Expectation vs Steem

You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.

Walt Disney

One of the questions I have always had here is whether technical people can make a social environment, especially one that is monetarily incentivized. In general, technical people on average aren't know for their social abilities yet, they are often the ones building the social platform environments. However, as we can see with the centralized platforms of Facebook and the like, they aren't engineered for social interaction rather, they are created for monetization and data mining, the code isn't to improve quality of life but to improve bottom lines of shareholders. There may be nothing wrong with this approach but, is it considered social?

People talk about misaligned incentives here and that is true however, it is all dependent on what one is incentivized as to how one sees the platform. Some see it as a way to earn revenue, a way to interact, get thoughts out, discuss complicated topics, protect themselves from censorship or just have a little fun. There are many reasons and ways to be part of the Steem environment and, we all have expectations about how it should operate.

Expectations are assumptions based on our past experience. We model/imagine what we think the future is going to become using what we know (whether aware or not) to create a perspective and once we make the effort, we assume that we are right. Even if we know we have room for error, we will still predict that the view we have created is accurate and when it happens, we are happy and if it doesn't, disappointed. This doesn't actually mean what we predict has to be a positive, just that our modelling skills were good.

The problem is that we all have different past experiences and because of this, what we think the future is going to look like is going to potentially vary greatly based on what we know or, what we think we know. For the most part, we are all skilled at something and all have an understanding of some areas which means these become core parts of our predictive modelling toolkit. What tends to happen though is it overpowers and provides a confidence level higher than warranted as all of the things we haven't considered get left out of the prediction. We feel right yet have only included a narrow view.

The more complex the system, the higher the chance that we have not only missed including influencing factors but, we there is also a higher chance for various components and linkages to break or, function incorrectly. Every system is flawed no matter how good the design and, every change, however slight, creates a host of interactions with many being unintended. Cause and effect consequences that may not have been entirely seen before hand or, the severity of the implications may not have been established accurately.

We see this here often enough as every change to the system means all users are somehow affected with opportunities granted some while others may lose some or, be put in a position they do not want to take or make certain decisions. No matter the changes, there are going to be implications, seen and unseen with varying degrees of effect. On Steem, most of the changes to the platform are made from the perspective of how Steem itself interacts through the system and looks to tweak performance, distribution and interaction with the tokens.

This makes sense due to the types of people who are creating the system as for them, this is their core competence and where their interests lay. Even if they want to create a community of engaged users who create quality content that is both worthy of reward and attractive to other users, they may not have the tools at their disposal or, the approach is overshadowed by their strengths.

The thing that I see (based on my own experience and flawed modelling) is that no matter how good the platform performs, it is still going to require a community with a culture that incentivizes the behaviors we want to in general, have here. This is a societal question, not a technical one and even though incentives can be tweaked to encourage certain behaviors, no technical change is going to be able to predict and provide for positive actions, nor counteract the wide range of what would be considered negative. This is especially true in a decentralized environment where a lack of censorship and increased anonymity are encouraged.

What I like about Steem is that we are all part of the discourse, all able to have a vice if we choose and even though we may not be able to affect everything as we see fit, we can openly discuss, disagree, combine thoughts and perhaps very slowly, affect the environment to improve the culture within it. As the platform progresses, the do what you want possibility will likely remain but, it isn't likely to be culturally adopted as people will adjust their behaviors to benefit themselves.

For some, this means maximizing their financial returns through voteselling, delegation, selfvoting or producing the absolute best content they can and hope that someone recognizes it as valuable. For others, they look to build a network, engage, discuss, comment, create apps and communities and support content producers. Is there a right way to Steem? Well, it depends if you want to be here long term or not because some actions lead to a long future, some a shorter one. It won't be the code that decides if this works or not, it will be community.

No matter who you are here, everyone has some effect on the way the community operates. Some do a brilliant job of engaging users, others distributing value and many, maximizing their individual returns. Many take a hybrid approach too where there is some level of mutual benefit where there is give and take.

Some say they can't find good content here, you are looking in the wrong place. Some say there is no community here, you are spending time with the wrong people. Some say the system is broken, all systems are broken. What makes content is us, the community is us, the ones to improve the system is us. Technical solutions are great but they can only take us so far, at some point, it is the engaged public that must take the reigns and steer the course of the community itself.

We all have expectations about how it should look and how it should operate but how many of us are wiling to make changes that will be detrimental to us directly? For the most part the changes will benefit our goals, not necessarily everyone's goals. This is why the system will improve as it continues to decentralize further and create pockets of content and interaction that is tailored more toward individuals than the mass. What will connect us is the Steem infrastructure below.

What we create and more importantly how we use it, is up to us.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]