I agree that no one is listening (yet), but if we don't have people like you that have much more credibility than us, then we have no chance. Even with you, we might have no chance. But I don't have to tell you that you are dead on in analyzing the decay and the issues that have caused the platform that we all want to see survive fail. It is not working.
We have become a joke to many of my friends. We stick around to see what happens, but have no illusion that things are getting better any time soon. We don't want that to happen. We want to roll up our sleeves and work with people like you and the witnesses that are willing to make a difference (even if that means crossing swords with the top 20).
Thanks for the reference to your post... I will support you and do what I can to call attention to your post. Unfortunately my reach is to the people that "really don't matter", the little guys... The only thing we have is our voice, but we will do what we can to help you fight the trajectory that this path is taking us!
Thanks for your efforts and if I can help, please let me know!
I don't believe that's the case. I would argue that most of the people who can make a difference around here actually believe that I'm a "toxic troll." They would rather try to denigrate me than read what I've written and see how it compares to reality on this platform and the perception of it from users and observers alike. They live in their bubbles and collect their tokens...and pretend that the outer world doesn't exist. That everything being said about Steem within the larger crypto world isn't similar to what non-crypto users think about it.
Exactly. This has been an ongoing issue that most people here conveniently ignore. You have to ask yourself why they would ignore that. The conclusions you reach may not be surprising at all.
Everyone matters. You may not have the largest wallets, but your voice, your opinions, your support...it all helps. Sometimes, the upper echelons of this community forget that money in your Steem wallet isn't actually everything. People with smaller Steem wallets can also have valuable input. And they may even have large wallets in real life that can help with development, marketing, commerce, and actual real-world influence.
The elitist attitude from what appears to me to be first-time money-makers is sickening, to say the least. It's like a bunch of teenagers who happened to stumble into a few dollars and now they think they're the smartest technological and social media gurus on the planet. Yet we see them doing practically nothing at all in terms of development and outreach. They can't have it both ways. Intelligent, tech- or social media-savvy people would know how to leverage their new-found money into something bigger and better.
We don't see that here. So the attitude of most of these people at the top is befuddling to me. They reek of absolute incompetence and unjustified arrogance. It's unfortunate that they've been able to scheme their way into having as much influence as they do over this blockchain and within the "community."
So much potential. So little vision, integrity, competence, and work ethic.
Thank you for the great reply @ats-david
First, I love the way you stress the attitudes. I too have noticed the same thing.
Elitist is exactly the way it feels. I think they feel superior simply because they were here earlier somehow that means they're smarter and they've earned the right to not listen to those that are smaller than them. I'm sure I've put in as many hours as some people that have far more SP than me, but I was unfortunate to arrive in December 2017 and have seen nothing but a ride down in prices (which basically means I have accumulated at the worst SP accumulation rates due to the higher prices).
Not everyone is like this though, so that's what gives me some hope. I have good dealings with witnesses of @abh12345 @danielsaori @jackmiller @sircork @comedyopenmic group @yabapmatt and all of these witnesses are supporting a change of focus to the "community" and "engagement" so that we can increase retention. Without paying enough attention to the newbies and minnows, it is worse than the hamster wheel that goes nowhere.
But one thing I've found is that hardly anyone works very closely together even when they share the same understanding of the issues. I think that is because some think it is hopeless and won't change (I've heard that a bit in your voice and a few others too), and also because maybe it has just gotten worse lately. Whatever the reason it would be nice if there was a way to get you guys to start talking (I'm talking about the non-Top 20 witnesses that recognize the problems) and maybe at least come up with an understanding that you all are on the same team trying to get some attention.
I know you said you are "toxic troll" to those that matter, but if enough of you can at least gather loosely under a "working group" of some kind, then maybe strategies can be formed to have some influence. I know it isn't going to come from my "class" of barely a minnow, so our only hope is that the mid-tier witnesses and long time users somehow find each other and come up with a voice that can be just a little louder.
You don't have to spearhead, but I'd be interested to know if you would want to join the others if they started to try to make a difference... If you do, you have my tiny vote for witness (but my big mouth comes with it too) ;) ... That means I will try to increase the size of each member and hopefully help the message get heard by more people.