The reason nobody cares about Steem besides ourselves.

in #steem6 years ago

This is something that has made me cringe for the later part of my Steem journey.

I know I'll get heat and hate for saying what I believe is the truth, although, my intention is not to create drama, but to change the minds of most content creators.

On Steem we have a really big issue, and it relies on the fact that most content creators really care too much about the money that is to be made here.

The problem with this way of thinking and the main reason no one from the outside is really compelled to consume content on this network resides on the fact that what is posted here is mostly irrelevant to anyone that isn't already on this platform.

Why?, you might ask yourself.

Well, because most creators here focus only on reaping rewards from whales/dapps by creating content based on given guidelines that only follow the whale's own agenda, which the content creator ignores, or chooses to ignore. This leads to a torrent of spammy posts that are very far from interesting or valuable.

Remember: money talks.

Nothing wrong about that. But when not a single content creator that gets some kind of exposure is pushing out anything truly original and interesting to the outsiders, and every one of them is repeating what the other did because they see them getting big upvotes, then this becomes a big fat circle of users jerking off one another, and a collection of uninteresting blabbering.

Please prove me wrong on the comments by linking exceptional content posted exclusively on the Steem Blockchain, that has organically reached the trending pages. At least this way this post will serve a greater purpose.

In other words, most users are here for the money and not for making stuff that they really believe in. Because those who do, don't get properly rewarded, and end up leaving or switching their content strategy into the dapp/whale ass-lickery for profit. Period.

No originality, and a never ending regurgitation of "thoughts" and "opinions" of content creators just playing it safe mostly repeating someone else, and that no one, not even steemians themselves, really care about.

"Oh but wait greencross, don't you see there are countless of posts with original and exciting content like paintings, music, comedy sketches, photography, travel vlogs and so on?"

Yes there are, but guess what?: the whales who could really help make this content visible and motivate the creators to keep creating (while driving outsider traffic to the platform) really don't give a steeming pile of crap about it. Unless, the content created is about shilling the whale's project or a dapp running on the Steem blockchain that they have some kind of monetary agreement with.

When there would be content creators pushing out material that would add real value to the people outside Steem, and the whales would support them, then, and only then, there will be actual consumers from the "outside world" interested in what's going on here, and taking an active part on the discussion.

Sadly, the type of content that would drive normal users to Steem doesn't get rewarded at all, and doesn't get true engagement because it falls short of requirements to get an upvote from most of those whales.

Unless these creators start giving value to themselves and their creativity, this will just look like a fest of dapp/whale ass lickers, circle jerkers and people flossing fancy equipment they bought with Steem to prove to other steemians their superiority, while masking it as proof that the economics here really work (like if we didn't know that already).

Kudos go to curation initiatives like C-Squared, Curie, etc that are rewarding outstanding content. However the visibility is still minimal because hardly any of these posts make it to trending.

And lastly but not least important: kudos to those creators who, after all, are still keeping it real.

YES, IRONICALLY THIS IS A POST FOR STEEMIANS ONLY.

#NODRAMA only constructive criticism.

Yours truly;
The concerned @greencross

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The only way to create visibility is to bot yourself to the top. I don't see that changing post fork, and to be completely honest, I don't see it being much different than what I've always experienced spending money to get exposure through radio PR, record release PR, facebook ads. It's the same song and dance. Pay for access till you are in demand, then be paid for access to you. Steem just makes it a bit more brutal and in the hands of players (whales) that don't currently have much motivation to do anything but self-feed.

I love that somehow in this fork I'm losing even more money bid botting myself forward for exposure, which, as a person literally sitting around for hours making content exclusively for this platform, was my only recourse for getting exposure in the environment and in my opinion, one of the most "steemit the platform" beneficial things possible. I'm literally losing money to add value to this platform, and now I'm somehow being FURTHER disincentivized. That fork explanation document was some of the most ridiculous shit I've ever read. Nobody writing that has the slightest clue how the exposure game works on here, and it is an absolute pipe dream to think this is going to suddenly bring a bunch of golden halo'd curation whales to the platform. Furthermore, who continues to drive the narrative that bid botting yourself MAKES MONEY? You get back -maybe- 65 percent of what you invest in exchange for BRINGING ACTUAL CONTENT TO THE TRENDING LIST. I don't give a shit who is making money off me, somebody always will be, at least with the bots I could calculate how badly I was getting screwed.

I'd classify myself as a real content maker/social blogger, and I've already been active on a platform terribly similar to Steem about 15 years ago - blogging and socializing and making friends - just no 'rewards' involved. But I stayed over there for years and years, and looking back on that period now and seeing what I do here: I just love the 'game', with or without the rewards. I'm playing the same game here as I did back then, although the opportunity to get something valuable from this system plus the investment opportunities it hands to me does ofcourse make it way more exciting.

Anyway.

I personally doubt if we ever were a content platform - or if we're a social platform. When I arrived on this place that I got to know as 'Steemit' back then I did a lot of photography/travel posts but most of all played to social game as I had learned years ago. Going to meet-ups with digital 'friends': been there, done that, years before Steem. So I recognized this place quickly for what I'd already experienced: a game of networking and gathering your own group of people to follow and have conversations with throughout the day and week.

I honestly believe Steem will be cared for by 'outsiders' once it has content apps as we know and love them: a real Instagram (Appics might go a long way!), a Medium (long-form content for quality writers!), a Twitter... all apps with their own stakeholders, all upvoting within their own ecosystem.

Yes, that might mean that all those using 'generic' apps like steemit.com will have to ignore the fact that one tweet gets more 'rewards' than that long-form 'Medium' post... As it was never about comparing the quality of one sentence against a long article, but about comparing that one tweet with another tweet...

(For simplicity I won't mention that sometimes one tweet is more genius than a well-written article anyway :D)

It's why I see the current 'fights' about what content should get upvoted and which not as a risk for our future success - who is to judge once we have dozens of apps all having their own ideas about quality and all having their own stakeholders/investors/curators/content makers/social humans? The upvotes/value will come from within these systems, and if one whale wants to buy a million STEEM to curate memes... Well, than that's their right. People from the outside won't care for steemit.com/steempeak.com with generic and messy trending pages, but if the whale has good taste then this meme website with carefully curated memes might be worth a daily visit for a smile on your face.

I'll quit here as I'm sort of freewriting my comment, and will probably think about it more the next few days. Great article and important topic - I'm not specifically agreeing/disagreeing, just sharing some thoughts I've had on my mind regarding inside/outside content making and what will bring 'outsiders' on Steem.

There is a lot to what you say. Steem has the potential to be a real community driven platform where even the little guy can gain value from contributing just by commenting intelligently on other posts.

Question is what moving parts need to be put in place to make it realise it's socially inclusive potential ? App are a part of that for sure but also a sort to Steamiquette needs to be in place where we can have a standard we can adhere too.

Oh and something else that is a personal bugbear of mine. Steemit search SUCKS. It is extremely hard to narrow down on communities and find common interests the way it is set up now. Tag alone are not good enough and we need a way of searching by content and not just titles.

Just my fourpenny worth.

@veritanuda @steevc have you guys tried steemlookup.com? it's @curie's post discovery tool and in my opinion one of the best ways to "search" steem.

Thanks for that but seriously, a third party site is the best was to search steem kinda says it all. Don't get me wrong, it is better than nothing but it rather misses the point, no?

hey @veritanuda, tell that to @steemit, @ned, @elipowell and everyone else

The naked truth is that Steem is a blockchain and there are myriads of front ends to access it. All of them are "third party" in one way or another.

Posted using Partiko Android

Hehe.. props for the name call. And yeah I get they are relying on 3rd party developers to expose the blockchain as it is but really their needs to be at least some guidelines.

I have already talked about trying to work on the copy of a blockchain myself to see if I can run some heuristic filters through it to pull the gems from the dross.

At least it can be done which is more than say you can with Facebook so...

This post started actually as a comment, and I said, "fuck it, I'll make a post about it" because it was getting too long.

Thanks a lot for sharing your views on the matter, I appreciate it greatly.

To be honest this post wasn't targeted at authors like you. It seems you know how this "game" works, and you play it well. Your content is not 100% based on tasks and dapp shilling. You are indeed one of the few real content creators here.

Kudos to you

I am only trying to express what I see could be better here.

Once again, thanks very much @soyrosa for stopping by. I believe this is the first post of mine that has gotten REAL engagement beyond the "nice post" typical leech reply lol.

Cheers!
@greencross

Posted using Partiko Android

Hehe - it's often when Steemians open up they get a lot of respons - good stuff :D Glad you got a lot of interaction from a post that started as a comment!

And indeed, I never felt you spoke to 'my kind of content maker' - I just started freewriting as well :-) It's just an interesting topic and I love these kinds of posts to reflect on Steem and where we have been and where we are going :-)

Thanks for the reply!

Thank you for bringing my attention to this post. It is worth something to think about.

you are very much welcome @sgt-dan

Posted using Partiko Android

Underrated post.

I think @nonameslefttouse might like it.

You really shouldn't have declined rewards, your post is directed at the community and nobody in particular.

I find people here generally wont slam you down for these kind of posts, what you state the truth and there's no denying it.

Kudos go to curation initiatives like C-Squared, Curie, etc that are rewarding outstanding content.

Yes, these groups are great and gave me some incentive to post in my early days (and still do now sometimes).

Maybe HF21 will do something about trending... who knows how it will pan out. I say lets give it a chance... maybe things will improve.

@slobberchops yeah I had this thought that it would be hypocrisy to not decline rewards. Thanks for chipping in, I appreciate it.

Posted using Partiko Android

I think we’re all guilty of things you mentioned here because when you get here first you either scheming or you follow what others are doing hoping to get the same results!

I did it too in the beginning with no such luck and then I just started using my blog as a space to say whatever I think it sometimes resonates sometimes it doesn’t but I enjoy it non the less!

Rewards are cool but engagement is way more fun, seeing what people say about your thoughts and ramblings!

I’ve also tried using medium but it’s so formalized while here I can write how I would like to say things

Posted using Partiko iOS

when you get here first you either scheming or you follow what others are doing hoping to get the same results

I agree, most of us were lost at the beginning, and it is completely fine to try and imitate until you "find your niche". However, the point I wanted to get across is the fact that when authors, who are being heavily supported by dapps/whales, only focus on creating what brings the most money in, it is not healthy for Steem as a platform. Heck, is not even healthy for their own followers. It's a shortcut to "easy money" the way I see it. Mediocrity and boot licking is not my taste.

Rewards are cool but engagement is way more fun, seeing what people say about your thoughts and ramblings!

Completely agreed. How many true engagement are those authors getting out of an Dapp shilling task?. I'd say much less than an original piece of content.

Posted using Partiko Android

Oh i agree whale backed and dapp backed autovoted creators have long tossed their integrity away and are just paid shills and ambassadors

I wouldn’t find it repulsive if the content they created was actually good and informed community members about the dapps and such but it’s cold hard content mining for cash

I’ve called out a few people who have done this but I was just met with how I’m a hater and I don’t earn on here and how hard it is to earn and I was like ok I’ll just leave my comments then you clearly not someone who wants to discuss anything

Posted using Partiko iOS

same here, I've been called lazy for not making OD tasks lol.

Posted using Partiko Android

Please prove me wrong on the comments by linking exceptional content posted exclusively on the Steem Blockchain...

But why use "trending" as the measure of success? Things don't "trend" in this world simply because they are good. Many good things go unnoticed unless they are promoted, either through money or the real way organic growth works, through consistent networking and constant building.

Case in point:
https://steemit.com/@akiroq/one-of-the-most-profound-things-i-have-ever-heard

This is an example of the kind of content I come here for. And I am certain this author, like me, doesn't come here to get rich.

Sure, we all want to see our efforts rewarded. I'm not knocking your perspective as every word you said is true. I just think that Steem does encourage real, genuine, organic growth far more than it gets credit for doing.

Posted using Partiko Android

@wholeself-in I think you didn't read the post.

Trending is the first thing people from "outside" see.

If they only find BS dapp shilling and posts about steem, they will never be interested in signing up.

I always read the posts. 😉 I think I just only saw what I was most interested in and generally dismissed trending as being worthwhile to anyone. I feel the same way about what trends on Twitter or Facebook or any other platform. That's not where there real stuff is. Maybe I'm just not the average person.

This:

When there would be content creators pushing out material that would add real value to the people outside Steem, and the whales would support them, then, and only then, there will be actual consumers from the "outside world" interested in what's going on here, and taking an active part on the discussion.

This is the part that matters most.

Posted using Partiko Android

what is posted here is mostly irrelevant to anyone that isn't already on this platform.

I've pointed that out a few times. Nobody gives a shit about my previous post and the other posts I wrote about the place, outside. The rest of my blog is timeless and could potentially appeal to a global audience.

Are you really interested in seeing some of my work that has reached the trending page organically though? I do have a few. It doesn't happen anymore though because many are either paid to look away, so they won't be around to vote, or the vote buyers, who pay the people to look away DOWNVOTE my work with their paid votes so they can sit there and look pretty with their fake rewards and no comments.

Holy f- word don't get me started.

Yes there are, but guess what?: the whales who could really help make this content visible and motivate the creators to keep creating (while driving outsider traffic to the platform) really don't give a steeming pile of crap about it.

It's not just the whales it's literally everyone. How much of that potential SP is concentrated into paid votes? Many people who used to support my work turned their back on my blog so they could sell votes or delegate SP, and get paid to not be here. I lost their eyes first and their votes second. Been battling on and off for two years. Chipping away at a wall with a plastic spoon. Going in reverse.

I've written about how the arts and entertainment industry generates billions annually. People here would prefer to earn a few thousand. Their heads are screwed on but facing the wrong way. All they need is one more good twist but I don't see that happening any time soon.

You sir @nonameslefttouse have hit the nail in the head and I feel like I have nothing useful to add. Nevertheless, it's a honour that you have decided to stop by and add to the discussion.

You are another real content creator and this is why I've been following you for quite a while.

Kudos to you for keeping it real.

Cheers
@greencross

!dramatoken

What do you mean no drama...

Storms off in a huff.

you see? @whatsup #nodrama... not even the bot gave me the token 😭😭😭

Posted using Partiko Android

!dramatoken

Let's try this again.

now I got it! thanks @whatsup lol

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To view or trade DRAMA go to steem-engine.com.

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