For You New Steemians - Lower Your Expectations & Up Your Engagement
Feels like this is a thing that needs to be said repeatedly. I don't mind doing it so much considering the constant influx of new users (and the ease with which these kind of posts get buried after so many days).
Feel free to visit my posts. Feel free to engage. Feel free to discuss what's actually being discussed in the post.
But, should you do any of the things below, you'll get muted instantly. I've been doing it pretty regularly, so if you find that I'm not replying to your comments, it's probably because you did these things early on and got muted, so I'm not even seeing your comments anymore:
- Ask for upvotes
- Tell me you're following me (and that's it)
- Ask for upvotes and tell me you're following me
- Tell me you're following me and ask me to follow you
- Tell me you upvoted my post, that you're following me, and ask me to follow you
- Tell me you upvoted my post, that you're following me, and ask me to follow you as well as ask for upvotes on your posts
- Post some obvious bullshit copy/paste phrase you've thrown up on everyone else's posts (psst: WE CAN ALL SEE THEM.)
I have a serious hatred for disingenuous people or acts, both online and in person. And while it may seem like it's easy to game the system here (in some ways, it is...), there are plenty of people creating interesting content that isn't simply just a news article copied and linked. If your content falls into this latter category, the likelihood of me following you is nil. I can find all that shit on my own.
Engage me and you'll get my comments and upvotes and follows. Engage others in meaningful ways and you'll get the same from them (maybe; this is just my personal philosophy). I have "met" plenty of people on here worth talking to, often from two camps: those I agree with and those I don't. The difference is the depth of the conversation. Be real with me, I'll be real with you. That's about as simple as I can make it.
Leave shit comments begging for someone to do something for you without having done any of the legwork of engagement? The fuck outta here. You're muted forever and I won't even be sad about it. I'm not an asshole, I'm just annoyed.
This has been your monthly PSA about Steemit etiquette according to this profile in particular.
I agree with you. However, a microscopic examination of human behavior will have you pondering on the intricacies of authenticity. Especially, with the disproportionate relevance of social politics to success in both our online and real worlds. Still i despise how low, some of us stoop.
authenticity online and authenticity in person are two very different animals, the former being often more easily sussed out due to the low-stooping nature of some (low-hanging fruit type stuff, the "easy" being the preferred method for most).
Different, however not mutually exclusive. There is no discourse here anyway, as we are in agreement mostly. In the end, sub communities within the community will naturally emerge on a common value principle..like the follow for follow, RT for RT mongers on twitter. You keep doing You
"sub communities within the community will naturally emerge on a common value principle" - excellent point! that's totally spot on.
and yeah, we're definitely in agreement. :)
Well, managing expectations in general can be difficult for some. I've introduced some friends to steemit and I find myself reiterating time and time again that I got extremely lucky (my first posts did really well thanks to @curie ), and that success takes effort and perseverance.
As to people who just go into posts to get follows and upvotes, I share your opinion. I mean, I do tell people when I upvote and follow them, but it's simply my way of saying "hey, I like your content!", and I do it after actually commenting on what I read and legitimately engaging with their content before I do. It's annoying to have to sort through 11 comments to find just ONE person who actually read the post.
Anyway, nice post! I hope it gets better in your comments, as you seem to be really fed up with the whole thing.
"I do tell people when I upvote and follow them, but it's simply my way of saying "hey, I like your content!", and I do it after actually commenting on what I read and legitimately engaging with their content before I do." - and that's the difference right there.
i'm all for people telling me they liked the content (but be specific and show me you actually read the post) and that they're now a follower (cool; more than happy to check out your profile since you authentically engaged with my post)...but it's these skeletal posts that are more like bug bites than anything substantial that are so prevalent and annoying.
and yeah...i had that same early bump when i first came on too. it's been hard to get a lot of exposure since, but that's part of the deal. you have to engage, you have to legitimately talk to people, you have to consume what it is they're putting out if you expect people to consume what you yourself are posting up.
Great points, well made. It does need reiterating often.
unfortunate, but true...especially considering the influx of new users to the site, many (like myself) hungry for the chance to post content and have some kind of payment given back in return. it ain't hard to be authentic about it, however, which is what i'd like to see more of.
I totally agree and it's something we try to work on at the Minnow Support Project with new users, trying to steer them into being productive commenters and curators.
Well Done!!! I've started flagging them!
Thanks for your work @bucho Followed...