I Became Frustrated Long Before Many of You: Felt Like an Ass for Some of the Things I Said
It Wasn't Easy
Being cheesy.
Awhile back, long ago, I lost my cool.
I became frustrated and let my emotions get the best of me.
Sure, I'll write up a rant from time to time. When I do that, I try to keep it at least somewhat entertaining. The time I'm thinking of probably wasn't much fun, especially for those I blasted.
I decided to make things easy for new people. Anyone with enough courage to come to my advertisement offering free votes and say they'd be interested would qualify. I also explained how I was looking for entertaining people. I wasn't interested in voting for pictures of cabbage and essays about mattresses. Many stepped up and it was a fun day.
Back then the value was higher; my vote was worth around $5. I had a lot to pass around for free and this was during a time when I could have said, "Screw you guys, I'm going to delegate my SP to a bidbot and you can bloody well pay for my SP if you want piece of that pie."
There was one condition.
If I'm voting for you, I'd like to see you power it up. I want to see you build your account values up organically and in the form of SP.
It didn't take long to notice some were selling off or wasting this support on bidbots. So I felt used; stabbed in the back. Why should I support a fellow artist/entertainer who takes my support with a smile, then uses it to buy votes and push my work down to the point of invisibility? I mean, that's what bots do, correct? People get visibility by purchasing votes that push their work up to the top of the hot list but the only way to get there is by trampling everyone else below.
For some strange reason they thought views and a bought following would build up their accounts. Then they'd take the tiny profit and sell. The following they purchased didn't vote for them then and certainly won't be able to vote now unless those folks decide to build up their accounts.
I didn't want to help someone who's going nowhere, fast. That would have been wasteful...
Especially now that we see how important SP truly is.
So many thousands of people were handed an opportunity.
Please grow organically. This will benefit you in the long run.
Where
was everyone?
Now, quite suddenly, so many are up in arms stating the fact this pay to play model is a terrible idea. Now they don't have enough RC to be able to leave a comment. Not even one week ago, some of these people were more than happy to pay to play in the form of bought votes. So what gives? Now you're feeling inconvenienced and don't like it but had no problems crushing people and stealing visibility from bloggers who had been working hard here for two years?
You're not the only one who's frustrated.
So now, with these changes,
a new member is offered one direction.
Up
Every little thing they do, starting on day one, contributes to their advancement here on the platform. They're climbing that ladder and every rung matters.
People are saying, "They can't do it!"
I'm saying, "Yes they can."
One solid introduceyourself post, once powered up, means they can engage far more than they could the moment they signed up. Everything becomes important. Every little step means they're moving up, and they'll feel it. Not only will they receive a bit of money; they will feel a sense of accomplishment with every tiny push forward.
Part of the reason so many would start and then quit within a month was because they were not feeling as if they were accomplishing anything.
What was once very little becomes more and more.
This is a good thing.
Imagine it's your first day on the job. It sucks. One week later you're already being promoted. Feels good.
I realize a few parameters require adjustment. Steemit Inc. and all of these witnesses must work together and find that sweet spot. Where's the best place to start?
Does the success of a new member depend solely on Steemit Inc.?
All of you folks saying these new members won't be able to get anywhere; is that just a fancy way of saying you're not going to be out there helping?
If a new member spends their valuable RC on my blog, to say something important to me, they're getting a vote. That vote will lead to them having the ability to say more.
These people are only stuck at the bottom if we hold them there.
I noticed some of you out there who are unhappy with these changes have your SP placed in the hands of someone else.
Make up your minds. Do you want to be there for these people or do you just want say you're there for them while collecting a bit of money for doing nothing?
Your SP can and will help these people, so please use it wisely.
I'll continue my ways. Comments get votes and responses. I'll support those I see making attempts to build their account values so they too can support others. Hopefully we don't see desperation; people wasting RC to beg for a pair of eyes. If I sense someone needing help though, and they came to me, and I see they're new; I won't be blasting them for begging. I don't think this new crowd on the horizon will be here to beg. Their efforts will most likely be worth a look.
They can only say so much. One leaves a comment on my blog, then can't respond. I know this so what's stopping me from directing attention to this new member? Nothing. I can vote their comment to the top, easily. Then ask all of those visiting my place to go visit theirs. That one comment from a new member can go one hell of a lot farther than I think many of you realize.
Now
I hope some of you out there can forgive me for getting so angry that day.
All I wanted to do was help, and I'm sticking to my guns.
Have a nice day.
Well written and looove how you write.. Genuine. I think many people have been frustrated and wondering about the future here.
Im a positive person and I belive... But I also had a moment where I felt like... Is this really the place for me... Will this happen again?
For me I realized once again that... It's the PEOPLE here that keeps me here.
Amazing friends that I had the blessing of meeting 🤗 community that brings hope and makes this place a home.
Together we can make a difference.
I Loooved this post and I have read many of your posts before and you are one of the funniest people I know here and brings lots of smiles to us. That's a gift.
Stay as you are and thank you for sharing this and being you. Cheers! 🌼🤗🌼
Thanks a lot for these kind words and encouragement.
I'm beginning to think the place is too big to fail now. I've been around here for over two years, I've seen a lot of frustration. When something goes wrong, people get loud and sometimes that loudness unbearably obnoxious. It happens every time something changes. For many, this was the first time they've witnessed it. Every time people start saying the place is dead, it recovers and becomes better than ever.
Have you ever heard that myth about how it was easier to earn a long time ago? Does ten cent STEEM, no way of knowing if it will ever rise again, and thousands of people for days and days saying the place is dead sound easy? LOL!
Giving you my tiny 100% vote to get you moved up higher on the new Trending. It's probably the last time this'll happen until the next hf and all the bots break. I'm not even that upset that my own reading list bots are busted now that I see people get their posts out there, posts that are legitimately upvoted by other people.
This has been an enjoyable moment after a week from hell as a witness. Still waiting for mine to finish it's replay. Not sure if that'll happen before I pass out.
Is this on the trending list? I didn't even think to look there. My one chance and I blew it! LOL!
It is nice to see what a legit Steemit looks like without all of the bot abuse. It's not bad at all out there and might even get a chance to improve for a couple more days until those people come back with their $500 I'm more important than everyone else attitudes and 2000 fake votes.
Good luck with all of that witness stuff. It's hard time to be one of those these days but at least not everyone is getting blamed for problems and working their butts off.
I scrolled down a bit but yeah, you've made it. Thanks man.
I made a video last night and posted it. I have been frustrated by all I have read. I am usually a very positive person and try and see the "best case", "the other side" in everything.
Most of what I said, others have said too, but they were not saying it out loud for many reasons. I knew I had enough to post and was very tired and wanted answers. Straight answers. My friend @felt.buzz lead me here to your post. While as another commenter said, it is not the most humorist post I ever read, it does have straight answers that needed to be said. Thank YOU for that!
I have been here for a year and have powered up the whole time. I delegate to a few places that I know will help more people then I would ever be able to get to.
So yes, I agree that a user has to put in the work and not just take. I spent a year doing just that but it doesn't mean that I don't deserve to be frustrated with how HF20 was handled. It doesn't mean that I too don't deserve to say how I'm feeling.
Steem is a place where we all are able to have free speech no matter who we are.
If I would have seen your post where you said to power up, I would have agreed with you for the fact that has been just what I have done and for the reasons you state.
Thank You for your post. I promise to read it again when in doubt.
Very nice to meet you @nonameslefttouse and your straightforward no filter thinking.
I noticed how the group think effect was in full swing. It was becoming fashionable to hate. Even fun for some. When that happens it's easier to see how something fishy is going on. These people are simply feeding off of each other. They're only looking in one direction, which means they're missing something. I didn't feel like joining that club. The outsider looks in, sees everything.
It's easy to be frustrated with how things were handled, but look how it's starting to come together. Where we're at now is also part of how it was handled. It's not all bad.
I am a huge believer in things happen for a reason. I am also a huge believer in it doesn't hurt to ask a question or if you feel strongly about something let it out in the air and see what comes back.
again no one can know and see everything and when you find yourself going in circles in the same box (mindset) it is time to ask questions to see what you are missing.
what came out the video I did was what many people have been thinking and wondering also, so it was not just a self-serving piece, though my frustration was real too. I do not think I was being out of hand bringing up what I did.
What I did love about the whole thing was once again Steemians came to answer the questions as best they could or offer more posts to read, like yours here.
Proving, once again, thatsome Steemian's do care and will go out of their way to help someone in need. But this last bit I never doubted. I have seen it too many times. People helping others, to think there are no good people here. I am very lucky on know many who fit into this category.
I've been through my own series of ups and downs here. More often than not, someone around this world helped keep me grounded. I've received advice from some quite well known and popular personalities. I've listened to some who look up and admire what I do. Quite a few in between.
I've been here for two years. I haven't known it to be easy. I don't preach the positivity but I'm aware of the dangers of too much negativity. Sometimes one of the easiest things to do is get all down and out. I don't blame or look down on anyone here for losing hope during hard times. It wasn't easy keeping my chin up throughout this entire mess. There were a lot of distractions.
It's 6 am for me and I need sleep so I will answer you back in full when I get up and am awake. But sounds like you too need a laugh so do not vote on this but have a read of Mealworm F. Duck that I just wrote. Hope you at least get a chuckle!
OK, I took your advice and looked at this post.
I'm still unconvinced (I think you are assuming that people are willing to upvote noobs when in reality they are stingy with their votes).
Here is a challenge for you. Set up a brand new account, don't tell anyone who you are, and don't delegate power to your new account or upvote your alt.
Instead, try out what you say: the stunning intro post and so on.
Then report back in two weeks about your experience. Steemit is a lot different to how it was two years ago... But I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.
It would be difficult for me to find the time to run two blogs. As you can see, I get swamped. I don't want to sacrifice what I have going for me here. I already started at the bottom. What I can do though, is what I said I'd do. That is, try to help. I already know it's going to difficult for a new member. I've already taken it upon myself to visit a couple of introduceyourself posts. Keep in mind, I'm spread thin as it is. I only have so much to go around. But if I can get to two posts a day, even one, that's already more than some are doing. Would it be fair to say, if I drop one 50% vote on a noob each day, that's already far more than you're doing to help? I don't know you, not sure if you have an alt account, and I'm not being rude either.
The post doesn't have to be stunning, those people simply need others to pay attention to them. Now, with less spam around, that'll at least be easier.
I'm sticking to my guns. You say people are stingy yet I've pushed that button manually 21095 times since I started here, including the one I just gave you. See, my plan is already working. I've helped you. It's your decision now. Power it up, or complain about not having enough resources.
I didn't say you were stingy, just "people". Thank you for your vote and help!
I'd just like to point out that in the nine comments I've managed to make this week, you are the only person who has upvoted meaningfully. I've managed to get dust votes from one other person who simply went through and voted for all my comments (though none will pay out as they are too low). And though I had replies to my comments, the people replying didn't bother to upvote.
Judging from that I'll get a small payout on 20% of comments, amounting to 75% of 16 cents a week! So my steempower might go up by 1 SP after 8 weeks.
The point I'm making is that most people arn't like you, and you can't upvote the entire community by yourself. Though perhaps the lesson I should take away is that I'm replying to the wrong people.
Thanks for the conversation anyway.
Some people probably are stingy. I've worked my butt off here for a long time. I've gone through periods where the votes are coming in nice and steady, then I find myself in serious slumps. I can't do much about it aside from blaming myself, which I do, and try harder. Have a look at my blog, there's nothing else like it here. See all that work? That's what it took to make money here. Like I said, I started at the bottom. People will try to say it was easier to earn at certain times, I disagree. Most of those people weren't even here to see me struggle. They don't know what they're talking about.
I know I do things differently, yet I'm not the only one who's voting and trying to help, and I know this. You know what discouraged a lot of high value voters? All of those spam comments we used to get. Vote beggars. Ass kissers. Pan handlers. Now look at the place. Look at this comment section. Do you see any junk here? This is what people can expect now. In reality though, this is what I've been trying to maintain for a very long time. Me voting is nothing new. The post says it all. I shall continue my ways.
You take care of yourself.
I can definitely agree with some of the points that you wrote. It's always a pity when you help someone and they cash out and run with a few dollars rather than power up and work for the future. The more active people who hold and accumulate the better. It encourages people to participate and limits supply on the markets.
I know that personally I want this to work in the long term so it's all about powering up as much as possible. It's ok to get frustrated with people and with how things are run, we all feel it from time to time. My question is how do we improve things. What can we do better the next time.
I have a job with a good few staff underneath me but I have never given out to somebody for making a mistake. Where I kill them is from repeating the mistake and not learning from the last time.
I am fairly active and want to grow my account as much as possible so that has gotten me involved with some great communities on here. But I do use a bot for some activities. It gains you more viability and can increase your steem earnings so I will use them as the resource that they are. I would rather there were no bots on here but since there are I will use them to my benifit. Not to buy a following but to put my work in the shop window where it can be seen by the marketplace.
Posted using Partiko Android
If you see two homeless men sitting beside each other, one's holding a sign asking for $50 for beer and the other is holding a sign asking for $50 for a new shirt because they have a job interview; who gets the money? It's similar here. Of course, two hours later if you saw the homeless man who was supposed to buy a shirt drunk out of his mind, you'd feel ripped off and never EVER want to help that man again.
I was a manager in a previous life. Those in charge who get angry over mistakes instead of offering guidance typically lose their jobs long before they can destroy the business by firing all of the good employees.
Your shop window reasoning should now include the fact I'm also putting my work up in a shop window and the bot user is coming along and placing a poster over top so people can't see what's behind. Just something to think about.
Pretty much yes. I agree with you on this one.
I wouldn’t want to help that man again as he had blatantly lied and taken advantage of peoples good nature. I would much rather help the person who is looking for beer money as he is being upfront about his plan and I can understand his motivation. With that said you don’t have to help either of them. You can help anybody else or nobody at all. We all have choices but we need to understand the consequences of all those actions and learn from their results.
I’ll go back to the shop analogy since I work in retail and don’t agree with your point. People tend to buy a product for one of three motivations. The same can be applied to posting on Steemit.
Firstly if their is brand loyalty built up over time and the customer knows what to expect. If they already know the author and like what they have to offer or friendship built up over time.
Secondly if their is added incentive to choose that brand. Competitions, shares in SBI or chance of a large upvote.
Third is merchandising and advertising. Pushing your blog, making it more visible in terms of votes and comments. Getting it in the shop window.
So if you have a new Steemian posting away, growing organically without any of these factors it’s going to be a long cold road to build up their brand. For me the best thing to do is use advertising and incentives to build a brand. Put your blog in the shop window until people know and recognize you. Once you have that people will look for you as they know what you have to offer. Then you will no longer need to use bots and merchandising to get noticed but without them you might never be.
People can always see your work but noticing it is a different thing entirely.
What you're actually doing is blending in. Here's an example:
$50
$50
$50
$50
$50
Those are promoted posts published by five different blogs. Which one looks different? What's standing out?
Typically, when I feel like advertising, I blend that in with my usual posting habits. I don't use the middleman and didn't buy their salespitch when they said this helps with visibility. If the post I do for promotional purposes does well, just like my regular posts, any amount of rewards beside the post is pure profit. The curators get their cut. Promo bots take that away, which is typically why you folks don't see large votes coming your way for free. You're advertising the fact you want eyes, not money, so it's hard to make money that way. You're treating your stuff like it's just one of the thousands of things inside of a retail store. I think of it more as a stage. If I buy all of the tickets, the seats are empty. I must perform well, then they fill up.
Everything in my wallet, I've earned that here. It was worth a couple hundred thousand dollars at one point. I don't depend on a middleman, so that helps. We're running different businesses though. I'm typically more focused on entertainment, so if I'm giving something away, it's a good feeling. People like that stuff, I have fun doing it. If this was Youtube, the advertisement is what people skip to come to something like what I try to produce for an audience.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
just the normal ups and down of our crypto asset blogging life, ironically research shows that the down are more memorable then the ups when we have success and such, maybe we should start awarding COM rant award....whatdayathink NN?
I say go for it. The rant is an artform often misconstrued as anger. When done properly, people pay attention. Yet in life, nobody pays attention to some random asshole yelling about stuff. Isn't that interesting...
One good thing about regret is that you don't have it if you are not maturing. When it comes to my posts I just don't post stuff that I'm pretty sure I'll regret. Comes with my old age I guess. As a younger man I was an ass. "Too soon old too late smart" comes to mind.
Don't drink and blog is a good way to avoid regrets here. I still have my moments. I can look back and wonder, what the hell was I thinking when I did that. Most of it though is just failed attempts at humor. Sometimes things just sound better in my head, and should probably stay there. Yet, I don't know if something will fail unless I try.
I think maybe I'm at the stage where I'm old enough to know better but still too young to care. Nearing the end of it though. Gaining wisdom. Slow and steady.
Well, I don't drink anymore. I had a stroke last May, and don't want another one. Sugar and alcohol damage blood vessels and then cholesterol repairs the damage. The patches build up over time and can be choked off with dire consequences. I'm 95% back to where I was, but it ain't been fun. My experience reminds me of writing or saying things that I regret after it gets me into trouble : )
I try to stay away from the bottle. There was a time when I couldn't no matter how hard I tried. Getting to that point is probably one of my biggest regrets. I'm probably about 95% back to where I was before that mess. Live and learn.
Congratulations on defeating that demon. I've never know that level of "need". However, I have other demons as do we all. Since my stroke I seem to have a shorter fuse with my wife of 49 years in November. A shorter fuse with everything actually. In the US we have a season of strife that I find especially unsettling. I'm a history buff and see this demonetization of people being a repeat of 1930's Germany when the government and news media focused a concerted effort to demonize Jews. The difference is that Germany disarmed the population including the Jews before they started to kill them. In the US conservatives are well armed and I fear if pushed too far there could be violence.
I feel ya. I feel ya big time. although my votes were never worth as much as yours, I worked hard to encourage engagement on the block in various ways and continue to support and promote powering up and long term thinking.
I am glad you are sticking with your guns, and your efforts do help, so keep it up. changes have happened and we have to adjust and re educate. but the show still goes on and there are still people to help.
I felt every part of this post. Thank you for sharing
I'm aware of your efforts and you've been doing a good job. Now those efforts mean more than they ever did. Your vote was smaller but if received and put to good use, it becomes much more. People will figure this out. Change is hard for some, that's life. Those who make an effort now will have it much easier. In many ways, these changes are exactly what everyone wanted. Some can't see it yet because again, change. Once at the bottom, always at the bottom is how their mind works. Curating is now more important than it ever was, which is something people wanted. Nearly everyone. The bottom isn't permanent, it's only the beginning; things change.
The prospect of being limited is daunting, especially when my strategy is engage outward rather than direct inward. I want to offer valuable feedback and response to content, and fear getting hamstrung by the new system.
That said, your perspective is refreshing. It gives me a reason to keep trying, regardless of what comes. So cheers to you.
~ Mako
Many are pointing out the issues as if they are permanent. They're not permanent. Like I said: every step counts. More than ever before. When you offer your feedback, people will know you've used your valuable RC on them. You're earning respect the moment you send your message, at least. If you come across someone who refuses to acknowledge your presence after you've given it your all, they become a waste of resources. People will not want to be a waste of resources.
You expressed so many things here that I feel myself.. I want to stand up and clap ...👏🏼
These last few days have been disheartening to say the least. The idea that a small account can easily grow and no longer have these issues in a short amount of time is not foreign, as I did it myself through bandwidth issues. The big difference is I understood the value of powering up and after doing so, had no more issues.
Sure my account is a size now that I too do not have to worry about RC issues... funny, someone tried to make me feel bad for that. But do they think that is by accident? I have put everything I’ve made (naturally) back into this place because I saw value in doing so. I find it sad how many accounts that have been here as long as I have, have a high rep and are sitting at 150sp. Those individuals are now calling foul, up in arms that they can’t do what they want... well, no offense.. but in the real world what you put in is what you get out. I don’t think it’s terrible at all to ask individuals to climb up the ladder and grow to be successful here.
I think you are right about easily helping the small accounts who put in effort grow as well. I spend most of my time curating here and come across many new accounts that wow me, I wouldn’t think twice about helping them grow so they can continue to add value.. and I think I would have plenty of help in doing so.
Thank you for the wonderful read, things have been a bit grim around here lately and I found this encouraging.
The past few days, watching all of these people in panic mode; disheartening to say the least, indeed. I think that reaction did more damage than any hardfork could ever do. Even now, while the kinks are getting worked out, some folks are late to the party but still want to freak out about the problems from three days ago as if they still exist. People demanding apologies should probably apologize but I don't see that happening. Oh well. Live and learn.
I saw the value in powering up my first day here. Started with nothing, didn't know anyone, became addicted to leveling up my account. I've seen those comments; people say a dolphin can't feel the pain. BS. The two years it took to get here wasn't easy. Now I'm faced with ring leaders rallying the troops, trying to encourage people to leave because of a minor inconvenience. Thousands of good people here watching others persuade their viewership to play follow the leader. I have trouble believing people will turn their backs on me, on us, everyone, over the actions of a few; but unfortunately some might. Those impatient types are incredibly selfish. We did nothing wrong.
As for helping; what I'm seeing now is an opportunity. Limited resources means less junk, which in turn means it becomes easier to help those deserving of help. Who deserves help? That's up to every individual here. I might see something good in someone, you might see somebody else. Thousands of minnows now putting their best foot forward rather than throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. That'll make curating one hell of a lot easier and hopefully once people realize this, they'll be willing to at least look. They weren't looking before because they knew it was majority crap. Now even these curation groups will have it easier.