Developing Steem: Burning and building

Steem is supposedly a social media and there is a lot of talk about building community, engaging and generally creating a place where people can interact and share life and, get rewarded for it. Every relationship we have has a reward associated with it although for some, that reward is a negative gain.

A destructive relationship

The ideal relationship is one where the participants live in a general cycle of win/win, where all benefit and are better off for being part of the group. My view is that a romantic relationship should be like this too, where each partner provides what is required for the other to be their best. This isn't always a straight line however and it isn't necessarily even in each moment. Sometimes, one person needs a great deal more support than the other but in general, there needs to be some balance.

If there is a long-term mismatch in resources where one takes too much while the other suffers, the relationship has become destructive, but not necessarily for both. It is possible that one person is able to grow and get exactly what they need while another shrinks away. One builds, the other is torn down.

Building a community

A community is made up of hundreds, thousands and millions of connections, various relationships that are formed for specific purpose to provide benefit. A healthy community though is one where the benefits are win/win, at least most of the time. This means that the community generally operates for the gains of all involved, even though at times there is variation between how resources are distributed.

It is pretty easy to see at Steem that the distribution of resources is imbalanced and some members of the community are rewarded far more heavily than others however, is this a problem at this stage of development? Your intuition may say yes, this is an issue but we have to look at the situation of the group at the moment, not just each individual member.

I've got wood

Imagine if we took a resource like wood which has a variety of uses, one of which is to use as a burning material for warmth. If we burn all of what we have, we might be cozy and warm but we will continually be cold unless we keep cutting down trees to burn. However, if we can trap the warmth for longer periods, less wood would need to be consumed for warmth but to do so, we would need t build some kind of shelter that keeps the warmth within which, requires wood.

If there are carpenters and builders who are able to build the shelters to trap the warmth, they should get the resources to do so but, if the resources are limited, this means that those who require the wood for warmth must go without. Of course, if they freeze to death completely, there is no more need fr the shelters but, if they feel a little of the cold while the house is built, overall the community will have the warmth trapped and will require less wood for warmth. What this means to me is that now., that wood saving can now be reallocated to building more buildings that can keep more people warm.

In my opinion, at this stage of Steem it is much more important to build houses that trap the warmth than keep everyone nice and warm. If we look at the metaphor of shelter from the elements, it is Steem Power that is the house that is able to provide warmth to the community which then leads into the main point of this article.

Can you build?

When it comes to the lion's share of resources, it should currently be going to those who are able to build, not those who need it to keep warm. This sounds rather insensitive but, for the long term health of the community, a community requires buildings that can withstand the elements, not individuals who will pack up and run at the first sign of trouble. What I mean by this is that those who are invested are generally the ones who will stick with the community while those who use it only for warmth will look for the next tree to cut down to solve their immediate problems. There are all kinds of ways to build here yet almost without question, it requires Steem Power.

I got a message the other day from some random person asking me for support to promote Steem in a third world country. I had never heard of this person and to the best of my knowledge, they had never had any interaction with me before. Yet, here they are asking for money. Literally money from what I understood from the conversation. Do you know what Steem needs now? Investment. And I told them as much. Sounds pretty harsh does't it?

I don't mind people doing their best to onboard but currently, Steem requires people to buy-in, develop the platform or at the very least, power up. The numbers joining who need it to stay warm are increasing rapidly but very few of them are building the houses that will in time keep large numbers of people warm. Right now in particular while Steem is low, investors could buy in and start building for when the bulls run again. Currently, it is becoming a vehicle for charity while there are not enough resources to be charitable without return. It is becoming a destructive relationship.

What are you investing?

In the last few weeks, the last little bit of resources my family have had been crushed out. I have been feeling the chill for two years at least now but right now, it is close to freezing point. As a result, I have been thinking about what I bring to the Steem table and whether I can change my behavior to be better suited to builders so that one day, I will have a chance to enjoy a little bit of the warmth of a fireplace.

This place does need decent content and there is a fair bit of it out there however, it is largely buried by low quality crap. People will say that quality is subjective but, that is mostly bullshit. If you haven't spent anytime reading broadly and investing in developing your content, you are likely producing shit. Writing isn't a gift, it is trained, so stop pretending that people are gifted in this world, it isn't doing you any favors.

Some people will of course say, "but my mother tongue isn't English" So? Build a community around what you are able to do. No stake there? Better get that community to power up and in time, there will be the support available so that firstly, the best creators will get rewarded and eventually, many will have a chance of some warmth. This is a global community but it is largely in English because that is where the stake lays. Have you read the Korean (KR) tag? There is stake there too obviously.

The selfish lover

Imagine you are looking for a romantic relationship, looking for a lifelong partner to live out your days. Are you attractive, what skills do you have, what are you willing to do for them, can you provide stability, be a good parent, cook, clean, take up the slack when illness strikes, do the shopping, change a light bulb, fix a squeaking door, massage shoulders after a long day, stay up with a sick child, mend socks, listen silently? You get the idea, What do you bring to the relationship?

Everyone desires a partner that provides for every whim but, how many actually think about what they themselves are bringing to the same relationship. A relationship is a community of two were the well-being of both relies on the other but, many feel they are entitled to the upside without having the down.

It is the same here. People feel they are entitled to reward and charity without ever having lifted a finger to be a part of the community by identifying what needs to be done and doing it. I split my content heavily between what I love and, what I think needs to be done and even though not everyone will agree, at least they can perhaps think a little more and find their own path to build a house for the future. This is the benefit of a community, there are many ways to develop, many skills required and, many people who will benefit when the foundations are strong.

I am tired of being cold but I am not ready to burn my trees.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]