Facebook vs Steemit
So, in the last couple of months or so I have pretty much dumped Facebook in favour of Steemit. I'm now trying to think about why I love it here more than I do over at Facebook.
There are many reasons, but I think the primary reason is that I don't know anyone here in real life! I only judge people by their content and their comments, and I build a picture of them in my mind. On Facebook, everyone is crafting a public persona (they probably do here on Steemit as well) that often doesn't mesh with my view of their real life self. Especially among musicians, there is a tendency to humble-brag, to name drop and to appear more busy and important than everyone else. I feel like people here are comfortable in themselves, hidden behind their relative anonymity, and just write about stuff that interests them.
I like that Steemit isn't trying to aggressively curate my feed. I see lots of things in my feed to I'm not interested in, but some things that I am. I'm an adult, I can choose for myself. I can mute people and unfollow people without having to deal with the real life consequences of doing that.
I love the supportive communities here. @teamaustralia, @newbieresteemday, @classical-music and @minnowsupport are great initiatives that help us new people find our feet, and give us a feeling of not shouting into the wind. Maybe I got lucky and managed to stumble upon supportive people, but I have a feeling it is not too difficult to find people who are willing to help others out! I won't mention them, but I've had nice and meaningful interactions with people who I don't think I would have crossed paths with in real life.
I love that I can try and set aside some time each day, to try and clear my mind and write about something. I haven't done this since school, and I LOVE it! I don't really care if no-one is listening or judging, but just getting my thoughts out onto a "dear diary" sort of thing is just really fun!
Facebook has nothing to offer me in comparison, just photos and stories of people that I know or have met in passing, all trying to outdo each other and clamour for attention.
I'm not saying there isn't things that I wish were different on Steemit.
I don't like the 7 day window for payment of rewards, it's okay for individuals like myself, but for an orchestra account (@musicapoetica) it isn't great for the posting of live video and audio that has been the culmination of days of work and rehearsal and can't just be pumped out day after day.
I'm not sure I like the visibility of reward payouts, it does induce a moment of jealously and anxiety. I know, I could just not look, but I'm human!
I'm not sure I like that some people are in it for the game of getting tokens and then cashing out. It is a waste of a good platform.
Anyway, I plan to stay. Facebook is off the phone and I think I will use it to sell stuff, I keep the Messenger for contact, but I think I'm a happier person for not seeing all the posts on Facebook!
I love the fact that Facebook marks most of my Steemit links as spam now!
Do you think they are getting worried?? :P
The number of musicians that responded in agreement when I said I was getting fed up with Facebook constantly trying to shove their ads down my through whilst simultaneously marking my links as spam just shows you how fed up people are with it!
Once people realise that they can a) as you say be part of a less narcissistic community and b) actually get paid for posting content I think there will be an exodus.
Can't wait!
Yes, definitely they can be part of a better community! Of course, as I mentioned in another comment, I wonder if the narcissism disease is part of the musician and not the platform....
They did the same thing to Tsu back in 2015 over similar reasons. They had quite the row over it. I deleted my Fakebook account in 2012, so the altercation caught my attention and caused me to do my research about the site.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/facebook-deletes-and-blocks-all-links-to-small-social-media-site-tsuco-a6725161.html
I'm sensing a parallel, no?
Yes, not just that parallel.
I really want the decentralisation technology to suceed. I really think it holds a lot of promise and will be an integral part of some tech developments to come. However, we need to pick our fights wisely. However big we think we are, we are still tiny compared to the established groups.
Our boon is that we're not beholden to advertisers. Now, if we can get the celebs from Tsu (Vanilla Ice, Skrillex, Carmello Anthony, Lance Bass) to join Steemit, we'll do really well!
Yes, this is a big plus. The lack of need to monetise the users. I'll check if any of those guys are on my contact list...
I've practically dumped Facebook myself. Since discovering steemit back in December 2017, I only post my shared steemit content on my Facebook "timeline".
I like the fact that there's not one single ad within the steemit platform. Can't say the same for Facebook. I'm also a big fan of steemit literally paying steemit users, the community, for contributing to the growth of the steemit platform, unlike Facebook who continues to get rich of its user base.
I believe Mark Zuckerberg sees the threat that blockchain technology is to FB. He sees what steemit is doing for social media by being built on the STEEM blockchain, and he's looking into bringing FB into the blockchain revolution.
Since discovering steemit, I've practically ditched FB, YouTube, and Instagram.
Full STEEM ahead!!!
I will use FB for messenger, and for selling stuff on the marketplace! I'm hesitant to ask people over, just because I prize the anonimity here, and having people I know connected to me would destroy that.
I never really used FB much personally, it was more for keeping in contact. I barely ever posted, but here I enjoy writing!
A lot of people done publicity to steemit, as far as I know we even have atleast a car with the steemit logos.
I'm on steemit for the exact reasons you stated. about 5 years ago I stopped frequently checking facebook because I was just sick of comparing myself to people, it's toxic on the brain. That happens on steemit for sure too when you see a successful author, but it's different because of the anonymity and judgment of people on their actions instead of image like you stated. I'm trying to get as many people on steemit as I can, just got my girlfriend to sign up she's waiting to be approved. That can take a while too! Sitting down and spending some time collecting your thoughts and writing is just healthier for you. steemit over facebook any day of the week
Exactly, FB was incredibly toxic for my wife. Then she quit about 5 years ago and was happier. I thought it didn't affect me, but now that I have really stopped, it feels great!
I'm trying to get my wife to sign up, but she is dubious about it. She reckons she's just not interesting enough to have stuff to write about. But I think she has lots of interests that would like to write a bit about, and find others that are interested.
Like you said, finding the place of mind and clarity of thought to write a few hundred words is really soothing.
I was going through that same thing your wife did when I first signed up. It wasn't until I was making my intro post that I thought I hmm I guess I've heard a lot of music and its always floating around in my head, I guess I'll write about that. I hope she ends up getting signed up and writing, good luck!
Yes, I keep telling her that there are things that she is interested in (like yoga and furniture making, amongst other things) that are interesting to other people. She is also a pianist....
Yeah, I deleted my fb account back in 2012. I left because I didn't like the direction the site was taking after the IPO. From what I gather, it sounds like I dodged a bullet!
Yep, you didn't miss out on anything!
The main thing I'd like to see on Steemit is either a language filter to filter out all the stuff I can't read, or some kind of translator so I can.
Pity this never took off...
http://www.tomsguide.com/faq/id-2355979/translate-language-google-glass.html
I'm sure something similar will turn up in a few years time. Look at virtual reality, it was the next big thing, then it pretty much disappeared...and now we have Oculus Rift, Playstation VR etc.
I really want AR to take off, it looks more cool than VR. And I have to wear glasses anyway...
Congratulations @bengy! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
To support your work, I also upvoted your post!
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPI agree with you @bengy. Steemit is SO much better than the other social networks out there. In fact, I just published a new article that shares 12 reasons why I believe Steemit is the #1 social network. Would love your feedback on it :)
I commented on your post. Just to recap, aren't you worried that Steemit could go the way of other social networks as it grows in user base? Also, it isn't utopia here either!
Who knows what the future truly holds. As for me though, I am sticking with this platform. Hope that you stick around and stay on this journey with us :)
I'm sticking around, if nothing else I think this sort of thing is a good way to bring crypto to the masses by stealth. The technology is good and decentralisation is essential for coming tech advances. But the technical workings need to be hidden, just like the workings of the internet.
I couldn't agree more! I joined Steemit a month ago and hardly ever get on facebook now. Its so awesome to see the educated conversations here on Steemit, you could see the same exact topic being argued badly on facebook. The rare times that I do get on facebook, I find myself extremely bored after joining Steemit.
Yes, I agree the same reaction. You get the same thing here, but you can choose to not follow it without offending someone in real life. When I pop over to FB, I see the feed and think, why am I here.
One thing I don't like about Facebook is it limits post reach so less people see your posts. Its stupid having to pay so more people see your posts
When you are little here in Steemit, you have the same problem. It's hard work to find and retain followers that are active!
Steemit has become the polar opposite of Facebook. Hasn't been over run with ads. It's a better online community full of people uploading useful information and cool stories. The main thing is it's a much more positive social network, while FB is known for being a site full of drama and toxic people posting their negative thoughts or venting all the time. The only con for me using Steemit is the absence of my immediate friends and family. The concept of Steemit isn't known or understood outside of the world of your everyday instagramers, tweeters and FB users of the world. Other than that Steemit has been a wonderful opportunity for me to grow, share and be creative.
I think the strength of this platform is the fact that we don't see our friends and family! There are better and and more meaningful ways than a public social media platform to stay in touch!
Yeah i agree with you, though I keep using facebook. because it was the first social media I knew.
Same, it was the first social media suite I knew, but I find in not happy when I use it. So, I will stop using it to see other people's lives and just use the messenger for communication and the marketplace for selling stuff!