Is Engagement the best use of Steemit?
Engagement is the topic of the day.
It will be an interesting measure of the topic by just how many comments I receive on this post. For whatever reason over the past few days I keep running into the same topic. It was spread across multiple users with various arguments but essentially wanted to encourage Steemit users towards more activeness and participation on the site.
The first place I came across it was in a post by @abh12345, https://steemit.com/steem/@abh12345/wondering-why-your-account-isn-t-growing-get-you-influence-out-of-the-fucking-bots-and-talk-to-the-people-still-giving-a-fuck. This one had a solid argument about users delegating their sp for minimal returns instead of being active users and accumulating sp through participation on the site.
While I can understand the appeal of passive income, unless your SP is high enough to get a decent return the argument is that you will make a lot more from your participation. Not only that being active will add more value to the blockchain itself as the users are one of the main selling points here. It’s all well and good having a fast cheap blockchain but unless you have a working product on top of it then there is not much value in it. The people who put their time and effort in here are a resource, whether it’s through activity or through developing new applications to integrate. Either way it’s the users who are making STEEM what it is today.
Bots or people?
The next day I was browsing my feed and stumbled onto another post by @tarazkp, https://steemit.com/steem/@tarazkp/thoughts-on-earnings-and-delegations-out, which was running off the same theme. This one was stating the necessity of interaction to keep users on the site. While bots and delegation were also factored in to the post the message that I took from it was that to have a successful site we need to be part of it.
I accept that some of the larger users have no need or interest in talking with minnows as they can earn a nice income regardless, but as a small user that is not a viable option for me. I could delegate to a bot and earn maybe .5 to 1 steem per day but in the long term will that really do much? And if everybody does this then what kind of a site will be left? Not one that I would like to invest in. There are over 1 million accounts but only 60 -70k active users. That is not the statistic that I want to see before putting my money into a site. To have an attractive investment there needs to be a large and active user base for markets to target.
Now I have high hopes for hardfork 20 and SMT’s, firstly to make the sign up process easier which has been a huge barrier and secondly to allow the creation of new apps. Each off which should bring a new demographic to the blockchain. In life just like in sport momentum is a huge thing. If we start gaining and retaing new active members, that will bring others after them. The reason that I joined facebook originally is because my friends were already there. Same goes for every big site that I know of.
So what is the solution?
Well in my opinion, there are different levels to that. The top level would be the steem devs who can change major site operations and make decisions about the overall site strategy.
Level two would be the user base, the minnows like me and like you. If we all make our best effort to push the site in a direction that we like in large enough numbers then change will happen. Interaction would have to be at the root of this. Meeting the right people, sharing ideas and using our SP to influence direction could be a game changer.
Some people like @melinda010100 are creating small incentives to help new uers like her SSBI giveaway that encourages interaction and meeting new users,
“Here is your challenge. Go out and make 10 comments in the next few days on posts from 10 different Steemians that you have never commented on before.
Then come back here and leave a comment telling me you have completed your mission! It's as easy as that!”
Something as simple as this can introduce you to ten like minded people, that might be invaluable in the future. Who knows.
https://steemit.com/esteem/@melinda010100/sbi-giveaway-33edc3c15c029
While others like @abh12345 have set up, “The curation and Engagement League”. Which I am looking forward to participating in. This one is a table of your weekly activity taking into account your votes, comments and participation with others users.
Every one of these activities and there are dozens more, do help to engage users and add value to our blockchain. So well done to all of them and hopefully we will see more people getting involved rather than just selling their SP.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter and seeing how much interaction I will see from this.
Well from my experieance in the last couple of weeks, for a small user engagement is at least one way to go. I've managed to almost double my SP in the last couple of weeks, but I did get a lucky win in the @curie comment contest.
I think for the smaller accounts it is probably the best starting point. Not only do you earn a bit from commenting but you kearn a lot from talking with more experienced users. Steemit can be a bit tricky starting off so all information is helpful and talking to people is where you will find most of it.
Still is even after a year on here.
Well, I've only been active for 3 months, and the only social media I have ever used is Linkedin. So I would say the learning curve is pretty steep. Then you have to navigate the various opinions of what is good content, it get's rather hilarious watching some of the conversations around that.
There is a curve to the site alright even though there are alternatives on the blockchain with a better user interface. It does take a while to meet the right people but once you do there is a lot of help out there for those who want it.
Oh there are loads of communities to get involved with. I think it's pretty much up to the user if they are going to be successful on steemit.
I am a huge fan of the engagment league. It is almost as fun to watch as participate in. The competition and banter on the top levels has become a spectator sport.
My highest ever placement was #13 but I am getting close to that for this week I think.
As for those two and their blogs. I follow the comments on those a lot. They frequently are discussing matters along the same themes.
I think there are almost as many reasons to be here and ways to use the platform as there are personality types.
Sometimes I think about the serious issues for a while. But then mostly for me I enjoy the fun things to do here and grow as much sp as possible while doing so.
It's something that I have only just stumbled across from following the two guys on here. I spend a lot more time on here writing comments than I ever do blogging so I am curious as to how I will stack up against the big boys. I'm not expecting to make it onto the charts for the first week but for the next one I might make a big push and try to get on there.
There are so many aspects to steem and the blockchain that you can get involved anywhere you like. But similar to yourself I am happier to just enjoy being here, have fun and try to grow my account as I go along. And it is fun here. Once you get to know what you are doing and find a few like minded people there is plenty for everyone.
#13 is not a bad result but I'll keep my eye on the top 10 for you this week. Best of luck.
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Better watch it that engagement league is addictive. I also comment more than I post. I genuinely prefer reading over writing the posts. Seems to me like the platform is filled with creators yet a bit lacking in consumers.
Projects like Ashers league is doing a lot toward incentivising the other side of the coin.
When it comes to the fun part I have found that many people I interact with in the more lighthearted groups are to be found in the leagues.
I believe projects like Steem monsters will do a lot toward bringing people in and keeping them engaged. Especially once the tournaments begin next month.
We also have the @ifc starting a new season that project was a stroke of genius in my opinion.
The leagues will come out today. I am interested to see where we both place. Good luck see you at the games.
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