Steem and boosting and bumping uglies
It was mentioned today that Steem doesn't have the same quality of content as Medium which is obviously a bit of an obvious statement, but some people forget that there is more to the story than that on the centralized sites. I do agree however (although I don't frequent Medium) that the quality is likely higher because there are many professionals writing there, whereas on Steem, we are a pretty eclectic bunch.
What would be interesting to see however is what is the average of these sites as I am sure that there is plenty of ugly there too yet, most visitors don't see it because it gets filtered out by the algorithms. For the most part, Steem has no algorithms and if you want to see a horror show, scroll through the "New" feed for an hour or two and have a look what is on offer.
but, the other thing that people might not consider is that it is the ugly that is compelling. I don't mean the incessant complaining or physical ugliness itself but instead, the unique, the out of the ordinary, the unusual.
Show your ugly unique bits
Much like in dating, people have preferences and while many publications are looking for mass appeal, what is likely going to be the success factor for authors is not mass appeal at all, it is niche appeal where an audience can connect with the author. As said, this is much like dating.
When it comes to dating websites, the people who hide their flaws in their profile pictures and appear 'hotter' get less engagement than those who show off what makes them unique, whether it be a big nose or, different coloured eyes. The reason is that while the pool of potentials is smaller, those in the pool are more likely to find the "flaw" attractive as they have preferences for it.
I see this the same in writing and while some people are looking for mass appeal and trending, those who are likely going to do the best long-term as a writer are the ones who are able to engage and retain a committed audience. This isn't just for writers of course, Apple did the same with the iPhone.
I have seen your type before
It used to be that people would come onto Steem and start trying to copy what they saw in Trending as they would see the high values, put 2 and 2 together and say, "I can have some of that" without understanding the relationships and conditions involved. Now it is largely projects and bidbot boosted posts that get up there and if you do happen to stumble into Trending, you will see that a lot of them don't get much engagement, even with all that "exposure". Then, if you look at what kind of engagement there is, it fills the story out a little bit more.
There is a lot of crap on Steem and a lot of it is of the variety that if anywhere else, there would likely be no audience at all because, it is generic. It doesn't really matter much about the genre of the content either. It could be about self-help, space, technology or right wing propaganda packaged as truth - There is already plenty of it on the internet. Generic.
What about you?
What I like about Steem though is that there is more to the writing that I read than what I will find on Medium and that is, it is personal. On Medium and similar, it is engineered content designed to be thrown out onto the internet for mass amounts of eyes but, it is like Facebook updates. It isn't made to really be responded to as the author doesn't care. It is like the news and while people do read the news and talk about it, they don't talk about it with the news service.
I find Steem to be more discussion based between people where the author is included in the discussion under the post. That makes the writer much more approachable and also vulnerable than the writer who posts content with very little intention of actually engaging with the readers. Of course, this depends on the type of account and the conditions applied.
There are plenty of authors here who earn well but do not engage with the audience at all because they have their own stake or a circle to back them. Those same authors coming in fresh would struggle, even if they did engage. But, there are also lots of authors here who have been grinding away building up a following and even though it might be small group, that group can be engaged and active.
NSFW and Eve
When it comes to stickiness, engagement is more valuable than the price because, the price can drop significantly and if engagement is adequate, the author will feel appreciated. But, not all content is going to get engagement based on a whole host of factors, no matter what effort is put into it - or not put into it as the case may be.
For example, porn is pretty popular on the internet I have heard but browse NSFW (https://steemit.com/created/nsfw) and there doesn't seem to be a great deal of votes falling that way. @eveuncovered does well - not that it is porn but it is NSFW occasionally. Yet, it isn't just because she gets her kit off though as, she is also active around the platform.
When it comes to dating or content creation, it is probably best to be yourself and see how that pans out because even if you are an asshole, there could be an honesty in it some people may connect with. I find on the internet there are fake assholes too as that is an approach people use to boost what they consider "controversial". Generic.
Write a life
We all may have quite different lives from each other and finding the points that are unique and can be compounded against each other can help find ones voice and in so doing, a level of authenticity that people can connect with. One doesn't even have to be a great writer to connect, just have a compelling enough personality that interests some people. Of course, if one is also looking for votes, that is another story altogether as that is going to largely come down to supply and demand or staked benefactors.
In the distant past, many artists had patrons that supported their artistic pursuits because they felt that the work was deserving of being created and seen. Of course, what is beautiful for one is not for another and there could be a large difference in audience between renaissance oil paintings and cubism. On Steem, there are some larger accounts who still manually vote and take the concept of patronage into account when voting. I have been fortunate to have some of these drop by from time to time also.
Many eyes - decentralized
What I think is going to be a future strength of Steem isn't that it is going to have millions of eyes on an article but rather, it is going to have millions of eyes spread across thousands of articles. Yes, some will do better than others in views and support based on demand or public appeal but, many will be able to develop strong niche followings.
This means that on Steem it will be possible to have a wide range of content supported without having to use centralized algorithms to filter out what is not suitable for the site's target audience. Yes, algorithms will be used too depending on the application but there will be more variety and opportunity for a greater range of people. For example, if you browse the Korean tag (https://steemit.com/trending/kr) you will see that there is a lot of support on that side too. Most users on Steem are not Korean I would say. This is the future of Steem.
When it comes to support on a dPOS platform, stake is required to add value and that means that those who want to have more niche content types are going to have to make sure that there is stake to back it up and support it. If one day when Steem is 50 dollars I choose to use all my stake to support a Latin dance community, I can. Oh, I don't write about Latin dance? Not often but, I do dance and I might one day feel that the platform is ready for a dedicated community. Who knows but, if I want to support niche, I have to have stake behind me, not just rely on whales with no interest in dancing.
Love me, even if you hate me
This is the funny thing when it comes to people expecting whales, orcas and even dolphins to vote wider as they expect them to vote on their content without consideration for the personal preferences of the voter at all. People want and expect value added to their post without considering if anyone is interested in it at all. Maybe your content is similar to what they vote on already? Sure, but what would compel them to change their voting habits for more of the same?
Developing a niche takes time, effort and a great deal of consistency - just like building any strong and healthy relationship does but, most people give up once the honeymoon mood shifts. That is the way of the tinder generation, the way of those who feel that they can buy everything they need, without working for it. That is fine but, you have to have the money to buy and make sure, you don't run out. Yep - STAKE:
Apologies
If you read this far, I apologize that it isn't as polished as a Medium article with editors behind it that has been cherrypicked for its likelihood to appeal to you and many others. This is just another free write of thoughts that I put together on the fly without having to spend anytime researching because it is based on my experience, and that travels wherever I go and is always with me.
Are you experienced? Write about it.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
Well buddy, if you do that, count me in!! I'll be the first one sat next to the door waiting you open the den. LoL
Eve does well because of all the effort and artistry she puts into her work. At the same time, she and her work have an unpolished and personal quality. It's a rare combination these days. She also likes to interact a lot.
I always say that even if I'm going all out with a glamorous look, I always have to have something unpolished about myself, otherwise I won't feel comfortable.
Thank you for the nice words :)
Yep, she has upped her game in the last year or so too which is good to see. :)
I agree. The bear market seems to have made her interaction with her followers better.
$rewarding 25% 15 min
Why thank you!
We are what we are afterall
Posted using Partiko Android
@eveuncovered is a good example because she does not have a single nitch but multiple niches. Cooking, honesty, art, traveling to mention a few. So she has captured a broad ranges of nich people.
Stake is important. Most people do not realize it’s importance.
I always thought that chasing whales was a dumb Idea. Foundation was more important with people that you have things in common with or share and build from there. Its a slow process but the rewards outway the time.
You should apologize go a head we’re waiting hahaha
The victor should be here soon to help me cope with my passing. Last week we talked about politics. I think we should talk about climate change and the flooding in the Midwest today. I will see if he knows anything about Finland’s government. He comes once a week.
THey only want it to vote on them :)
This is the same with any community isn't it? There is still plenty of space to interact with others but long-term, people get to know each other and become friends.
I heard it isn't real.
All the good stuff is never real. I was looking forward to a new lake. Recreation with boating and fishing at a reasonably price. Now thats out the window !!!
How disappointing.
My wife just a couple minutes ago that Finland’s government just quit. Tell me it isn’t so
Now I will read your post ;) BRB
I think they quit last week, but they were asked to stay for the month left before the election. Even in Finland the government is publicity stunt.
Take your time... Busy.org said it was a 9 minute read but @abh12345 skimmed it and commented in 4.
Governments / politicians have turned into the Gong Show
His comment must have been flagged to where it was hidden. Quality most likely. As a result I would not see it in my feed. ;)
I just look for spelling mistakes and make a fuss.
This should read 'I have seen your typo before' :P
I occasionally read articles from Medium, they are pinged to my email. No doubt they have been cherry-picked to show the place off.
I'm wondering if there is scope for the best content here to be mailed out? Not sure who, and to who to......
Lols, fucking editors....
I think dlive have a mailing list.
As te site grows and the apps develop, there will be more and more options but for me, I don't read any of the articles that are mailed to me as - I have to force myself to read my emails as it is.
I couldn't find stats on how many articles are uploaded to Medium an hour but I would assume that most aren't near the quality
of my own workof what graces their front page.:)
Interesting to hear dlive have a mailing list. @demotruk wrote recently about how well they have done since leaving Steem, and I was wondering as to why.
Have they found the secret?
Should we be mailing our best half-naked chicks to modelling magazines?
I don't know but i read something about it on demotruk's post :D
I think mailing them to rich, old men might be a better plan.
I recently perused the Bitcoin tag on medium to count how many Bitcoin articles are created every day. It's a lot, and most of it is low grade marketing efforts for projects in the crypto space. It's still less than Steem, but far more than any other platform. Lots of tag spam on both platforms but more on Steem probably.
I counted 200 Bitcoin articles (which could be up to 300 in a full 24 hours, I didn't have timestamps) on medium. An estimate of 1000 posts tagged with Bitcoin on Steem in the same time period. Reddit and Bitcointalk had much fewer.
I am surprised that Reddit had less considering the platform but no surprised by Medium. I would say that for the most part, most of the Medium seen is precisely what they want people to see. What are the chances of a little nobody making something of themselves on Medium?
I only looked at the top 3 Reddit crypto subs, /r/cryptocurrency, /r/bitcoin and /r/btc. If you expanded beyond that, you'd have more, but I took the same approach with both Medium and Steem (only Bitcoin tag) so I think that's fair anyway.
the scope is here but would likely take paid staff like Medium uses. They have about 30 curators whose sole job is to find good content and move it up to their equivalent of trending. It's fascinating watching the people over there who obsess over being curated like folks here obsess over upvotes and who makes them.
People are people every where. Their specific focus changes but not much else.
I was trying to sleep when I saw a mention pop up and it's funny that I can never know what it is about when it's your post where my name pops up. You keep people on their toes.
I think I should do more NSFW-content to justify my name being linked to that area of Steemit. But being mentioned in the same paragraph with being an asshole is what I can be on board with.
I agree with you that authenticity is really important, even if you are a complete asshole. Just be true to yourself, always.
I thought you'd like that ;)
I agree with most of what you have written here but i disagree with younon one point...NSFW...
WHY ?
Well ... i had monitored some new female members posting their nudity as their daily living to dhow their daily hot sexusl lives... and guess what ... they began in day 1 with reputation of 25 and 14 sp and on day 16 these members jumped to levels between 58 to 67 snd their wallets have steem power plus steem more than 5000 in just 2 weeks...
While some of us trying to survive here and the steemit dogs are tearing apart our efforts by gondidering us spammers or thieves as what happened here in red rose account where the first owner was fed up from these dogs and passed it yo me to use it.
I have tried to tie up things to stop these fogs and guess what....these dogs killed my account 4 times by down voting it from level 55 to level 0 each time.
So nsfw here on steemit is out of our refurbished quality. ..
Unless they bought in, I don't think that is possible. That would put their earnings in the same category as haejin.
Why would you not start your own account?
For these lafies in the nsfw i have mentioned earlier above... the +5000 sp was not from deposits nor delegations in 16 days ...these funds were just from the upvoting their posts...and just a small reminder my friend. .. to reach levels between 58 and 67 ...these sccounts were being upvoted by strong members as you know the reputation will increase only if you get votes not by deposits
I'd be interested to know which accounts these are. Reputation is a meaningless metric though and there are also bidbots to consider.
It is a gift from my x boss... and it is a well established account... and i promised him to take care of this account as it is mine. .. and believe it or not this account helped 3 persons in one day last year to pay the rent and food for 2 complete months. And i was one of these 3 men plus Mr. Samer the account founder plus 1 egyption engineer.
So this account is our smallsteps...it is our small panda that we will keep operating and taking care of it...i hope you got my point of view.
Thank you
Abu wadda
I like Steem precisely because it's different from Medium. Steemit is a daily visit while I check out Medium every once in blue moon. People always talk about "quality" but that's extremely subjective and I hate it when people tell me what I should or shouldn't like. I would rather people just blog about their daily lives or whatever than trying to compartmentalize themselves to a perceived notion of "quality".
I quoted you in my latest post based on this comment, hope you don't mind :)
:-) 👍
You could totally write for Medium or wherever XP
I'm boring and don't usually like trendy things XD sometimes the more popular something is the less I like it unless I liked it to begin with, maybe I'm just a contrarian grump
I started listening to 90s grunge about 15 years ago. Popular is created for the masses and the masses are average :D