Another LA freewrite and thoughts about HF21!

Yet another mid-flight freewrite. Slamming nervously at the keys of my iPad Pro, 36,000’ on my way to Los Angeles. The timing for this was really lame. As most of you know, I recently visited New Zealand and Australia, shooting in Auckland, Christchurch and Melbourne. What I might not have mentioned is that rather than connecting in LA before leaving for those Australasian counties, I left myself a couple of days in LA on my departure and return, from Minneapolis. I flying out for a look book shoot for La Femme En Noir next Monday, but I so wish I could made the dates align while I was in Los Angeles less than two weeks ago.

I’m going to try and not be crabby about it. At the very least, I’m being flown out this time. My rooms will be comped and a close friend is allowing me to borrow her car. Also, interestingly, the La Femme En Noir shoot is the only thing I have on my schedule for this trip. I’m usually stressed, trying to fit in as many bookings as possible. This one shoot is paying well, so it’ll allow me to see friends like @thomaskuntzart, @mtbmondo and hopefully catch up on edits I owe. Tomorrow, I’m going to head to my favorite LA coffee shop, The Library Bookstore. If I can get in 8 - 10 hours of editing, I’ll be happy. I’m trying to make the most of the situation.

Speaking of trying to make the most of the situation, let’s talk about Steemit. HF21 is going to be voted on and likely enacted the day I’m flying home from this trip. I haven’t seen this much controversy over a hard fork since HF19. I read a piece by @timcliff last night, summarizing the things that would change. I mean, things have to change. We can debate what change is good and what change is bad, but as he eloquently put it, we cant do what we’ve been doing for three years and expect different results. When things were good [...around 2017], I feel much of that was a result of an overall bear market. There was the infamous SBD’s manipulation as well. 

For me, that was a golden age for Steemit, personally. I was blogging frequently, I was being rewarded for my content, and I entered in to a state of hyper-productivity and creativity. I was making enough money here on Steemit that my essential bills were being paid and I was able to focus more on career aspirations, comics and writing, family and friends, etc. The thing is, that wasn’t most users’ experiences. There was a time that Steemit was in the top 1000 global sites listed on Alexa rankings, but even then, the vast majority of Steemians felt disenfranchised, having to participate in bid bots just to stand out from the noise. Not a great user experience.

I hate the term “influencer”. It sounds so pretentious to me. I get emails and DM’s on Instagram constantly asking me to be an influencer for camera brands, luggage equipment, and anything that could remotely relate to photography. I do think influencers have their place on our platform, though. There are technical reasons, and strategic reasons we’re in the darkest days of Steemit right now, but as @lovejoy and I have discussed at length, the key ingredient missing at this crucial moment is enthusiasm. It doesn’t come from an algorithm or MIRA updates. Even great content falls flat if there isn’t an audience to appreciate it.

How do we get that back? It’s a perpetual cycle, if you think about it. Writing a magnum opus of a blog, with references, insight, original photos or illustrations, weaving in life experience and relatability; how likely are you to do it again if the return in $0.04. I just read a post by @eveuncovered and she said “...anyone who claims money isn’t a factor is a liar.”, and I’d agree with that. Conversely, if you do all those things and make that post, and you make $16, you’re more likely to make more. The more authors that are making posts like that, the more value the Steemit community has. This perpetual cause and effect goes both ways.

I do believe that giving influencers the incentives to move to our platform has a good chance of reinvigorating the long lost enthusiasm. Audiences don’t need to be in the millions, they just need to be dedicated to the person that finally says, “...have you guys heard about Steemit? I’m making real money there!”. We’re positioned for this so well right now. Due to shadow banning, algorithm changes, privacy violations, etc., there is a mass exodus happening on Instagram and other traditional silo social networks. Persuading those public figures and their audiences to come here seems like an obvious priority.

I’m skeptical about the downvoting ability to influence positive change. Frankly, nothing about being downvoted seems positive to me, from a psychological point of view, at least. On boarding new users is also going to be a tough nut to crack. You can just create a million free accounts. I’ve said this before, but I think an official, polished iOS and Android Steemit app would be big for new users. I’m aware it isn’t a priority, but most “regular” new users still use apps. For all of @onosocial’s failings, and there were many, I loved being able author and curate content in an iPhone app. I also like the idea of invites to join. That always creates excitement through exclusivity.

What am I most excited for? The DAO projects proposal. Again, if this is implemented correctly [...and that’s an “if”], this could send a jolt of electricity through the blockchain, giving newfound enthusiasm to the Steemit dev community and potential investors. I’m also a big EOS follower, and when they announced their upcoming DAO, I definitely felt “...why isn’t Steemit doing that?!”. I am going to be first in line for work proposals to better the Steemit community, and they will 100% be art oriented, not developer oriented. They’re going to be so outside the typical proposal norms, I can’t wait to see how they’re received by the Steemit users.

The next few days, if I have my way, I’m going to be catching up owed photography, and maybe even some illustration. @ghostfish and I have a date to shoot some footage and audio once I’m back in Minneapolis this next week. I’m going to be keeping a close eye on the HF21 news [...and drama]. Don’t underestimate the gravity of this moment. Voice is already branding itself as a “Steemit 2.0”, and users are leaving Facebook and Instagram in revolting masses. We’re a free speech platform, built on a blockchain that rewards it’s authors and contributors. We have to get this right. Thanks for reading this lengthy rant. I love Steemit, and I want to see it survive.