Why Not Upvote And Resteem NON-STEEMIT Stuff?
Isn't Steemit exciting?
I get it, really -- I do!
When you start to get the ball rolling here, Steemit can become an all-consuming place. You might make a few posts that do well, you start thinking "huh, maybe I can make something of this." So you start posting more, and you start to analyze.
You might come to find out something about the platform that piques your interest. You investigate. You post about it. You get responses. Your posts get some recognition and before you know it you've actually got something in your steem wallet, you're gaining followers, you're getting flooded with comments -- and you didn't even have to spend any money for ANY of it!
It's AMAZING and FASCINATING -- I know!
And this is how the Steemit Circle-jerk happens.
You see, there has been kind of a strange problem on Steemit for a while. I've seen it getting better over time as forks are made and things change, but it's still there.
The problem is this:
People who use Steemit can't stop talking about it!
I'm of course as guilty of this as anyone.
The truth is that posts about Steemit on Steemit get more attention than your random thoughts, intellectual dribbles, music reviews, poetry, illustrations, etc. On average anyway. And once you figure this out it can be easy to fall into the "circle-jerk" of posting about Steemit on Steemit.
This is not a problem in and of itself, except that it can really be an eyesore to potential new users who are interested in the platform.
If you are a new person who heard about this cool new social-media website that actually pays you to use it -- and it's not even a scam, it actually works! -- then you're going to come to the home page and look around...
Only to see a bunch of people talking about the site, because that's what trends.
In some ways this can be helpful, as many of these posts contain explanations of the site or tools that can help new users understand it better, but in other ways it makes the site look like an echo-chamber of a bunch of people who are posting about making money on Steemit so they can make more money on Steemit.
I believe this issue will work itself out over time, at least to some degree -- of course, people will always talk about it, because the platform is constantly innovating and evolving, and there are great developers creating new tools all the time. But we, as users who want to see Steemit do the best job it can do, should adopt a new practice:
Upvote, Resteem, and Comment on MORE non-Steemit posts than Steemit-related posts
My suggestion is this:
if you upvote a post, check out the author and look through their timeline, and if you see some non-Steemit related posts, upvote them, comment on them, and resteem them if you like them!
If for every Steemit post that trends there is a unique-content post right there with it, Steemit will seem much more balanced to prospective users.
Right now Steemit is doing well because of the novelty of the features it has -- and that's great! But if this thing is going to become something more substantial than novelty, it will have to be a place that people use for the same reason that your grandma uses Facebook: because it has mass appeal and functionality.
So my question to you is
Why not?
To get things started, here are three non-Steemit related posts I’ve made that could use some more love. Go upvote them and leave some comments, and go ahead and post three of your own non-Steemit posts in the comments that you think deserve some love and I’ll go upvote them.
Moana: Tamatoa Is A REAL Creature!
MUSIC REVIEW: Window Licker - Aphex Twin
What are your thoughts? I know it's kind of ironic to make a post on Steemit about not posting about Steemit.... but that's the state of things, haha.
Follow me @shayne
And if you're interested in securing your Bitcoin or other top-tier cryptocurrencies, check out KeepKey. It's my personal favorite hardware wallet :)
Good idea. I like the posts about Steemit because without them, I would have no idea how this place works (I still don't -- but I'm learning). But it's the non-Steemit posts that I personally enjoy reading and I'd love to see more of them get the upvotes they deserve. I'll try to do my part, but so far, my upvotes aren't worth much more than a thumbs up. 😀
Trust me, it counts! Thanks.
I too have posted about Steemit (with good reason at the time) but here's one on a completely different topic: https://steemit.com/writing/@elementm/why-does-everyone-hate-nickelback
Gotcha
I like what you're saying here @shayne. My posts about Steem do quite well but I usually post about all kinds of stuff. Some are really serious posts and others randomly funny.
Thankfully I've had no shortage of ideas so far!
I Voted for and READ the three posts that you linked to! I like your work and I think that you're talented!
I won't bother lisiting three of mine but if you like just go to @kus-knee and have a look!
Thanks a lot. :D
Seriously guys, you can link some of your posts that aren't getting the love they deserve, and I'll go upvote them and stuff :)
right now you should be more guilty of posting steemit related posts than anyone else on steemit, your posts inspired me to come up with a new word... steemianitis ... @acidyo has this affliction too
I certainly am guilty of this. Although I'm trying to equal it out with other kinds of content.
I'm almost thinking some of the best content is stuff that can bridge or combine steem and non-steem topics.
I also noticed this trend. Perhaps this is because the topic of Steemit/bitcoin affect everyone on Steemit, and sunsets, flowers and butterflies may be not interesting to everyone here. Personally, I vote for different stuff in different categories.
You know, you made me doubt and make a rewiew of my blog, but there, too, are not only Steemit reblogs.
It's good to post about Steemit because everybody is still learning and figuring this thing out as it evolves. I just wonder if we should be cognizant of other content in order to keep an overall balance.