Lost Steemians : My Top 3 Missing In Action
We’ve all lost someone we appreciate on STEEM. The churn rate here is pretty high so casualties are to be expected, but every now and then we lose someone who we really miss seeing pop up in our feed. Maybe it’s because they make you laugh (or cry) or maybe they have some insight, knowledge or information that you rely on or learn from. I guess everyone is different and it doesn’t really matter why, but I was reflecting on the churn rate of this platform recently and decided to post about my Top 3 Steemians who I miss the most.
Source
Here they are :-
Shelly is a fellow member of #TeamAustralia and has been on here for longer than me. She was regularly writing about travel and fantasy fiction with her clever “Read Between the Wines” series and both of these things I enjoyed a lot in my youth. I didn’t always get time to read her stuff but I’d chat to her occasionally on Discord and she was always very friendly and down to earth. I also have a lot of time for her husband @cryptoandzen who posts some mind-blowing futuristic and spiritual stuff. As a couple they seem to have a lifestyle that my wife and I aspire to and our combined interests have a lot in common but I know that they have had a lot going on in real life lately. She hasn’t posted anything for a couple of months now but I am optimistic that @shellyduncan will come back to STEEM one day. I guess I just want to say “We miss you Shelly”
This guy was pretty much my favourite poster to show up in my feed, but yet he seemed totally undiscovered and unappreciated. He’s a really clever guy with a twisted, yet hilarious sense of humour. I really enjoyed his posts that were usually very informative and insightful, often with a uniquely different take on things while at the same time being entertaining and humorous. I honestly have no idea why he didn’t seem to get very much traction or support because he really struck a chord with me. Maybe I am just a freak, but it feels like we failed him. He hasn’t posted for a couple of months now either and has been powering down his stake – which wasn’t small. I know it might be too late for @christosthegreek but if he does ever get to read this, please know that your work here was definitely appreciated!
Another really clever guy who had that right balance of posting informative and thought provoking (sometimes controversial) stuff with a twisted, hilarious sense of humour that struck a chord with me. He was a really prolific poster for a while there and was pretty well connected too with some of the movers and shakers on the platform. I know he was delegating a decent chunk to the Minnow Support Project for a while there too, so he was a respected and recognised player in the ecosystem. He was one of my favourites when I first started on STEEM but things started to change for him (and maybe me too) and I could see that he started to get jaded. He started to go a bit dark towards the end and while I didn’t always agree with his strong opinions I always respected the fact that he never shied away from giving his take on things. I think in the end it was the abuse which got to him and he flamed out in a flag war about a month ago. He’s another great Steemian that I feel we failed and we should never have lost. R.I.P @lexiconical.
Having a re-read of all that it does sound a bit sentimental and I apologise for that. At the end of the day STEEM to me is largely a social network so if you put the blockchain technology and the financial stuff aside for a moment, it’s really about the people behind it. I have met some amazing Steemians while I’ve been here and I’ve had plenty of ups and downs myself but these are 3 people who I sincerely wish were still here with us. If any of my readers have contact with these guys in real life or on another platform, please give them a nudge for me.
Have you lost someone recently whose name you miss seeing pop up in your feed? Tell us about them in the comments below. Or even better, make your own post like this one and link to it below.
http://lifepalette.com
https://steemit.com
I recently tried to raise some of the dead. You can upvote their most recent post and/or comment on it to try and encourage them.
Yes, raising the dead is a whole other topic. I guess this was more of a tribute post than anything else. Of course I'd love them to come back but would hate to be pressuring them to do so. They all have their reasons for leaving and I don't presume to understand them all.
Now you have something for your next post. :) lol
The people that I saw leave didn't have much earnings.
You don't use @dustsweeper?
Reviewing @dustsweeper is on my TODO list. Unfortunately it is a bit of a long list right now :/
Just send it 1 SBD. lol It works. Or you could just upvote yourself but nobody seems to be willing to do that. If I upvote you solo my vote goes to 0 and gets wasted.
I remember seeing christos commenting quite a bit, and I did follow lexiconical for a while until things started to unravel a little bit. Sad thing is, I think I did agree with most of what he said, but eventually it was the overall tone that got me.
There's been quite a few people who I ran into a few weeks into this that have disappeared off the Steemit radar. A couple have come back, though, so I guess as you allude to, we never say never.
Having been one of those to go down the rabbit hole twice, I sympathize with anyone who decides that the platform is set up against them. At the same time, I've also found that if I just keep plugging away at things, and don't go looking for all the warts, it gets better. It's been taking a lot of time, though, and I don't know how much longer I can keep it up.
"I think I did agree with most of what he said, but eventually it was the overall tone that got me."
Nailed it once again.
"It's been taking a lot of time, though, and I don't know how much longer I can keep it up."
I think that's the killer and it has been an issue for me too. Getting the balance right is hard and I think my own time spent here is probably unsustainable in the long run. Burn out is a real threat so I think we all have to pace ourselves a bit and lower our expectations to get longevity. Well, that's what I've been trying to do albeit with only mixed success so far :)
Lately, I've been doing okay with burnout. It helps to get away from the computer for twenty minutes at time, multiple times a day. If I end up curtailing my activities here, it won't be so much about burnout or being fed up with some unfairness as it will be about what financial needs I may have to address, and whatever I might be leaving unattended. So, that balance you spoke of, except it's more of a 'time potentially running out before balance is achieved through Steemit' kind of deal. :)
Indeed. Sometimes it seems I'm trying to reinvent myself every couple of months when I realise what I am doing isn't really working. Lately I have been cutting back the time spent on my posts and comments, but I'm probably just digging a hole for myself and will end up a shit-poster if I go to far down that road. It's all an experiment with a few oversteers along the way :)
Well, there never is just one way to success, and never a guarantee that any process or venture is going to work. I've found a groove lately, so I'm going with it until it either stops working or something else derails it, and try to adapt, I guess. All we can really do is figure out what works for us, right?
I would say, however, if you can find a way to lower the amount of time spent on a post while maintaining a higher level of value, those are the kinds of posts you're going to want as many of as you can. Going the garbage post route, intentionally or not, just isn't going to cut it. But there are plenty of posts that can be made that don't require hours and hours of research, writing, formatting and editing to pull off. Those kinds of major effort posts are hardly ever worth it here, unless you have the whale wrapped around you with delegation and their exclusive upvote. But then, you can get away with whatever you want. :)
I miss @elyaque, from Venezuela, @bitbutter, the creator of some great youtube animations, and the late @lauralemons.
They're my top 3. Its important to recognise that people often take a hiatus, they get writer's block or burned out and often come back in their own time.
I was away for 3 months around Christmas/New years 2016-2017.
I just went a day without posting, then another, and another.
It wasn't deliberate. I still loved the platform, it just got easier and easier to put off posting for another day.
Thanks for sharing @mattclarke I appreciate you validating that I'm not the only one who misses other people posting on here! :)
As I mentioned in the post, I am optimistic @shellyduncan will come back and it's just real life taking priority which is a very healthy thing, but I think the other 2 are probably gone and deliberately so.
@christosthegreek was a fantastic contributor. I miss his posts. I hope he returns. I am now "following" @shellyduncan and @cryptoandzen because of your post here. People can leave the forum for any number of reasons. I came to it as a source of information about cryptocurrencies and stayed for the virtual interaction. I think it has great potential - and it is far superior to fakebook. Steemit will survive :) and maybe draw them back.
"I came to it as a source of information about cryptocurrencies and stayed for the virtual interaction."
I did the same. Still trying to find my way after almost a year and I can see that there is definitely value here, but finding it and unlocking it is a challenge sometimes :)
I'm happy to hear I've helped connect you up with a few other great Steemians. I hope you enjoy their posts as much as I do.
On the other hand, I'm starting to see genuine interest from people who signed up a long time ago, and never got started until now.
My brother, @danclarke has started posting from steepshot.
My mate, @steveblucher is submitting to utopian, and a stunning young travel blogger I onboarded almost 2 years ago, @theworldcanvas just found her password and is looking to start posting.
You have done a fantastic job in bringing new people to the platform. I'd actually be very interested to hear your take on how to reduce our churn rates. I know you have excellent engagement strategy for the Mallsballers, but for the rest of us not from that part of the world....?
Deputies. @o07 and @holoz0r are my left and right arms.
Without them I'm just a flailing, helpless torso.
PS - I don't believe it for a second because I think you are being modest, but I might start calling you the Black Knight anyway ;)
Ni!
I think it's helped that I've been very forthcoming with identifying details.
You and I have been interacting here for a while now, and I have no idea what your name is, where you are or what you look like.
That's cool, obviously, we all have our own stuff going on.
You can build an online presence without those things, but when you want to build something in meatspace, people would much rather meet someone they know they'll recognise and already know by name.
It's a good point. I do value my privacy so I'm not ready to cross the Rubicon and put my identity on the blockchain yet. I do find that my anonymity allows me some freedom to write uninhibited.
I respect that operating in meatspace works well for geographically localised groups but when a community is globalised and just based on a common (possibly niche) interest it is not really an option to operate in meatspace.
I used to like reading @christothegeek’s funny posts too @buggedout. I’ve noticed a few of my favourites go quiet, but most of them have come back.
I was getting to the stage where I was enjoying commenting more than posting - but lately I’m enjoying steepshot. Maybe some of the newer apps will keep us all coming back
It's funny that I've had a few comments about @christosthegreek and I always thought he was undiscovered. Maybe he was just undiscovered by the whales :/
I'll have to check out steepshot. Haven't seen it yet. I think you are right that if the platform improves and a few of the big issues are addressed then we might yet see these guys again :)
Yep, I think there’s plenty of good accounts still undiscovered by whales but enjoyed by the community.
Steepshot is cool - quicker than writing long blogs, and I get to mess around with photography
Quitting doesn't sound like a terrible idea.
I have been close a couple of times. It's people like you @choogirl who keep me coming back :p
That depends on who you ask @choogirl - it’s a bit hard to imagine steemit without you
Indeed. My brain kind of short-circuits just trying to contemplate what that looks like :)
I followed Lex and played poker with him @spl and even met him at a florida meet up.He is my witness proxy so now that I have been here for a while I know enough to do my own voting! R.I.P. LEX
Yes, he introduced me to @spl as well and I played a couple of games there. I don't have the time for poker these days, but it strikes me as another worthwhile initiative on here that really should be getting more support.
Definitely miss @shellyduncan here and on Discord. I hope we see her back here soon.
What do you believe is there reason for leaving? Was it due to compensation reasons, environment, etc.
You'd have to ask them. I have some clues, but I couldn't presume to know or speak for them.
As someone who is relatively new to Steemit I only have @mazzle and @J85063 who I regualarly follow and upvote and they have been the only two to follow, comment and upvote in return.
I greatly appreciate it and as I am only currently dishing out 1c upvotes eventually my account will grow and I will provide more.
What I'm trying to say is that it is important to support active members inorder for us to grow. The faster smaller members grow the faster we can grow together.
I am unsure if these other people will return but lets all start being more active together.
"I only have @mazzle and @J85063 who I regualarly follow and upvote and they have been the only two to follow, comment and upvote in return."
I think there are some big clues in this statement alone. Sometimes you have to give before you will get ;)
Yes true my friend. There will always be some stage when this situation comes to us. It feels very sad and even gets to depression when we lose someone we love and care about. This post reflects your care and love for them. It's a memorable moment and always be. Thanks for sharing
Lol. They didn't die. They just left steemit.
hehe didn't mean that though