RE: Steemfest - A skeptics' view - The dangers of GROUPTHINK etc
I thank you, @dannyshine, and those who have replied for the insights you give. As a 2 month old newbie on Steemit, I recognized almost immediately the 'groupthink' you mentioned. And as an old geezer with many years behind him, I also remember where I saw and heard that attitude before...
Back in the 70's and 80's, an American company called Amway spent a lot of time and money recruiting huge numbers of people with the promise that if they just sold enough soap or whatever, that they would be rich. The reality was far different, however. After alienating all of your friends and relatives by trying to get them involved, then buying hundreds of dollars worth of laundry soap, marketing materials and motivational tapes (these were the cassette tape days!), most of these thousands of hopeful people came to realize that the only ones who were getting rich were those at the top. Nowadays they operate under a different name. But they left a lot of hurt and angry people in their wake.
I see some of that same thing here with the whales vs minnows. Your experiences with those in upper positions just reinforces that in my mind. I still wish to be a part of Steemit, because I believe in the dream. But like many of you, I will dream with my eyes open and one hand on the door.
The Amway analogy is interesting. Amway was selling a product, the Amway product. Here, I would say that what is being sold are authors and not the Steemit platform. So, I highly doubt that Steemit will end up like Amway. Where does the concern about whales destroying minows come from? Who was arbitrarily and unfairly destroyed by a capricious whale?
I didn't mean that I thought Steemit would become like Amway... only the similar idea of many people at the bottom helping to make people at the top rich at their expense. Steemit also has a product: the posts of many talented people as well as the promise of payment. As for the whale vs minnow reference, that was from various posts by other Steemit people that I have read over the last couple months. Just an observation, I guess. Not meant to offend.
Yea, the question about the concern regarding minows being capriciously destroyed by whales was meant to @dannyshine .
I don't think that a promise of payment is the product which Steemit sells. I think the promise of payment is for the product that they want: the interesting articles people have to offerto their platform. IMO, the only thing Steemit has is the show room or platform and the automated systems available to curators and authors.
My question is who is really concerned that Steemit succeeds at preventing people from earning their fare share of cash on this platform? What is Ned's fare share? He is the first to find a way not to take 100% advantage of the public by giving a share back. What is stopping anyone from starting another kind of Steem on a new site owned by a coop or something non-profit ?