Rights and Responsibilities: If You're Going to Milk a Cow, at Least Have the Decency to Feed It.
I found Steemit in August. It took me some courage to go from lurking and reading to commenting and even posting. The concept of a platform that appreciates its users had me sold almost immediately. I'd been blogging about food before, but I was getting discouraged by the fact that I was generating income for a company by not only creating content, but by having my entire browser history analysed so they could force appropriate ads down my throat with every click of the mouse.
When I found Steemit, I couldn't not sign up. I never assumed I'd be making a lot of money here. But I wanted to write. I wanted to connect to readers. And I wanted to feel appreciated. Appreciation and respect are not endless, and they are not ours by right. Respect and appreciation are two way streets. We earn them, both by working for it, and by giving them freely where they are deserved.
As a writer, I'm lucky to have found friends to encourage and support me at The Writer’s Block. I have a huge amount of respect for the writers who manage to keep going despite a consistent lack of support and appreciation from us, their peers.
That is why I've started to curate for two initiatives who seek to support those among us whose amazing material goes unnoticed. I love writing, painting, drawing and creating and sharing content, but I spend at least as much time looking for curatable content from other users.
To be honest: I would love to curate even more, but at this point I'm wasting so much time wading through plagiarised, wrongly tagged, or mass-produced sloppy content that it gets hard for me to find the well planned, well executed posts worthy of--in need of--support. It frustrates me to no end. And don't tell me I'm picky. I already know that. But I'm also not the only one who has this problem. That being said, I will continue to wade through the muck in search of the pearls that I know are out there. Because they are worth it.
I do this because Steemit makes me feel like my voice has value. I want to give as much as I receive, and help others raise their voice as well.
Image credit: U. Leone via Pixabay
Let’s compare Steemit to a milking cow. If you keep milking the poor creature, but never feed her, she will not be providing you with milk for too long. If you want to enjoy her milk for longer than a few days, you need to take care of her. Feed her. Invest time and energy in her. It’s the same with Steemit. I truly believe in this medium, but Steemit needs our appreciation, respect and care. We need to invest time and effort. By providing quality content, by curating and appreciating each other’s content, and by bringing traffic to the platform. If we add value to the blockchain, it will appreciate us much more, and for much longer.
I can only speak for myself and I can only look at my own conscience, of course, but from now on, that will be my consideration before I click that “Post” button. Will this add value to the blockchain? All we can do is lead by example and hope that others will start asking themselves the same question.
As always, dear reader, thank you for putting up with me and my post. Although I am a mod at The Writer's Block, this post in no way represents an official position taken by the community. It contains my own opinion and observations, nothing more and nothing less.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank @stellabelle. Recently, she wrote a post announcing an amazing initiative to offer support to members of the community that have contributed to the platform and I was amazed and humbled to see my name appear on the list as well. I'm not quite sure I deserve to be up there, but I will do whatever I can to be worthy of the honour.
Hugs
Tiny
The Writer’s Block is a home to writers from every corner of the world, and from every discipline that involves the written word. I consider myself lucky to have found this amazing community. Not only have I found help, support and encouragement there, but I’ve found people who feel the same way I do about writing. I’ve found a second family there. Do you write? Would you love to be a part of a community that can help you learn and improve your writing skill? Our door is always open for kindred spirits. Come and pay us a visit by clicking the link below.
Adding value does not require that someone be a sensational writer. I simply means don't plagiarize, shitpost, or spam. So simple. I can't understand why it's such a difficult concept for some to grasp. Very well done article, and I agree 100%.
Thank you. All we can do is preach a bit and lead by example, as frustrating as it can be sometimes. Hugs.
Very succinctly put, agreed 100%.
Add value, prioritise quality, build a better community for all.
Thank you, dearest.
Well said, Tiny. It's super hard to find anything decent to curate. It's not that it isn't out there, it's that it's buried underneath piles of crap. Thanks for all that you do and don't give up on us. There are plenty of people contributing amazing things to the community, we just need to find them and nurture them.
Oh, Andrew. You didn't think there was any chance you were getting rid of me, did you?
A lot of sincere words here. Milking a cow, watering your garden, all of these apply to definition of growing something. It is about investing!
True. We all enjoy the benefits of Steemit, but if we want this platform to continue to thrive, we need to start thinking about our responsibilities and duties as members, instead of just our rights.
Thank you for your comment.
hugs
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I meant to respond on this earlier but today is insane. You hit the nail so firmly on the head with this post. And I share your frustration about the quest for stuff to curate. If we just stick to our Writers' Block crowd, it's easy to find great stuff. But we both have curation roles that require we go beyond that, and it's PAINFUL. I often end up filing a report on something...
Thank you so much, Bex. Hugs
Agree! You have every right to be picky and indeed there are some "milking the cow." I personally am not a great writer, I do however try doing my best when posting (I use different styles, depending on topic and where I'm posting from).
Not everyone can be a great writer. But everyone can produce the best they have in them. Which is a far cry from copy-pasted content, empty posts, temper tantrums, or recycled content.
If everyone just puts more thought and effort into the stuff they publish, Steemit would be an entirely different place already.
Thank you for your comment.
Great analogy Tiny. Don't sell your self short. You've added a lot to the community already and within a few weeks of arriving. Keep doing what you do and say what you say.
As if there is such a thing as shutting me up. ;-)
Oops, I didn't see this before the 7-day upvote/resteem limit. Sorry! Well said, Tiny!
Thank you, Carrol. That means more to me than any update.
Nice thoughts, I give value by giving my bot on tuesday! (probably)
...speaking of which it should work for you now :)
Thank you so much! Both fit the troubleshooting and the kind comment!