Times are Changing
After being on Steem for over a year, there have been many changes in the community on their views and opinions on things like what is acceptable, judgment of posts, how the platform should function, etc.
I have stuck to my beliefs and strategies and they did fairly well for me up until this point. However, the platform is evolving and changes are happening. I am going to have to change and evolve with this platform as well, otherwise, all I'll be left with is change in my pocket.
I slowly started to see a lot of my supporters give less support and I don't have any problem with that. Perhaps maybe I was putting out content that wasn't worthy of support? Or the fact that there are way more people on this platform and it's becoming a fierce competition. Whatever it may be, I am grateful for those that have supported me in the past and up until this point. Makes it worth it to continue blogging and help others on this platform.
I originally didn't agree with the pay-for-vote bots and in many ways, I still don't. But as I mentioned earlier, the platform is evolving and this is the direction it has headed. IMO it is unfortunate because I believed that content and the content creators are what's going to give this platform real value. They still do, but the dynamics have changed and I don't really see it as a much of a social media platform anymore and more of what the the Steem whitpaper labeled it as a "public content platform".
That's not to say Steem not social media, it still is but it's an evolved form just like other social media platforms. Social media, in general, has changed and it's time for me to change with it.
I haven't upvoted almost any of my own posts since last year but I plan to start along with trying the upvote bots. This seems like the way it's going to be in order to get your content more noticed on the platform other than investing in a large stake and I've come to terms with this.
Steemfest²
It was nice to see a lot of the same people back for another Steemfest and wish I could have attended but hopefully I can make it to the next one.
I enjoyed some of the announcements and liked what I heard from @vandeberg and look forward to seeing the modularization of the Steem blockchain. This is such an important improvement that is needed and will lead to more stability, scalability, and features to this platform. If you haven't seen it you can check out the stream and Vandeberg starts speaking around the 46:00 min mark.
I also like the fact that Steemit did the rebranding but I don't like the choice they made with the colors and the logo... But it was great that they explained during the developer panel at Steemfest² that Steemit is just ONE application to the Steem platform. It's important that users can differentiate the two to understand the platform more and see the bigger picture.
Day 2 of the Steemfest² Conference seemed like not much was going on. There was a few non-Steem related stuff being presented. Not going to lie, I stopped watching after the first 30 minutes...
Zappl
With the launch of @Zappl being a Twitter-like mocro-blogging application, this allows for short posts to earn rewards on Steem and this also changes the dynamics of content on the platform and how they are rewarded. I really enjoy using Zappl and I think it's a great addition the growing applications for Steem.
Despite some criticism about the usability and the uptime of Zappl, @thedegensloth and the Zappl team have done a great job and have been working around the clock to get the site up, fix bugs, and make improvements to the site. I hear it in @thedegensloth's voice of the lack of sleep he has from working on Zappl so my hat's off to you. I was fortunate enough to have been there when he was speaking on voice a while back and got to listen to him brainstorm the idea of Zappl and now get to use a working product.
Moving Forward
Lot's of changes going on but it's good changes that are moving this platform forward. I know Steem will be ready for the masses when HF 0.20.0 Velocity get's released. Along with SMTs being a game changer, communities, and continued growth in applications and userbase, the future looks very bright for the Steem blockchain.
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Thanks for your opinion regarding it. As a rather new user to this plattform the bot system also having often a very strange feeling as it is very difficult to reach people without first paying some bots to resteem your posts getting into new audience. On the other side, there is a punch of nice people that seems to care for the new users as well, so it will be interesting how it will change in the future.
There are many factors on how your content can get noticed. I would say as a new user that doesn't have funds, it is important to network and build relationships on this platform. Creating original good content will also help but since there are so many users now, it can be kind of tough. So using the vote bots can help as well.
Good luck on your journey and just keep Steemin :)
These are good insights for a newcomer like me. The "public content platform"-part is definitely the main factor that drew me here.
The first comment I ever received on Steemit, was on my introduction post that I had spent weeks writing. It was a semi-automated commercial for an upvote bot, that stated that since I was new, I deserved to be supported. Not at all because my post was good or whatever.
To be honest, I'd rather not have comments like that cluttering up my posts. Luckily I later got a "real" reply as well, from @steemmatt (I recommend checking out his blog, it's really interesting!).
But I do see value in certain bots as well. @minnowsupport for instance, where users can cast votes on behalf of it when they come across content they want to support more than just with their regular vote. I also like those bots that gives 10-12 tiny upvotes to good posts in the commentary fields. For me at least, they have been really good confidence boosters.
Thank you for your reflections and keep up the good work!
Oh yes those are great bot services but the ones I were mentioning in the post were the ones you pay for to vote on posts. It's paying for a whale vote.
Thank you for the comment and taking the time to read my post. I appreciate it :)
Great post thanks.
Re steemfest, have a look around 55min on day 2. good info re different coins & ICO's etc. that was best part I saw anyhow.
re bots: my thinking is if you don't have time to invest in reading posts, then your only extracting from steem not inputting. so I dislike bots.
But having said that, I believe we (humans) are far more intelligent than any bot. With the number of users about to increase (per steemfest info) I doubt the bots will keep up. They will hit the big players etc etc.
But once the minnows learn to vote for minnows the bots will be beaten IMHO.
For the sake of the platform I would ask whales to re-consider the the use of up-voting bots they are a negative to the platform as a whole IMHO, and may / probably will hurt or impede platform growth, if they havn't already (maybe look at the 50% newbee leaving stat & ask why? :-) ).
I'll try check out that part on Day 2 of Steemfest.
As for thoughts on the bots, Well there are so many users and many people don't have the time to sit and read so many posts. Otherwise, there would be so many content that won't get noticed and less rewards distributed. Can't forget that this is a blockchain and we want as much distribution as possible.
With that said, I was also referring to pay-for-vote bots. A lot of whales are delegating to those services for an ROI instead of having to read through posts or have their SP sit there doing nothing. You have to remember, money talks. It's a capitalistic platform which is why I mentioned that it's not so much a social media platform and that is what most of the major social media platforms have turned into.
Sort of unfortunately you are correct.
I like the idea of "no personal engagement" = in input = no reward.
But as you say no votes = no earning
BUT
If there are less votes / day does that not mean each individual vote is worth more given a fixed size pool that is distributed? or did I get that wrong?
The pay-to-vote bots are a lazy person way to engage IMHO and a result of the "minnows have very little power" problem.
I'm also of the view that "1 post should be read by many".
not "many post read by a few".
Which means the work is of a higher quality.
But is also means that "commenting" or just reading posts is considered as valuable as posting which it currently is not.
With the expected influx of new users it will be interesting to see what happens.
Sometimes a system can be less than ideal because it has not scaled to it's optimum size.
Time will tell.
Less votes per day does not mean each individual vote is worth more. A users vote worth is relative to the amount of Stake(SP) they have.
The way the platform is, it's to give the incentive to increase your stake. So if you want your post more visible then you would need to find ways to get more SP or those whale votes. At the same time, this is a blockchain. So there is nothing stopping someone to pay another person with a lot of stake for a vote or collude.
1 post read by many does not necessarily mean the work is of a higher quality.
Yes, commenting and reading post is not considered as valuable as it should but they do still hold value.
Basically, what you said at the end, Time will tell.
Yes, I have been upvoting my own blogs where I used to not. I'm going to keep on writing no matter what.
Yup. Just keep Steeming :)
I agree with you about bots. I am a bit conflicted about using bots as well since it removes the "humaness" of the platform but to be able to survive in this platform specially to newbies like me we must adopt and follow the trend. It also enables new comers to have a fighting chance to keep interested in the platform.
Yes I updated my post because it seems most people were thinking I was referring to just upvote bots but I was referring to pay-for-vote bots.
As for using bots yourself, just because you use it doesn't mean you can't look at the posts the bot voted for you. Still can have the "humaness".
Thanks for these important update info. I am happy i read your post. I like the concept of zappl.
Your post has been resteemed to my 2110 followers
Upvote this comment if you like this service
Yea Zappl is really fun!
Hmm... paying for upvote... In Javanese Proverb "
Little confused but thanks for the comment.
It is mean this is a crazy time era If we do not join the main stream. We can not gain or get what we want. But that is better if we maintain our consciousness or awareness instead of following a crazy main stream. :)
We can analogy that many steemian follow to buy upvote, but if we awareness to focus on making commucation and posting that will be better than buy upvote
Ahh okay. I would have to agree. Times are changing ;)
Thank you for posting---interesting read. I am new and have been studying the upvote bot thing.
Thank you for reading.
So much to see and discuss is amazing.
This wonderful post has received a bellyrub 6.16 % upvote from @bellyrub.