The Steemit content ship has sailed
I was reading a post not so long ago by @denmarkguy about quitting and he mentioned that he has given up on tbe idea of Steemit being a quality blogging site. Combine this with @fknmayhem's post expressing similar sentiments due to targeted Dapps and it is pretty clear.
As a writer here I say, good.
The problem is not with Steem, it is with Steemit as it is a catchall with no filtering, everything gets posted into the feed. This makes it near impossible keep anyone happy and even if the best filters and algorithms are added, people will be upset over censorship concerns.
For Steem to fulfil its purpose and promise though, all kinds of content need to be included which means as mainstreaming happens, there is going to be an increasing flood of what people don't like in the feeds. It doesn't actually matter what it is, what it is about, the quality or whether it helps Steem, all things are always going to be disliked by some people.
Just like there may not be a lot of overlap between readers of tech sites and fashion sites, Steem will be segmented for market purpose. And, even though @denmarkguy recognises Steemit is unlikely to be his future home, Steem can be still. It is entirely possible and likely that new blogger friendly Dapps will make their way onto the blockchain and draw the writers to them in the same way a meme platform attracts shitposters :P
This separation of content potentially has a massive benefit however as through the filtering, it is possible that hybrid producers who like to post a range of content can build various homes on the one account. As more people on-board through Dapps, that one account can be introduced to many new users who will only see the parts of it they are interested in.
The core account can still be found at the catchall Steemit but, that account content can be disseminated across Dapps and from there, be or at least look, independent. This means for example that I can post my long-form and engage with those who appreciate it and, if I find something cool I want to add to @Steemhunt, I can without annoying my reading audience. I could possibly even build followings on several platforms without much overlap and, without having to build from scratch or importantly, split my Steem Power between accounts as it will burn where I use it and need not be platform dependent.
Of course, I am not sure how the Dapps will organise themselves but to me, they are going to want to attract Steem holders so will encourage the use of Steem voting through their interfaces to distribute their own tokens, like @steemhunt or @actifit etc does already in various ways through drops and voting.
As I see it, even though the Steemit ship has sailed (or at least ready to depart) for quality blogging content, Steem can still be a home for producers of any content. This is also why for those who do want a future in their particular niche, now matters as this is the time to build a core following in the areas that one sees themselves having the best future in.
Of course, you might just want to shitpost and earn a few Steem until prices improve but in my opinion, that is likely going to harm ones follower base and quality for a future on another Dapp. And, if you care about price now, the audience you have access to now are likely to be the ones with the most SP in the future.
Currently, I am about the 550th largest holder of SP on the platform with 23000 steem. Between me and @cryptoandcoffee with 250 steem there are less than 15000 accounts. This makes those with SP rare and valuable in a future of mainstreaming, no matter the Dapp of preference as wherever they go, they will carry weight. Taking for granted and treating your audience like shit now may kill your account in the future, if you think there is a future at all that is.
Due to the versatility of the Steem blockchain and hopefully the coming SMTs, there really can be a home for everyone of all content types and quality, but this doesn't mean they will be equal earners. Those that earn highly will be those who offer an audience with high SP the type of content they are willing to pay for. Do you know who and what that is? Is that what you offer now?
The Steemit content ship may be leaving port but, there are many ships still in harbour and at the shipworks being built, with many more set to come.
Will you miss your boat and be left standing, content in hand on the dock?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
(posted from phone)
This was a dog walk diary post but it got out of hand and needed reclassification.
I put the @actifit app on my phone, the other day... and that was really where the penny dropped, for me.
First thought: "This is a pretty cool app, and I can see how this kind of "general" app created around an SMT could cause a huge boost for the Steem blockchain (and the price of Steem) in the future!"
Second thought: "There goes the neighborhood. The only way you can effectively "interact" with the app and other other users is to post these little "report cards" and they all end up in your Steemit feed, and that's by NO figment of anyone's imagination blogging or quality content." And yet, it's still a cool app, and I wish them much success.
Third thought: "I originally set up shop here under the impression that this might be a return to the "social blogging" style content popular around 1999-2007-ish (basically pre-Facebook), but that's pretty much not true anymore. And that idea has now been replaced (effectively) with the reality of Steemit as "an alternative to Facebook." And I am kinda OK with that." It really only affects my approach to using this venue.
Fourth thought: "What would be REALLY nice at this point would be an update to the Steemit UI to where we could filter content by which channel it came from. As in "show only Steepshot" posts or "show only actifit" posts."
Which all brings me around to my concern/afterthought: That Steemit is allegedly this "experiment" and is mostly there as a sandbox testing ground for SMTs and other apps... BUT YET, whenever we talk about people promoting stuff that's "on the Steem blockchain," everybody goes out and talks about STEEMIT the site.
Btw, I think my wording at the start makes it sound like you were talking about yourself quitting, oops. I didn't intend that but I figure you know that.
Yep, there are many SMTs to come and apps that will do all sorts of things both useful and not. I think the sorting interfaces will also develop rather quickly.
I also think that there will still be places for you to blog as you are and still have an audience and perhaps, a more engaged audience even as the apps will sort people into content interest groups of a kind. At the moment it is just about building the SP and followers that will find you somewhere else.
The people who do the promoting are often Steemit originals with a narower vision in some way. the approach to marketing will develop with SMTs as each will take it into their own hands and the successful ones will be the ones who don't just advertise on steemit but find a market elsewhere and bring them in.
Yeah, I knew you weren't suggesting I was quitting altogether... just changing my paradigm when it comes to "what this is."
I think the point a lot of people miss is that we don't really need a large audience, just an engaged one. When I did the bulk of my previous social blogging, I had a regularly engaged audience of about... maybe 250-300 people, on a site with 33 million blogs. And I didn't go out and try to beat the sidewalks for more followers... it was all I could do to actively interact with those I already had.
When I look at my list of people I follow here, there are maybe 150-200 who are active out of some 550. And that would be plenty, if we all supported each other on a weekly basis. Which is one of the reasons I was always hopeful that Steemit, Inc. would get around to launching their hivemind/communities feature... because I think that particular aspect would facilitate creating "core groups."
Is it "nice" to get an occasional $10 "drive by vote" from some whale I don't know? You bet! But it doesn't make or break my desire (or interest) in ongoing content creation.
Engagement is all about followers, not number of followers. Many don't seem to get that who follows matters. I think the UA idea will clarify this for some but there are many that don't seem to realise that only a few hundred active people is really all that is needed for any one account to be very, very busy. I have upvoted all comments (almost) as well as many posts and still have only upvoted 210 unique users in the last 7 days.
Thank you for giving Actifit a try and the lovely words!
Just a quick note, you are able to edit your full post content the way you please using Steemit/busy, and are in no way required to maintain the content (we rely on meta data we send with the post), we just wanted to standardize it and make it a bit nice looking and easier to post by default.
Although we love for people to workout daily, yet the frequency of posting is up to you. Of course daily posting earns daily post rewards, but that is in no way required either :)
Thanks again!
Actifit Founder
Chat with us on discord | Actifit.io
Many will leave the boat but I’m sure the majority will come back as soon as the price will go up...this is a psychological effect
yep. i don't mind those leaving as it takes a little pressure off the pool for those who stay :)
This is still applicable.
For @ned the vision is that Steem is the core blockchain rewarding the creation of content. Interface dApps will target content verticals (or media verticals like DLive and dLike).
Steemit, the blogging ship, has sailed. With or without wind in its sails... the jury is still out on that.
Edit: I saw what you didn’t there. This one is a Steemit original. Very nice touch. Excellent.
The separation of content types/form will likely be the best thing that has happened for most producers here.
;)
I agree. Sometimes I like want to upload a stupid funny posts on D-mania to earn easy upvotes but then I know they will appear on my main Steem and it will devalue my account so I stay clear for that reason.
Yep. it is why many people created alts that are now mostly dead. The churn rate isn't as bad if you consider that many people, especially the first users in have multiple accounts.
The ship sailed already in 2016 when autovoting became a thing. So, pretty much immediately.
It's always been nepotism first around here.
Perhaps there is only nepotism in this life.
I like docks. You can look at many ships sailing by, never to return, and they rarely sink.
They also don't travel well :P
This is the right time to make adjustments on the content I offer.
This is the right time
To make adjustments on the
Content I offer.
- amelin
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
I agree that Steem should become more of a niche thing with people only seeing what interests them. Surely this can happen in the one interface with a way to customise it to see only the type of content you want and a better set of filters. Steemit.inc has really let the site fall behind and also been very slowly to produce the tools necessary for this but I am still hopeful that the community features to allow for a more personalised experience.
Not really, they have forced development. This nterface is kind of like a proof of concept but the development of it is to decentralize the development of it. That is what they are doing. Steemit Inc are working on the infrastructure while the surface is completely independently operated.
While everybody else is jumping in the water, I can't wait for the SMT's to launch and see where it all goes.
Cheers!
I agree. It seems crazy to me how impatient people are in the world today.
Perhaps , I am just getting old?, what is a Dapp?
Decentralized App. @dtube, @dlive etc.
I am getting old too, we gotta learn to run faster although, kids these days are pretty lazy ;)
Too true, when the main purchasing reason for buying a Guitar Amp is its weight ,rather than the tone, there is something seriously wrong!
lol. Perhaps a new product line and slogan could be:
Easy Peavey - The lightest amps ever made.
Oh , and Thanks for enlightening me.
I'm on board with having each Dapp's content posted separately. Then the memes wouldn't show up in the same feed as the long-form posts and the single pictures with no words. If each posted on its own platform, then you wouldn't be diluting your value by posting a simple picture and having your normal audience wonder if you've given up. If you want to post a SteemHunt, you could do so without your long-form readers thinking that you're shilling for some company.
Maybe some UI will even come along and let you use check boxes to determine which content gets shown in your feed. It will be nice to only have to have one account to rule them all though. ;)
Indeed. I think some people have tried to separate content class and failed to stay engaged with them which means, they look churned. there aren't so many active users here but most have multiple account for various reasons, not all nefarious.