Antidote To The Steemit Complain Game - Lessons In Winning From A Five Year Old
There is a growing culture of complaining on Steemit at the moment, lots of angry people claiming that it isn't fair that they aren't making what others are making. These whingers and whiners as I like to call them, think it's not fair that they have just arrived on Steemit and aren't making thousands of dollars.
If you are 35 or under, and grew up in a Western country, the chances are, you have grown up in the "Everyone gets a medal for showing up" society. The warnings have been there for a few decades now, voices from the shadows have been murmuring...
You shouldn't give medals to kids just for showing up, it gives them a skewed version of real life and sets them up for a lifetime of disappointment.
Unfortunately, the warnings went unheeded, and year after year, for wave after wave of children, medals were given out just for showing up.
I was thinking of this the other day, when I was at my 5 year old's, school sports day. The night before, my daughter and I, had both promised each other that we would bring home the medals for the house.
She had parotted the mantra her school had been dishing out that winning didn't matter, it was the taking part that counts. I could tell from looking at her that she didn't really believe that, so I told her that taking part was good, but taking part and winning was even better.
She went to sleep with a smile on her face..,
Blair's Babies
In 1997 in the United Kingdom, Tony Blair was voted in as Prime Minister, back then, most people were happy with him and his revamped New Labour party.
A significant part of Tony Blair's manifesto, was to increase university applications and he felt the best way to do this, was to encourage poorer students to apply. This, was not a bad thing to do, however, in a desperate bid to deliver promised election figures, exams started getting easier.
This coincided with the banning of competitive sports at primary schools, replaced instead with asinine, saccharin, inclusion games.
The nexus of the inclusion, shitstorm was reached when several top universities revealed that they were having to retest, science and engineering students for maths; and law students for English, because A-Levels exam standards had fallen to extremely low levels.
It got to a point in the UK, where A-Level exams, taken by 18 year old's, were easier than tests taken by 11 year old's in developing Asian countries.
You see; in a developing country, you can't afford to have an, everyone gets a medal for showing up, mentality; because you, and/or your family, will starve. You have to be excellent, you have to try and win, you have to do more than show up, when showing up, means surviving on a couple of dollars a day or less.
The true impact of the dumbing down of the British education system, was that you had lots of students leaving these universities, and not getting jobs. Not because there weren't any, but because of their own, previously unchecked, incompetence.
You see an employer, isn't going to give you a medal just for showing up, this can come as quite a shock to a 23 year old, who has been told since she was 5, that it was the taking part that counts and has been fed bullshit notions about how competition is somehow detrimental to society; when in fact, the exact opposite is true.
The problem is that if you give a child medals for nothing, and then you carry on that mentality till they leave university, that child will feel that life is fair. So now as a young adult, going out into the world, he suddenly realises, life isn't fair. Some people have advantages that you don't have, sometimes the person less qualified than you will get the job, not because they're better, but for some other, unseen and unfair reason.
So then it hits you hard...
uh oh....
here it comes.....
yup she's just about to get it....
so is he....
LIFE ISN'T FAIR AND YOU'RE NOT THAT SPECIAL AFTERALL!!!
The Steemit Complain Game
Now we come to Steemit a microcosmic reflection of society at large; people competing with one another, for a slice of the pie; the pie in this case being Steem.
The Steem Heads who have long ago worked out that you don't get a medal just for getting out of bed, they just keep going if they don't make money on a post. They are upset, but they don't voice their upset and definitely don't make a post about it. Because they realise that moaning about not having enough votes, is the adult equivalent of bursting out in tears and demanding a medal, after losing the egg and spoon race.
However it would seem the fastest growing community on Steemit, is the whingers and whiners; their moans are straight from the money for nothing handbook,
Ooh, why aren't I being rewarded?
Huh, if I had tits I would make $20,000
Bloody whales, they just want to vote up their friends, if I knew them I would get votes too.
Why didn't my post make any money?
Wah, wah, wah, GIVE ME MY MEDAL! I'M HERE AREN'T I?
Oh dear, oh dear; this would be funny, if it wasn't so tragic.
The Delusion Of Truth
Now, before you skip the rest of this article, scroll down to the bottom and start telling me exactly why I'm wrong and how I kiss the arses of the Whales and why you actually produce quality content that is ignored, consider the following statement.
I agree with you; I agree that there is quality content that is being ignored; however here's the rub; the majority of authors of aforementioned, quality content, don't complain about it. And guess what?
Those authors tend to come from developing countries, they have the try, try, again attitude, built in to them. I have seen comments, where someone has said something along the lines of:
"Look at so-and-so's cryptocurrency post; that was a quality article and it got $30, whereas that Make-Up post got $30k!"
The funny thing about those comments; and I've seen a lot of them, is the author of the so-and-so, cryptocurrency article they are quoting; never chimes in and says:
"Yeah! That's right, why wasn't I recognised?"
That's because the author of the post, is out there, trying to make sure that the next one they do, does get recognised. They are trying to improve, they might even be pissed off that they are making a few bucks, whilst other articles are making thousands. But guess what? They don't complain, they just get on with it.
Also, what sets apart those contributors who produce quality, and don't complain, from the ones who do, is they don't give up and it is the not giving up concept, that I feel, we have warped in the West. We have changed admiration for the virtue of persistence, into a way to reward participation.
Well done for trying, has morphed into, everyone's a hero for trying.
And
Everyone should be allowed to compete has morphed into everyone should be given a chance to win
Life and art have been in an uneasy alliance since the concept of art first entered our mushy little, brains, with the latter, often reflecting the malaise of the former.
Art has never reflected life so wonderfully, as in shows like The X-Factor; year after year, thousands of delusional, talentless, wanabees, show up and expect their medal.
Even the watching crowd boos at Simon Cowell, as he points out to another tone-deaf, wannabe, what everyone can hear....
"That was awful, you can't sing, don't give up the day job, it's a no from me..."
LOL, and he's meant to be the bad guy - But he's not; the bad guy is the; everyone gets a medal for showing up attitude. This rotten, self-defeating philosophy, has permeated every inch of our society, slowly infecting us with the poisonous belief that life should automatically be fair.
"But life should be fair, and Steemit isn't fair!"
Tell that to the North Korean peasant who is eaten bark and grass so that he can live for at least a few more hours...
"Yeah, but he's lucky to have such stark motivation in his life..."
The Case For Learning
I know that some of you, will be sitting there thinking; ...easy for you to say Cryptogee, you are making nice money on Steemit, but believe it or not; I would be saying this no matter how much I'd made. Because I used to be one of life's whiners and whingers.
I felt like I had a strong sense of social justice, and I blamed everything around me for stopping me realise my true potential.
Whatever the excuse, I had it, whether it was because I didn't come from a rich family, to that I wasn't a white, middle-class, male. I tried on every execuse, searching for the best fit;
"There must be some external reason, why I'm not fabulously succesful! If only I could work it out, life would be better!"
If only I had a trust fund
If only I had gone to that school
If only I could win the lottery
If only I had parents that recognised my talents and pushed me
If only I could get my big break...
Then one day it hit me...
Oh my God! You have no control over outside circumstance, but you do have control of how you react to those circumstances.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!
I think that is what is termed, in the modern parlance of our times, as; a wake up call.
My first post on Steemit made exactly $0.13, it was a meme and memes were making serious dollars back then. In fact it was how @bleepcoin introduced me to Steemit. He had done a Bob Marley Steemit Up meme, that had gotten $1300!!
Mine however, flopped and at around the same time, someone else came out with a meme that I considered inferior to mine, which made a few hundred dollars.
I didn't complain...
Instead I had an in-depth conversation with @bleepcoin, as to why he felt these other memes were getting hundreds or even thousands of dollars and mine didn't.
Note: This wasn't a whinge fest, it was an analytical discussion.
After this; I realised that I don't have what it takes to come up with a meme that would make hundreds of dollars, so I started thinking about what I could do...
My second post; Steemit Forward The Revolution, was an article about the emerging cryptocurrency revolution and how Steemit was going to pLay a major role in the widespread and perhaps even governmental adoption of cryptocurrency.
After a slow start it gained traction and it got to $1300, a couple of similar articles came out just after, which made in excess of $5000. (The article actually only paid out $135.23, due to the effects of dilution before July 4th)
I didn't complain, I just carried on honing and refining my craft, on occasions I've written, what I've thought to be absolute crackers of articles; which have barely made double figures.
I didn't complain...
My attitude was to keep going until I was producing the kind of quality that would put me on a list of writers who consistently produced quality, original content.
Guess what? It paid off, and now I am on that list, because of the content I produce.
But my content is better than yours, you had a time advantage over me!
Oh, isn't that fair?
Boo hoo, you know what this is?
It's the world's smallest violin, playing just for you.
So you're not going to be given a free pass to the Steemit high earners club, I guess you're just going to have to earn it.
*But that's not fair! It's really hard to do that!
I refer you to the above violin...
Rise Of The Whinge Bots
"Oh look, another article telling people how to write an article, making loads of money; great, just what we need!"
Have you ever stopped to wonder why Steemit tutorials do so well? Maybe, just maybe, it isn't because there is some kind of circle jerk, conspiracy going on. Maybe it is because the people with the most vested interests in Steemit (the Whales) want the quality of the platform to be as high as possible.
And maybe, they feel that there isn't enough quality for them to vote on, so they vote on articles to help people improve, in the hope that they will...
...improve.
I'll let you into a little secret; I never stop trying to learn how to improve; just last week, I saw an article from @inboundinken and I thought; hmm, that's a good tip.
So I tried it out; and guess what? It worked!
That's right, I got a tip from a tutorial, applied it and it added value to my post
Yeah... you're probably right though, it's a conspiracy and you're a genius....
$26,000 for a make-up tutorial???? How is that quality?
Hmm, you got me there, let's see, how is that quality?
Well, let's see now, she made a video exclusively for Steemit, which was well scripted and thought out.
Yeah ok, bu...
She is talking about a popular subject that hadn't been talked about yet on Steemit, the top makeup video on Youtube has over 3,000,000 views.
Yeah, that might be tru...
Oh and don't forget she's appealing to an audience that wouldn't necessarily have noticed Steemit, therefore attracting new people to the platform. Which in turn, drives up the price of Steem as it becomes more popular, benefiting all Steemit users.
Ok, but apart from that....
Ah of course! Let us not forget the fact that if an A-List Youtuber with tens of millions of fans, sees that kind of success and advertises to all of their followers that Steemit is the place to be; that will also increase the popularity and therefore the value of Steemit.
Erm....
And of course, she made a T-shirt; remind me which posts of yours represent that much effort and value?
...Yeah but she's pretty, if I was a pretty girl...
Yawn I refer you to the above violin.
Even though I too, had a flash of jealousy, tingle its way through my body as I saw @guerrint's post creep up towards the $30k mark.
It didn't last long, because I realised that not only was she doing all the things I mentioned above, she had the good fortune to post just as the price rise of Steem filtered through. So hers, with all other posts, saw real boom time bonanzas.
I hope the hate hasn't chased away @guerrint, we need more people like her.
EDIT: I see she has another high ranking video out there! Haha, welcome back, with another original idea...lol
@infovore An Example To Follow
I know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this article, I know that a lot of people will disagree with what I say and show me examples to prove me wrong.
The only ones I will take seriously, are the ones who have read @infovore's story How Steemit Has Changed My Life: From living on $1/day and 3 hours of electricity to Having over $41,319.
The reason for that is, Inforvore is the kind of person you should be trying to emulate, somebody who has never expected (because he's never been given) a medal just for showing up. So because of that, when he didn't make the kind of dollars he saw everyone else making, he didn't complain, he just kept going.
So for me, it is a wonderfully, delicious, irony, that when he writes a blog post about what life is like for people who haven't grown up in a society so bloated, that it can reward its citizens, for managing to get out of bed in the morning. He makes an absolute shed load of cash.
I really love that fact; and you know what? He deserves every penny, I wish it were even more, because he embodies the kind of can-do attitude, that we need not just on Steemit, but in our global society as a whole.
Reality Check
You know where the medal for showing up society never took hold? In the developing world; go to China, Nigeria, Hondouras, Syria, Malaysia, North Korea, and a whole host of other countries, to see if kids in those places are given medals for turning up and pissing their pants.
Go and find out, if anybody is told that it's the taking part that counts in Nigeria; let me assure you, as someone with familial links to Nigeria, nobody will ever be told that simply showing up is a virtue, in the whole of that country.
In fact in Nigeria, you won't even get a pat on the back for showing up, getting your arse out of bed and getting on with it, barely hits the minimum requirement.
Sports Day
The morning after we promised to each other to bring home the winning medals for the house, my 5 year old daughter, won 3 golds and a silver at her sports day (I won the daddy's race) and after she picked up her medal, she noticed that kids she had left eating her dust, were picking up medals too.
"Daddy; why is everyone getting a medal?"
Before I could answer, another parent who was standing nearby (I can only assume their kid was one of the losers) said; "It's because they all took part and that's what matters, so they all deserve a medal!"
My daughter makes me proud a lot; however the way she shook her head in disgust at this statement, whilst muttering no they don't, under her breath; bar her winning the actual medals, that was probably the proudest moment I've had in her short little life.
That's my girl!
You see my little CryptoGirl, realisess that getting a medal just because you managed to get dressed and leave the house is pointless, it renders competition useless and it completely cheapens the meaning of the award.
Perhaps that's why she removed it from around her neck and handed it to mummy, to look after, I had to tell her that even though all those other kids who she creamed got medals as well. She; along with the other winners, were the only ones who deserved all the accolades, the rest were just being given one so they didn't cry.
She looked up at me, smiled and said;
"Thank you Daddy"
I'd like to think she was saying; "Thank you for making me realise that winning and losing, are not the same thing; which ultimately will prepare me for the sometimes, harsh realities of life."
"You're welcome baby, you're welcome."
xx
Cryptogee
Really good article you expressed your perspective so elegantly , but i don't think that these whining bitches deserve that, they need to be called out for what they are until it sinks in.
These mostly grown men stop crying like littles girls and figure out what they need to do to make Steemit work for them.
There was an article yesterday discussing the political ramifications of using the down vote and if it should be use to decrease the pay of articles that many believe is excessive.
This is beyond ridiculous if you don't see the value in an article go about your business it has nothing to do with you.
What a person does with their property is their concern.
If that is what voters decided to support then what gives you the right to take away from them just because you are envious of their success.
There are plenty of things in the world that i don't find to be of interest to me that doesn't give me the right to go in anyone's pocket and take money from them because i feel they don't deserve it.
This is just wrong they act like the money come from a pool that we all have title to.
You can be nice them if if you want, i'm going for there heads
Exactly, it is good to see that many are reacting badly to these people.
CG
The A-level quote is the same kind of nonsense populist media spews.
Comparing a Math Olympiad test with public education makes absolutely no sense.
When exams were more difficult in the 50s-70s there were far greater rates of failure, and expulsion from the education system.
Is this what you want to revert to?
A system in which people are "priced out" of certain industries by not being able to possess certain qualifications, due to single instances of bad performance in stress-based conditions?
I agree that complaining is ineffective.
But it's fuelled by articles such as thi that aim to depict newbies as incompetent for not making money.
"Oh just create more captivating content" - "Earn it!!!"
No. Instead guides should teach them how voting works.
How networking governs voting power, and how 100 votes can equal < $10.
Hence it's about cultivating important connections, or being tied to an enormous botnet.
I hope newbies aren't frustrated and understand that yes, you are playing a game you probably don't know the rules to, and will struggle to win unless you adapt your strategy.
(I wrote a post on how to avoid frustration, I won't link it, because I don't want to spam, but I recommend it).
Your comments suggest you either didn't read or understand the post
Cg
Typical, can't rebut anything so claim I misunderstand.
Hint: Education was more selective before. Compare with public school in China you'll see highest performing schools are highly selective (by failing those who lag), and more inclusive schools aren't so brilliant.
And the 11 year old Chinese kid thing was related to Math Olympiads.
There is guides that show how voting works when I was a noob I looked for them
I so agree with this. I've not got anywhere with my articles so far but I've done a ton of reading and I've noticed how many are downvoting for whatever reason. I really find this unfair - if you don't like something then walk on by. Instead of the jealousy, concentrate on being yourself - only better.
What a foolish and naive perspective. With this sort of outlook Steem will barely get past the 1 million users mark.
Clearly the economics of the system need to evolve.
OK, no idea what you're basing your figures on, but you seem to have confidence in them so, well done.
Cg
Unnecesarily rude to newbies who are frustrated because they don't understand the dynamics of what it takes to make money on Steemit.
I am not, I am telling newbies if they don't immediately start making money, not to whine and cry about it.
Cg
How is that remotely constructive, especially if you expect mass-adoption?
How are these words of comfort that inspire persistence?
How will this prevent people from becoming disillusioned?
It doesn't, but it allows you to project your arrogance on others.
Very disappointed.
Nice inquiry into the millennial mindset!
Why am I not earning thousands of bucks for my shitty posts? Why is the world so unfair? Who is John Galt?
Who is John Galt? Never thought I would see that reference being used! :)
Ayn Rand, what a legend!
Cryptogee you're really raising the bar for not only Steemit but yourself.
Having grown up in the Blair education system from a state school there were also other elements that emerged from this 'everyone's worth a medal' mentality. The crab in a bucket analogy... where anyone seen to be pushing ahead or trying harder than anyone else were pulled back down.
Do these two things go hand in hand? Probably...
Thanks for elegantly crafting this article drawing from observations from Steemit and life. I can see why you're so proud of your daughter.
Hopefully in building this collaborative virtual society we can turn reverse that crab mentality.
Crab in a bucket mentality! Wow! Yeah, they go hand in hand.
Well spotted :-)
CG
how do you wright so interesting posts every time? Thanks for them.
Hear! Hear! @wingz
Yeah, I am completely confused by the complaining about whales and who they upvote. But here is the thing, whales are everywhere. If Oprah picks your book for her club, well, your book now has a new life.
Or if you slaved away on a screenplay that nobody wants, but then one day Steven Spielberg wants to make it into a movie, well your life has changed.
And over on Facebook, if you make a meme and only your college friends like it, well, that's one thing. But if George Takei likes it and shares it on his page well, most of the world will see your meme.
Whales existed before Steemit. It's just how life works. Deal with it.
Exactly and you can waste energy fighting it, or use that energy to get in on the party.
CG
Yes, it's definitely a fact of life.
Beyond that, I feel grateful that these kinds of people exist. People of power and influence who, through their own grace, show the world something which they find beautiful, so we can all share in it.
Oprah never had to put Eckhart Tolle on her show and share what she had gained from it, but she did, and the world is a better place because of it.
People who use their influence carefully and effectively are a blessing.
She put Eckhart Tolle on her show, and I bet you there were lots of Eckhart Tolle clones, saying; why don't you put me on the show? It's not fair that you just showcase him....
CG
Very well put, there will always be advantages of getting picked up by people who are already successful.
Dude, great post!
Love the way you weave your writing around the story so well.
I have to say though, it is difficult not to feel dejected by underperforming....or shall we say the possibility that you are underperforming.
The reason for a particular post not to do well doesn't necessarily mean that the content is crap....there are a number of contributing factors to that outcome. As the way many people have been wired by societal expectations, whatever the reason for the outcome, they will despair.....and as we know, many people turn to whinging or just getting angry.
I honestly believe with the pace that Steemit is expanding, it can be quite easy to get lost in tumult of posts and not get noticed. This definitely ties in with your previous article about the importance of good titles.
Overall though, I agree with you 100% about the concept of shut up and keep trying.
Always look forward to your posts dude!
Splendid. Left me speechless....Thanks for the compliments...
Your words about the current educational system are profound and reminds me of Amanda Ripley's bestseller: The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way.....You should check it out...Makes a great read.
You rock.
Studying for hours doesn't make you smarter than someone who doesn't. It makes you more knowledgeable, anyone with that knowledge can be just as good as you. I studied quite a lot but just letting you understand. Too many people think they're special for having access to information anyone can access if they bothered to.
Holy fuck that was a long read, but well written....can I upvote twice???
Hahhaaha.... LOL.. I even thought my touchpad was faulty when I didn't see an end....@crytogee really took his time with this..
when some people throw their toys out the cot after a successful post lol @cryptogee
temper tantrum
I think I love you
I saw your kickboxing video and was going to reference it in this article, but it got too long, so you were cut, sorry. But I have something in mind for you; I like the cut of your jib! :-)
Cg
So true... Stop complaining and just have fun with it. I'm pretty sure if you put in the time and effort along with being consistent you will be rewarded you just need to have some patience.