Minnows on the up, dolphins and orcas too

We continue our monitoring of the numbers of people on the various marine creature levels of Steem. The stats from @arcange help with this.

Over the last six months Steem has gained four whales. That is impressive and shows people are prepared to invest in the platform. I have not checked if any of them are currently powering down.

The number of orcas has fluctuated a bit. It is only up eleven on six months, but it dipped and we have actually gained about twenty in the last month. These are accounts that can give out substantial votes whilst earning nicely from curation. Having more of them increases the chances of votes being distributed more widely. I do realise that some losses at each level are due to people moving up, but we would hope for a steady stream coming from below to compensate.

Dolphins have seen almost continual growth with almost two hundred more in half a year. The low Steem price has been a big factor in this as it may only cost around £500 to get to this level.

The number of minnows is more or less the same as six months ago. It has been over a hundred higher, but struggles to maintain growth. I think people at this level may get frustrated by lack of rewards and the hardfork may not have helped much as they cannot earn too much from curation.

Steem needs a steady influx of new users to help it grow and to compensate for those who give up on it. If we find new users who are struggling we ought to give them a hand as long as they are doing good things. We need them to be telling their friends that Steem is worth joining. They may even invest in a little Steem. You can get to minnow level for what some of spend on a tank of fuel or a weekly food shop.

If you are a dolphin, orca or whale then please consider sponsoring some small accounts with automatic votes or delegation. This requires some trust, but you can keep an eye on them. There will be some who try to exploit the platform, but the community is dealing with many of those now. We are not against everyone having a chance to earn, but buying votes for profit and using fake accounts are detrimental to the ethos of Steem. Growth should be through community appreciation.

It is in the interest of every one of us for Steem to grow. It spreads the rewards thinner, but more adoption ought to make Steem more valuable. It is languishing in the lower regions of the crypto charts when a coin with this much utility ought to be at least in the top twenty. We can sacrifice some short term gains for a better future.

Steem on!