happens:
You stopped caring who you vote. Maybe you lost interest, Maybe you set up some vote in the past and forgot to change it. Maybe you left hive but your vote is still active and maybe you still have some HP that you forgot to powerdown and move out. Maybe you lost your keys. Maybe you are dead. I have seen them all in my 6 + years here. Also I might have missed a few more.
On the receiving end, people who were once active and posting original good quality contents and earned followers. Lot of these followers perhaps put them on auto-vote. Now time have passed. These people lost interests. Got jaded. Why not? A platform with a lot of promise have a token now that is nothing but a distant laggard. Userbase is stagnant to dwindling over the years and in terms of 'content' hive doesn't have anything much to offer, other than people's personal ramblings, like this post!
So now people just post to farm those auto-votes. Regardless of the content quality, those votes will come, and you can make a few hives to few tens of hive, with very little effort. Then you just cash out, but other things, do whatever with that money.
There are many example of these people. Community ousted a few of that back in the days from the platform:
Remember Slowalker? Back in the Steem days: https://peakd.com/@slowwalker/posts
Sweetsssj? https://peakd.com/@sweetsssj/posts ..... oh such memories!
Dobartim towards the end of steem? "see you at the top" https://peakd.com/@dobartim/posts
jrcornel? "Stay informed my friends." https://peakd.com/@jrcornel/posts
Very recently, joythewanderer https://peakd.com/@joythewanderer/posts
And who can forget haejin https://peakd.com/@haejin
The list is very long. The sweet couple I am going to discuss next is honestly nothing compared to these celebrities!
Welcome @uwelang and @alexvan. They are really decent people back in the days, and I am sure in person today. They just got jaded and felt the plaform and the game Splinterlands betrayed them. There is a bit of truth to it too. So can't really fault them. They are now small time farmers. Let me show you....
What you are seeing above is how much author reward these two have earned. 48K HP for @uwelang and 41K HP for @alexvan. They both love to tag me (I have them muted). So, I like to show them how tagging works on hive a little bit. They talk a lot of 'community' and how good it was and how bad it is now, thanks to mostly me, and the new whales. @uwelang recently like to call me 'mini-whale' I don't really know what that is, must be a "German" thing! Maybe a german alt world for asshole?
Stake Shaming
I do not know if it is really a word. I haven't checked Oxford dictionary. I learned the word from @alexvan. The way understand it, and @alexvan feel free to correct me or not, I won't be reading or responding to your comments, it is comparing one stake to the other, and shaming them that you do not have enough. Similar to Elon Musk telling me "azircon I am (musk) multi-billionaire, and you (azircon) are a poor asshole"! You see what I mean? Not that Elon knows me, and even cares if I exists. You get the idea. Now tell me, do I care what Elon thinks, even if he does? I DONT!!
So yes, Alex and Uwe, There will be stake shaming in my blog. There is no moderator here. Everything will be factual supported by data and there is no room for interpretation.
First the facts though, for that earned 48K and 41K hive over the years respectively Uwe has nothing to show on this account, and Alex shows about 27K. Alex and Uwe will say that they have some alts, all public info, so no problem to find, I have add them up, nah, there is nothing much to talk about. Which if you ask me is not bad at all. Also this couple will say that they have used all that money to buy Splinterlands cards and now they farm splinterlands. To that as a hive user, I must say; why do I care? It is your money, decide how you spend it!
I have seen worse, much worse:
Remember me-tarzan? I do... https://peakd.com/@me-tarzan
Yep, you read that right, 112K hive, just doing spam. Please don't get any investment ideas from this guys. So in a way, I am saying Alex and Uwe and probably below average run-of-the-mill farmers, which is large majority of hive. So there is nothing to see here we move on.
Circle Voting (Notice; I use a more polite word)
This is what @uwelang wrote me recently
Engagement seriously? You talk about engagment? Maybe count the guys that dive into your ass (brown nosing) for votes as they think you are important and could benefit from your mini whale vote? That is not engagement.
The only real engagement is when you talk about issues - people that say "great post etc" is no engagemment.
@azircon (sorry to tag you, feel free to flag lol) Your engagement outside the circle-jerking with your best friends is only "I nuke your posts" and other bullshit - did you ever create something useful to support this community on Hive (not speaking SPL as there it is obvious you have no clue about business)?
That is @uwelang 's word, not mine,
For those who do not know what Circle Jerk is; below is the definition:
Circle jerk (plural circle jerks) (vulgar, slang) A group of males masturbating ("jerking off") together (with or without interpersonal contact). quotations ▼ (vulgar, derogatory, slang) Any group or group activity indulging in excessive mutual praise.
But hey, I am no naive. That is not what Uwe means. At hive, it roughly translates to I vote you, you vote me; regardless of content. Usually it works best if the two accounts have similar HP or voting power. Otherwise it is lopsided, and not equal pleasure! I used to get DMs, why don't you vote me and I vote you, let us grow together!....No No, not penis.....HP!
Here: This is Alex's outgoing votes
And Here: Uwe's outgoing votes
No, shit!! LOL
They do like to circle jerk ....EWWW!
Oh, here is my incoming vote!
Sorry guys, haven't posted in 14 days....so no incoming votes
But I did UPVOTE 586 unique accounts in last 7 days. I don't think any of them voted me back.
Sorry what am I missing here?
Oh Engagement
I mean comments and stuff at your post. You know... conversation
Back in the day Uwe's posts, before I started downvoting. Nothing to see here. Mostly YouTube links of music video. Nothing harmful, but nothing engaging either.
I thought about writing a lot more, but maybe I should split it up into multiple posts to farm more hive rewards? What do you say to that?
Sorry @abh12345; I am guilty of voting you. What can I say, you are attractive :)
By the way these two circle voters have offered me love multiple times. To that I must say, I am straight, you can offer love to each other. Is this polite? I hope so.
This is a very interesting and informative post.
I don't think you're an asshole - a bit opinionated, perhaps abrasive in writing style sometimes... but not an asshole per se.
What do I know about being an asshole...?
I was a bartender for 12+ years - I was literally a professional asshole 😅 so I'll recognize an asshole when I see one.
The caveat is: I want to learn how to better earn upvotes (i.e. great content) but I have also tried unsuccessfully to get on the radar of any of the larger Hive Upvote accounts.
Why is this important to me?
You know my story, at least, I am pretty sure you do. I'll message you the details of why I work so hard if you care to hear them (I do post them publicly but I'll spare people that book here).
But because of what happened, I am way behind in the digital world and the majority of my income goes to fixing the issues I was left with...
So I want to figure out how to increase my digital income, via writing on Hive, to help compensate for what was taken... but I want to balance that against the "Reward Farming" in the sense of I want to avoid "Vote Abuse".
This little bit of digital income may not seem important to you but imagine playing life like you do Splinterlands.
In life, you've made it to Modern Champ!! Well deserved congratulation!!
I was rising up through the ranks but I made some mistakes... and certain people took advantage of me... so I got sent back to Modern Novice and I am fighting my way back up through Modern Bronze - Level Caps still on ;)
I appreciate what you have taught me in the past and look forward to learning more in the future!
You see you interacted and earned an upvote with a quality text and honest feedback.
Appreciate the kind words.
It’s just like real world. Network and make friends but don’t try too hard to annoy the other person.
You were a bartender you know this better than I do and perhaps can even teach me a thing or two.
@vasupi
Yes, it is! 😁
92 comments, say half are mine. Personal, original, engaging content, thank you!
I can't say anything against that! 😅 It's a very personal issue and in the truest sense an incisive experience. What's more, no one on Chain has probably written a post about their vasectomy before. Personally, I would have preferred not to see the picture of your scrotum. A link with a reference to the picture would have done the trick in my opinion.
I apologize for passively using you in a facetious comment at azircon's expense. However, I would like to point out that I did not mention you by name and almost certainly very few readers of this comment (if any) did any research into who wrote the post.
Best wishes for continuing success on the Chain
Edit: Btw... I don't know if it's the smartest idea to comment with a screenshot of your selfvote 😅
It is even DUMB to DV someone like me when you have NO STAKE. Do I add the word "asshole"? Or it will be impolite. No I wouldn't, as I don't really know you, you might be an excellent person!
After seeing what you are doing with your might on Hive, I'd have a big list of words, which I also will not use here.
Calling someone DUMB just because he has a smaller stake, well that just tells what you are.
I don’t give a flying fuck on what you think:)
Well done Ash!
In cricket we say something about Veeru Sehbag.; @galenkp will know :
See the ball, hit the ball!
You have always been the brother I never had in real life! Thank you.
Well I just hope we aren't talking about the ones I posted last month! 😂
That's a very lovely thing to say, thank you!
haha I can't believe I missed this... Hater's will hate, but the "proof is in the pudding". From observation in the Mavs, I have felt such dislike towards you from certain members of the community, and have even spoken out in defense which is rare. And I was one of the guys called a brown noser haha. That usually stems from envy, and what you do is just and should be respected. People should remember, people with stake like yours is the reason this game / platform is still a float, there are still people that care.
I have the stake; and they DON’T :)
Enough said :)
Wrong - without people like him game and chain would have a realistic chance - nuff said :-)
Dobby - we win together
Ah the memories!!
Ultimately for me those who hold stake tend to hold the higher ground when it comes to talking about the chain.
And you know I am not blowing smoke up your ass despite how some would paint it.
We were only talking about Dobby the other day! See you at the top. 🤣
Ha ha ha!
We loved Dobby. I had such a fond memory of this, and his group of farmers...wife...brother (flysky) ...son. I hear they are still around in steemy!
He posts on Blurt too although I think he earns mere pennies there! His talk was hilarious. Steem Schools. Always a photo of two guys in tracksuits hauling a table in somewhere with a banner. 🤣🤣
He was going to come to San Francisco to meet Ned and Steemy! He thought they were meeting there :)
They all love to hit out with that come and see people nonsense. Someone I was once downvoting threatened on discord to come to Scotland to see me face to face. Oh how I lol'd
People are sending me my home picture for ages :)
They just don't understand Houston is not exactly a 'happy city' :)
I think it is the same with Glasgow!
It's nice to have admirers... lol! :OD
I even getting their invite on discods
A lot of the earliest accounts tend to just get either tired, or let the entitlement slip in, as if being here a long time, guarantees support.
Partially guilty here. I can't produce something each day which is worth the support I receive, so when I am tired I lay off the farm :)
We have discussed this a lot Taraz. It's not easy to stay motivated always, but I have recommended people to take a break. I have done it. Boomy did. Ash did. There are numerous others who did and came back fresh.
I genuinely think a break is good for the soul whether it be a few days one week or even even taking a week off or more now and then. Sometimes when I have nothing I just leave it. Others don't... Or can't!
Yes for sure. I think that for some, the FOMO is too much for them, so rather than taking a break, they find the "easiest path" - which rarely is the best path.
So, how to growing and make engangement in hive community then?
i am little bit of confusing.
Comment with validity, relevance, passion and personality on other people's posts; it'll help you open relationships and with some nurturing you'll be able to build them. That's what I did and it works.
But man, i am really afraid to open conversation at first because the downvote section, because yeah words cannot express my voice and sometimes we have language barrier that can make misunderstanding, thats why i am hardly to give comment in some other people especially that having high vote power. But, hopefully after 2 years in hive community i can grow and have some friends too.
Fair enough, if you don't want to then don't, however it's the best way to build relationships and I hardly think someone would downvote you for making a comment, just don't be offensive.
If you don't want to though then I guess it's best you do not.
sometimes that makes me confused, but yeah sometimes i try to take the risk, hopefully when i comment them , they are in good mood so it will make the good relationship. But,thanks for the advice man. I really appreciate it, by the way do you playing splinterlands too?
your name is familiar in splinterlands, i think i have been encountered with galen in splinterlands often.
I don't play Splinterlands, I've got no time in my day for computer games.
ahhh, i think it is another person then, and what do you do for living sir?
It’s usually hard work just like everything else in life. Networking. Knowing people. Contributing something that others may find some use in life
i dont know for other people but,for me that entering age above 30, now it is hard to finding new friends,both in real life and in social media,thankfully i am playing splinterlands thats why i got many good friends there.
But,really it is hard sir getting new friend in hive. but,thank for the reply. i dont think you are "asshole". And i dont want you get "asshole"in me btw.
I hope my asset in hive can grow like yours to make my financial freedom dream comes true
Thank you for saying that, I am touched. Unfortunately I am not a very popular person but that is alright and I am used to it.
Agree, I am 48 and it is even harder to make new friends but hive helps. I have a lot of good friends in hive and in real life. I am thankful for that
wow, i really should call you sir then, we have almost 15 years different.
but still confused how to grow up in hive, maybe along with time my asset there will grow bigger and bigger since hive is like asset that giving passive income too.
Please don't. I am in the US, and here everyone calls each other's by their name. No Sir
thats glad to hear. but glad to have conversation with you man.
so far i am a little bit afraid to comment in your post...lol
Thank you for this but I think one thing I have noticed is that new accounts tend to get very tired so quick and it is majorly because of two reasons. Some of them do not have Hive power while some are stingy to invest, lol
A very funny and instructive post, want more please
I have been gone from HIVE for a while but trying to regrow my account again. I guess the first part of your post is why it is so hard to gain a following with real content. Interesting read nonetheless.
Organically growing account is very tough. It requires time, luck and networking
And consistency. I used to have some travel posts pay pretty well but then I stopped posting for about 9 months due to time constraints. But I think all of those and luck has a big part to play.
Hey. What site did you use to check the rewards? Looks like steemworld
https://hivetasks.com/
Thank you so much!
No worries, don't log in with keys though, I'm not sure how secure it is, just use it without logging in.
Alright noted. Thanks again.
The important thing to do to grow here is to engage; comment, reblog, and know people's interests, it is the thought of making friends in that way you also grow