State of Steem: What Remains, When You Remove All the _______?
Without a doubt, the Steem Ecosystem has changed a lot since I first became part of it, in January of 2017.
Back then, I got off to an enthusiastic start because I felt like I was becoming part of a new incarnation of the old "Social Blogging" venues I was part of, back in 1999-2006... and which I — quite frankly — missed quite a lot.
In many ways, it seemed like the original Steem vision of @dan suggested that this would be a somewhat "mixed use" social content site, but with a considerable emphasis on content creation. I even remember some phrase about Steemit (as it was referred to, at the time) becoming a sort of "permanent repository of information" on the blockchain.
As such, it all felt like something I could "get behind," and two-years-and-change later, I feel pretty good about having stayed true to my original intent.
Purple heather in close-up
A Look Around the April 2019 Landscape
This morning, I spent a little time doing something I haven't done in a very long time: I looked at the "New" feed for a while; refreshing the page about every two minutes or so.
What I see today — aside from the current "reputation glitch — is definitely not the Steemit site I became part of.
Now, I'm not going to cast this in a "bad" or "good" light, it simply is what it is.
But as I looked at the unrolling feed — some 5-10 new items coming online every minute — I started wondering what would actually be left over if you removed all the largely "automatic" posts.
- Remove all the DrugWars battle posts.
- Remove all the ActiFit updates.
- Remove all the SteemHunt links.
- Remove all the "naked" Appics shares.
- Remove the various Dlike links.
- Remove all the SteemMonsters posts.
There are probably others, but no mind... my question is "What do we end up with, with all those gone?"
Not a whole lot.
Sure, there's still a lot of "worthy" content, but it's only a fraction of what it was, a couple of years back. Certainly, the total number of posts is significantly higher than March 2017, but what sorts of posts are they?
A daisy in the sun...
Towards "General" Social Media
From where I am sitting — and just a reminder, I'm not saying this is BAD, just pointing out that it EXISTS — what we're looking at here is the general "Facebook-ification" of our community. Rather than a "content driven" venue, we have ended up with something that's basically about people posting whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like it and nobody really cares what sort of impression it leaves, whether within the community, or on those on the outside looking in.
However, the difference is that on Facebook I can filter out the eternal CandyCrush, Angry Birds and FarmVille posts from my feed.
I can also sort my "friends" into groups, and just view filtered feeds according to metrics I set. I don't get to do that, here.
Now some might pipe in and say "Yeah, but you can just use SteemPeak, Partiko, Busy.... "
Problem number two — and I am mostly speaking to this from the perspective of "how this looks to others who might consider joining our community" — is that over on Farcebook, or LinkedIn or somewhere else you DON'T have to go use some third-party app to make the primary venue usable!
I think this is perhaps where we went astray when Ned decided that Steem really wasn't about "being a social venue," but about "building apps on the blockchain."
Nice idea... but who do you think is USING those apps? They don't "use themselves." And apps are pretty meaningless if they don't have users!
Tiny flower on the lawn...
Encouraged by Recent Initiatives
I do find myself feeling somewhat encouraged by recent initiatives that seem more oriented towards building community.
From the "Bigger Middle Class" idea to the "10,000 Minnows" project, it feels like there's a growing number of voices from within who are taking it upon themselves to focus on content and connections again.
And that makes me feel like I have not entirely wasted the past two years, pumping something I hope is of some value into an ecosystem that's purely a giant pity of automatic posts.
Hopefully, you're feeling something similar...
Have a great day, and thanks for reading!
What direction do YOU think this place is taking? Are recent initiatives at community building "too little, too late?" Or will they change things, gradually? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190416 14:03 PST
0979
When I first joined the platform in July 2017, before all the steemhunt, actifit, etc it was ALL about communication, connections and interactions.
I learned MUCH more from the other gardeners and homesteaders on steemit than anywhere else online.
The six tags you mentioned above are all over my feed as well; and I do understand that people come to steemit for one reason and their ideas change as they become more active and see what the platform,t he developers and app-builders are presenting. I can understand it and appreciate people who have a prolific life.
but on the other end of the spectrum... I am OCD and like things in their place. Categorize it all.. keep it all nice and neat. So when I see many things and topics that do not interest me... I tend to get frustrated. I really don't play games (so steemmonsters and DW hold no special place in my viewing heart)... I don't count all my steps throughout the day so actifit isn't on my radar and steemhunt... not going to get started there.
@denmarkguy and @goldendawne
BOOOM!
And the same goes for the rest of the post. Not going to repeat what I've said before. It's the community that keeps me here. And knowing that when I have both "fluff" and something "real" to say, there's a platform!
I think of steemit as the ibm of steem that will disappear under its own weight. I only post with dapps now since they pay in upvotes and steemit does not.
I do not use either to post, but I like the actifit and steemhunt posts.
I have the nsfw on, so until right now, I did not know we had naked appics posts.
Drugs wars battles I ignore. Steemmonsters, I sometimes look a strategy posts, since I have many free cards I have won - but I have never played. dlike, I have never noticed or seen any of those posts.
I have so much good content to look at each day that I never get to it all, so we are seeing different things.
I wish you would keep freewriting. This is one place I really enjoy and the posts get better and better over there.
You are probably right that the Steemit front end will eventually fade into the background and go away quietly. I'm currently excited about what @steemchiller has been developing as a post editor for SteemWorld. Otherwise, I mostly access (and create) posts via SteemPeak.
As I mentioned in a comment to @mariannewest I will most likely toss a freewrite post or two out there, now and then. One thing I did learn from the "experiment" is that my most natural form of writing is the "flow-of-consciousness" style... which is a lot like freewriting, except without a timer... I let the ideas keep flowing till they naturally conclude. When using a timer, I find too much of my mental bandwidth is on "how much time do I have left," rather than on developing the idea, itself.
But time will tell.
I'm using busy, esteem, tasteem, dpoll, ulogs, and share2steem and getting good results from all. As far as I know steempeak does not upvote and I am all about the votes here.
For freewrite, I do not use a timer at all. I could not write like that whatsoever. It made me a nervous wreck. I go for word count instead. When I am near the end of the page, I'm done. But sometimes they go longer or shorter. I'm not cutting off my thoughts or extending them in a fake way. I'm also editing, since I cannot even read my first drafts.
Marianne is pretty forgiving and just wants the posts, luckily.
Well I suppose I would agree, at least partially, within the given parameters of only looking at the "new" feed. I should say I am not a fan of the automated stuff. However I have a few friends that really do use their ActiFit posts to make an interesting update/blog complete with text as well as photos.
I do agree things went downhill and fast after Dan left. I keep hearing "Steem is more than just Steemit" as an excuse to never update or half the time fix the Steemit front end. Where did all the time and money go that was obtained from their selling so much Steem every month while we were told endlessly about SMTs and communities? Yet, is there a better place to go? Will Dan ever make his Steem V2? So somewhat jaded, I keep plugging along.
You can find the community announcement on Discord :) and it has also been shared on our FB Page and Twitter feed.
Thanks for the support! @steemitbloggers rocks!
Your list
I have never used any of these, however, if this is what others want to post it is okay with me.
BTW: Good points, something to chew on. :) Nice to read your post this warm afternoon in Nebraska. I am loving the weather here.
I definitely don't begrudge anyone wanting to post these things... I just wish we had some kind of "filtering mechanism, so we could omit/include posts created by certain front ends.
Glad to hear you're having some warmer weather!
Hey @denmarkguy .. good thing you upvoted I came back to delete my comment lol
I thought my comment does not add much value to your post. I am with you filters would be nice. But look at how many people use the ones in your list esp. that actifit and steemMonsters.
Lol I would have very little in my feed. :)
Yes, the weather is so nice after such a long harsh winter. I do enjoy stopping by once in a while and reading your posts. Keep up the good work.
Totally agree. We started Steem in August 2018 with a goal in mind - only our posts and our travels for that one account. We quickly got caught up in the "resteem" only to find we were getting lost in our own account. It's frustrating for sure.
I do wish there was a way to quiet the specific post subject because there are people I follow who post a lot about the game. I still want to hear them, but not ALL of their content.
We came here for the social media aspect so we would love to see it be a bit more friendly for the general user.
Good post. Thanks so much.
Ren
That is why I never look at the new or trending posts. Actually, hardly ever at my feed. By the time I am done reading freewrites, powerhousecreatives, and visit people who comment on my post, I am out of time and voting power.
What I like about Steemit is that I can access all posts, no matter on which they were written. When I open 20 tabs to read freewrites and each dapp wants me to sign in, it becomes really annoying
Posted using Partiko iOS
It's not about the existance of those, it's about the general lack of intetaction. All kinds of posts remain unseen and not appreciated. Posts about your games and fitness activity can be as valuable as any other. Depends on what it does for others. Or for the author if a personal just wants to vent. It's the curation that should moderate the environment. If the rich audience wants to see our salads, than that's what we shall provide.
Posted using Partiko Android
My solution is to unfollow people who habitually post useless junk.
I'm not a hater of boring script generated content, I won't downvote but I won't follow or upvote these people. No one ever comments on most of these posts and if they do they recive minimal curation rewards for their efforts.
My solution to the addicts, create a second account. You can either migrate your $hitpo$ting to the new account, or use the new account to resteem your decent content. I recommend the former.
I do agree it is a problem for new users of the block chain. It simply isn't exciting for most people to learn how many steps you walked or to check out your referral links on steem hunt. Don't get me wrong there are good ones, but if it is good, I mean actually good, dont give them their cut. Post about ur awesome workout on Steemit and not actifit.
The worst of the worst are the freaks who bid it up. Sure you are collecting pennies without bids, but who is going to join steem if it is a bunch of people using bots to collect pennies here and there while enriching bot owners and dapp creators? Congrats you are a meta data creator. That os not a Steemian to me.
Remember every time you post you are asking all of your followers and everyone who comes across your post for rewards.
These apps won't even let you turn the rewards off because they take a cut.
Posted using Partiko Android
You have a mindset of quality contents and the passion for long contents in words format. I keep using Steemit for comments and check my blog because is pretty fast.
You need to evolve with the new reality of this ecosystem.
Posted using Partiko Android