Dragons & Whales, treasure & Steem Power.
Whales and Dragons
They have at least one thing in common, the worlds they inhabit, I hope you would agree, are richer for their existence. Steemit and the Steem economy are richer for the existence of our Whales. However, like Dragons, their influence is considerable when exerted, especially now, at the beginning of the adventure.
For make no mistake. Steemit is an adventure and we are most definitely at the beginning of it. Raw and exciting influences abound. In every moment, we are all in danger of being swept off our feet, at the mercy of hidden, raging currents......sorry, i'm getting carried away now. It's not quite that bad.
The point is, in this new world of Steem, everything is taking shape, coalescing. The technology, the rules, the culture, the people, everything. During this time, powerful influences are a necessity, part of the very fabric of the forming system. Entrenched, implacable, motivated, well funded behemoths, capable of building, capable of withstanding both external and internal, potentially malevolent threats and influences.
I think we can all agree that the more widely distributed SP is, the stronger and more valuable Steem will become. Maybe the faster that happens the better? Certainly for those producing quality and actively engaged who are struggling to make themselves heard and build a stake of their own. So what sensible things can we do to increase the rate of Steem redistribution in ways that align closely with the founding principals of Steemit and it's developing culture?
Well I've been racking by brains and I haven't come up with a single suggestion that isn't an affront doesn't cause someone, somewhere to lose out unfairly. It is either very difficult or I'm just not smart enough.....probably a bit of both. For example, I was thinking of things like....
....siphoning off some of the reward fund and creating a pool of SP that could be awarded to thousands of minnows and dolphins (after a certain period of time....like 3 months) who were identified as fabulous Steemers. Ok, but would it be fair to change the reward architecture so much, how would the accounts be identified, what about those who just missed out. Not fair right? Bad idea.
....how about everyone with over a certain threshold of SP or more just gives away 10% each and the pool of SP is given to all those fabulous minnows and dolphins? Well what if you are just either side of the threshold, how would you get 100% consensus and again, how do you identify the minnows and dolphins? Again, not fair. Bad idea.
I wrestled with loads of different possibilities, none of them stand up to much scrutiny. Perhaps there are more simple or more complex ways of accomplishing a more rapid, yet fair redistribution of Steem. If there are, I can't figure them out. Maybe you can. I suspect though, that the only way to do this is the way it is being done already.....small, careful, measured adjustments to the reward algorithms, whales powering down and selling Steem, the gradual diversification of curation by whales and orca, being generous towards each other and maxing out our credit cards to secure a fat SP stake while the price is good. JOKE.
Ultimately, the fact that we seem to be craving SP is a potent testament to the architecture of this new world we've chosen to inhabit and build. I think it bodes well for the future of Steemit & Steem. Let's always be mindful of how we use our SP and it's influence, lest the mythology of Dragons is supplanted by stories of Whale hoards and Whale sickness. Wealth is a means to an end. To what ends will the wealth of Steemers be put? It will be interesting to find out!
Happy Steeming.
I'm not sure that faster is better. Indeed, there are some unhealthy signs in the Steem economy, but users do what system allows them. If even whales, who have what to loose, massively power down, it's highly possible that minnows who got free SP will do the same. It's obvious that something has to be done ASAP though.
I agree, there is no evidence that faster is better....but there is evidence that quality is going unrewarded. Certainly earning SP establishes a valuable investiture in the platform. Giving SP away for it to be given away in turn is unlikely to achieve an accurate price in the market in the short term.....however, in the long term the Steem would potentially find its way to stronger hands that did appreciate it.
Your reply isn't perfect.
One thing is VERY clear. Valuable content and worthy authors are not getting recognized or compensated for the value of their contribution.
The main problem is curation rewards.
People vote to make money and thus vote on what has proven to make money.
I have seen countless time people UPvote without even reading an article.
I have even seen people leave comments saying "I didn't like the article but UPvoted for the citation reward".
Sad but true. The solutions is EASY.
Golden Steemit Minnow are Rare as a Hen Tooth
![](https://img1.steemit.com/0x0/https://s19.postimg.io/4eijp8ff7/IMG_1626.jpg)
I made one today From Carrot Carving.
Lol marvelous!
I support the idea that we should gradually adjust the system as it is now doing the developers. But may be they should discuss innovation with a population of Steemit? Maybe even arrange voting
Some whales are enabling multiple people to act as curators and there are many initiatives where content creators are being sponsored and mentored. These are just fantastic ways of improving the situation. It brings those with influence into direct or at least great contact with those who have little but are working hard to gain more.
Agreed, those initiatives combined with the people working to fight spam/plagiarism are definitely helping to up the amount of quality posts that get noticed.
I know about these initiatives. I hope for their success. Obviously their influence I have not noticed.
Just wanted to say that the latest development initiative strongly struck on minnows. I mean a reduction of available votes per day.
Although I admit that I do not know the real positive aspects of this initiative.
I thought the same as you about the number of votes, but I've since understood that I was probably looking at it in the wrong way. As you can tell from my voting habits, it has not changed me. There are some excellent opinion posts that support the voting change....i'll try to find them for you if i get a chance......
But I saw many people voting for my post with 1%, 20%, 30%. As a result I earned 1,2 SBD with 80 votes. And I think, that may be it could be 3 or 5 SBD with old voting system. So I'm not happy to the new system
You have interesting ideas @benjojo! Distribute SP would be a good option for the system . But dragons don't sleep.
I thought Dragons slept loads, on their treasure hoards, imbuing them with potent enchantments of greed, avarice and malice. Our Whales, for the most part, are at least active. I take that as a good sign that they are not brooding dangerously on their hoards of SP ;))
This dangerous fot them :)
I agree. We are in the process of redistributing the SP now. A lot of big holders are powering down and sell off their steem. It will take some time but it will happen. Thanks for the sharing.
At the moment, the situation with the distribution of wealth looks good. In my opinion.
I prefer the word Dragons over Wholes. Thanks
Another great article!
I like that you are opening a discussion without acting like you know what is best or telling people what to do.
I think you are actually being more humble/modest than need be but better to air on the safe side with a topic like this.
I hope this gets some good discussion and solution proposals!
Thanks again~*~
Thanks quinneaker. I'm not being modest but trying to be measured. If i thought I had an answer valuable enough, don't worry, I'd crow about it all day :)
Hahhahahahahahahahhaha ok cool!
Thats what I like to hear. I thought you might just being diplomatic. I guess words are just words and actions tell the truth. I hope to be able to get to know you better as time goes by.
Dragons! Oh God. Steemit transformates to DnD. And this is ...AWESOME :)
I think non gimmicky contests should be more commonplace. Especially those targeted at users who have never had a post make more than $10 or so. Some of the more well known users here could easily make a contest post and use the SBD to pay out five winners or more and promote them. Whether that be a creative writing contest, poem, song, etc. Those with lots of exposure have the ability promote some people who right now are flying under the radar.
Redistributing the wealth here will only make steemit better in the long run. Having whales who care about other users and dolphins who help new users as they have been helped will go a long way towards sustaining long term growth and stable prices.
I really like the idea and i'm sure things like that could work well. The only thing that concerns me is that the winners are chosen subjectively. Perhaps if competitions are judged by many within the community, that might make it fairer and more palatable to those who make an effort to join in but do not win.
This is true. But also a part of everyday life. We choose what we enjoy most and spend our time and attention there. A group of whales or dolphins could have a bunch of winners and write a little about each entry that clearly shows some effort.
I also like the idea that I've seen to choose one of your followers and write about them. Even if it makes a dollar and you split it with that person, it's nice to be appreciated for your effort and the community and friendships made here are what will keep people on steemit. The money is nice, but I think is a far second compared to the people I have met and become friends with.
I've had more meaningful engaging conversations with driven creative people in a little over a month than in ten years on all other social media combined. It's a beautiful thing.
I could not agree more. I had not heard about the write-about-a-follower initiative. That sounds absolutely amazing. Another stunning example of community innovation that bring value and connections in a fabulous way. Do you know where the idea originated? I love to read the post and will give some thought to participating.
I love your take. It's very closely aligned with mine.
Yes!
The post is doing what it was designed to do!
Get the dialogue started and explore the ideas!
I really like the "special events" that are hosted by big accounts who can afford to give rewards and also give exposure.
As far as subjective goes no matter what life is going to be subjective. Thats what makes beauty beauty.
I don't think subjectivity is the problem because I know there are a lot of good articles out there that people like. Its just that they are not getting UPVoted by big accounts and thus not getting much exposure.
thanks very much bendjmiller222!
Can you imagine how frikin awesome this place is going to be when everything have matured, there's a ton more people and the true benefits begin revealing themselves? Every time I get a glimpse of it my hairs stand up!
I saw it by @jacor but I believe it was suggested by @himself
Here's The Link To @Jacors Post