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RE: Re-evaluating the Star of Bethlehem, Part 4: "The Sceptre shall not depart ... from between his feet, until Shiloh comes" (featuring @vuyusile as author)

in #astronomy8 years ago

Hi @gavvet,

I apologize that today is the today I am unfollowing you. I want you to know I appreciate what it is I truly believe you are trying to do here, however I disagree that after an extended period of time it is still necessary and has not resulted in exposure for these guest authors posting on their own.

I look forward to your ongoing work, will read and enjoy it when I find it. The action I choose to take going forward though is following the author you've promoted and rewarding their work when posted on their own.

This is not about you and your intentions... I just want more.

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Hi @clevecross,
Sorry to have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. :-(
I spent an hour reading your posts. You deserve more, definitely; and your suggestions for improving the platform are good ones. I have definitely benefited from exposure on the @gavvet brand, and this has given me exposure that most new entrants do not enjoy. That is an objective of the @gavvet featuring strategy. I hope I have not devalued it. I hope to finish this series there, if he will retain me, as that was the basis for my being featured to start with.
You will note that I will start posting on my own account shortly. I have a number of idea-strands that have been fomenting. Including on the barriers to entry that the present system has produced.

I enjoyed your work.... I just am not sure that this method is overall best for exposure. Wait, for exposure sure, but it seems it shouldn't be as required for exposure..... I may need to rethink a little. I know @gavvet has been very upfront about his goals and the funds..... I just want to see people able to have their quality of work noticed, and this type of program I am not entirely convinced is beneficial to the featured authors.

A lot of what you have written about resonates with me. I feel a little under qualified to have an opinion at this stage, being the relative noob that I am. My thinking is along the following lines.
If we accept as axiomatic that the objective is to grow the steem community, by rewarding content, then:

  1. The single greatest obstacle to retention of new signups is the irrelevance of their views. This occurs at two levels. Firstly, because they have no reputation score, exposure or track record, it will be the exception to the rule that the content of their post will be valued for its worth within the period that matters. Secondly, their curation inputs are relatively worthless (they have no SP). As a consequence, generations of new users must wait increase of their SP, which, unless money is invested, depends on their recognition. Its a vicious circle.
  2. Steemit rewarding systems are created to be stake based. The bigger one’s stake, the greater the influence - and hence the emergence of whales. Its a classical early adopter and capital accumulation type consequence.
  3. The present proposal underway (to reduce whale power) will not undo early adopter preferential position. Given the size of their headstart, the gap will only widen over time - perhaps not as fast. This does not speak to a retention of new entrants; it only appeases the consciences of those who have got out ahead first.
  4. If we are serious about attracting and retaining new entrants, we must make it more attractive by rewarding them directly. (participants that keep telling themselves that they remain on the site because they like to write, irrespective of the rewards, are administering a placebo. Rationally they should stay on reddit and Facebook.)
  5. This can be achieved through an incentive, e.g. rewards paid out after writing 5, 10 and 20 articles of longer than 500 words (30, 60, 90 comments/replies longer than 50 words); rewards being allocated when you reach 50, 100, 250, 500 up votes that are not bots; rewards for stimulating debate and commentary of 10/20/50 comments.
  6. Further, by opting for a system that gives new entrants a greater weighting in their curation roles. My up-votes currently count for nothing. Its pointless me reading critically for content. I can’t reward the author meaningfully.
  7. Put a ceiling on any single payout an article can earn. Say $500. Earnings above this are a windfall to the community that we all bask in by receiving an after-glow distribution of steempower, provided you have been active on your account in the last week.

I am still thinking through this, and am obviously alive to objections, both idealogical and practical. But capturing it here has been a start. Thanks for triggering that start!

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