Why Steemit will Fail
Not totally, it has a good chance of survival, as a platform. But it will fail in the sense that it was meant as a platform that rewards quality content. It was supposed to be a free association of individuals that would expose us to all sorts of unknown talent, from all corners of the world.
Let's be honest, how many of us harbored a secret wish that Steemit was a new type of society, a society of the future?
But that's not going to happen.
Why?
Because instead of exposing ourselves to this new concept and working together to build, we're just dragging the same old society structure unto this great platform.
I doubt I need to explain this to you, because I hope that the smarter ones among you have figured this out as well. But just in case you haven't...
1. Little Churches
In this sad little world of ours, society works on the little churches structure – you are not recognized for your talent, skill or unique voice.
Nope.
Never.
And don't you go spouting that BS, 'cause they're gonna laugh in your face.
In today's advanced society, successful people are not defined by talent, but by who they know. Hollywood is a great example of this, especially in light of the recent sex scandals – it's not how good a performer you are, it's whom you've slept with.
In fact, I believe that's where all the trouble started – those actresses in the Weinstein scandal did what they did because they wanted the part. If they hadn't...well, they wouldn't have got the part, duh.
And it's the same in all fields of work – for artists of any kind, for corporations, even in churches.
And it's something we really hoped to escape with Steemit, isn't it?
But we didn't escape it. Instead, we just transferred this sordid little system unto this idea that once had potential. On Steemit, it's exactly the same situation.
It may not involve sexual favors, but it's still a simple matter of who you know. You see hordes of posts that get rewards – some very good rewards – simply because they're associated with a certain grouping.
There are loads of talentless people here with reps of 60 or above, simply because they befriended the right people, because they kissed the right ass.
And we shut ourselves in. We create groupings of loyal followers. Most users here work on an upvote for upvote basis. So, we have this network of 10-20 people whom we upvote no matter what and rarely look outside.
2. Freedom of speech
I was just reading a post, well, a rant, really, by an individual complaining that certain things should not be posted on Steemit, because they're not worthy.
No, it wasn't porn or anything like that. At the same time, I'd rather not name names, because that is not what this is about.
We've all seen one such post.
Posts about X should not be on Steemit!
Why? Because you say so? And who put you in charge? I thought the whole idea of Steemit was that no one was top dog, so no one could decide.
At the same time, it's only normal that you, as the complainer, have the right to complain about whatever you want. You don't think posts about X should be allowed on Steemit and you write a post about that. Fair enough.
Freedom of speech entitles you to writing this post. Same goes for the real world, more or less.
But what's bothering me here is...WHY do you feel the need to complain? Just because you have the right? Because freedom of speech allows you to say what you don't like?
But that goes against everything Steemit was supposed to be. Why do you need to be against something? They're not taking from your rewards, so let them post, let them write whatever they want.
Image - Are we really?
Steemit was supposed to mean freedom, a place where people could come and post their quality content and be recognized for it, maybe even get rewarded for it.
To complain that there are posts (that have been worked on, not mindless spam) which you don't think should be there is so petty and childish.
It's the same mindset that is ruining our real life society. We are unable to work together, so we tear each other down.
And instead of leaving this attitude at the door when we enter the Steemit community, we drag it in with us and continue to bite at each other.
We allow selfishness and self-interest to shape our new society.
Does nobody realize that – at this pace – it will only be a reboot of our old fucked-up society?
anarchy, sturgeon's law, monkeysphere..
no, that would imply some education and research. easier to write an article...I always say, people should really read @dan ; s posts. He really gets it.
PS: did you happen to read - one of my favorite books - "the dispossessed"? If not, I highly recommend it. It's stunning.
I realised that the old mind patterns from society have blatently been dragged onto here.
The Me thing :( People got there hopes up and are feeling let down, which means we got to attached to it, and then that led to dis-satisfactions.
"nobodys following me" "i want to be seen"..
Same old thing happening again, like you say from society. What else though is to be expected? Atleast we connect with like minded people much quicker on here and sure over time people who dont support crypto and/or have no time to make a decent article or piece of art etc wont be logging in anyway onto steemit.
I decided im not actually going to invest any more cash into steemit, and just stay with posting rewards etc.
Its still very early days and maybe yeh it will happen that first theres 2 years of BS content, same like everywhere else, but then the craze will die out and leaving the original steemians and a few who dedicated more time to it.
Hmm that is a possibility - that the craze will die out and the weak ones, as it were, will weed themselves out. But the trouble is, I think, that there are some weak ones who are very high up. People getting tens or even hundreds of dollars for utter crap.
Now why would those leave? If you know you have a loyal clique or even one benevolent whale, is it really that hard to post a selfie and cash in 40 bucks? I doubt it..
I guess the saying "dont give up the day job" comes into play here and to remember its just a social media platform at the bottom line.
Sure you get out what you put in, but better just to treat it as fun, and a place to meet others. If I had the normal lifestyle, and saw this as something to do in my free time whilst sat indoors then i completely get that it would be frustrating. Nothings personal remember ;) sure there are people with multiply accounts and money to put in them to upvote their own main account. Welcome to an example of anarchy lol
Well the internet has become an echo chamber for our own biases and we filter information to only confirm what we want and dismiss what we don't believe in.
It creates a one dimensional and sometimes extremist way of thinking which is very hard to break and this is why people hardly come to a consensus when discussing topics online.
They all just trying to drive their point of view down peoples throats along with grandstanding and virtue signalling. While i would never shy away from conversation or debate of ideas i don't feel that it is a constructive way of communication its very dismissive of the concept of ideas and counterproductive
I do agree with your sentiments and I really hope that we can find a way remove this indoctrination and have a free market of ideas that can be rewarded in a meritocracy
I think most people realize this, or atleast the ones with any sort of functioning brain. However, most aren't powerful enough to do something about this, while others are up in those inner circles, enjoying the benefits of Trending positions for simple cat pictures.
In an open environment like this, we can't expect a new ideal to work, because you need everyone (or atleast a big and influential majority) on board for this. You need trust that everyone's working towards the same goals and that's just not happening here on Steemit.
Well, I agree that individually, we're not powerful enough to change anything, but if so many of us agree, surely together, we can change something...I think a lot of people here see this clearly, but willingly chose the easy way out - finding someone to suck up to and so on and so forth.
No, and it's a real shame :/ It had so much potential...it still does, but the way things are going, it's just not going to get there.
I think in numbers, the majority is trying to be fair. I don't mind self voting and voting for friends, as long as it's balanced out by voting for others aswell. I think plenty of people do this. However, maybe when we go by weight/influence on the platform/rewards, this is just not the case.
Same as real life. Plenty of people know (or think they know) how things should be, but the fortunate few who have power/money are the ones calling all the shots and ignoring what is 'fair'.
Absolutely agree 100%. The platform is nothing to do with good content. The whole eco system has just become a mirror to existing social media channels. Wait until steemit gets it first lawsuit regarding unauthorised use of copyright materials. How will they remove them if ordered by law on an un allegedly undeletable blockchain ?
There is too much greed here, too much selfishness. I came hoping to see great content writers rewarded, people posting opinion and folks from less prosperous backgrounds getting a chance to improve their lives from the rewards they got for working hard here but no...I see 30 or 40 very old members rewarding each other, often for posting generic dross I could find in a million other places on the net.
This certainly isn't a brave new world, just an old world with cash!
please post a link to the article to which you referred please :-)
I did not think about that, but it's a good point :o No, they all run in cliques and I could understand that - you'd rather upvote your friend's quality content, but it's usually not quality, it's just crap they've already posted three times, slightly altered.
I'll link it to you in chat ;) I didn't want anyone to feel personally attacked. I mean this post got on my nerves, but there are hundreds like it..
In chat ? i didnt know there was chat ! lol....
Talent is not as recognized in society as it used to be. That's for sue.
There is definitely some good content on steemit but I agree that it is hard to find as it's flooded with poor posts, grabs from other sites, etc.
I think we, minnows who try, rely on the good will of those with influence to find out the good content and promote it with upvotes and constructive comments.
How we achieve this is not clear since I don't feel like begging dolphins or whales to check my posts.
I can only hope that good posts and curation will one day pay off.
I think that maybe steemit could be improved with better search capabilities, better post categories and subcategories. It's hard to find anything beyond the most popular tags. I recently posted an article about mobile networks but who is ever going to find #mobilenetworks tag?
At least a browsing experience based on category hierarchy such as Amazon might give a chance to find content more easily.
There are some good points as well of using steemit and I think the developers are trying to achieve something really good. The platform just needs our help to get to the point where it will become a reference for blogging on the internet.
I'll say this again. You are wrong :)
Steemit is a lot of layered thing. One, is actually a crypto mining machine powered by your writing. If you don't see how disruptive this is, you're missing the point - speaking of which, did you enjoy buying this or that with your sbd earnings? did you complain about that too? -
But in the sense you refer to, sure, people will form churches, follow people they do like and complain about idiots or whatever who write or say what they don't like..sometimes they';ll even flag. But listen, the fact that once written is forever here is huge. Again, if you do not see this, you are missing the point. No matter how flagged you are, if you link your post I will see it, anyone will. No matter how much your government (ha) or your mom (haha) or whatever else doesn't want anyone else to see it.
Ned can't wake up tomorrow and say: Fuck that honeydue, delete her account, ban her, censor her. No one can.
This is pretty much incredible. Again, not seeing this is missing the point.
You are also wrong about the Hollywood actresses, you should read more on the scandal. Not everyone slept with someone and...I say this often but this kind of attitude si not very benefic. if you don't get what you want..IS ALWAYS YOUR FAULT. any other idea is completely self-defeating. Sure, is this whale's fault or this guy's I did not want to sleep with fault that people don't see my value or whatever. AND?!
Anyway, do your thing, do it well, do it for long enough and let's see what you think in 2 3 years.
PS: notice the "beta" under the logo :)
Fair enough, I didn't take that into consideration, I must admit. Hey, everybody's got the right to a rant every now and then, don't they?
And yeah, I've read quite a bit on the Weinstein scandal - I know it wasn't a case of just fucking, but I felt that I would be getting into too much explaining.
I agree. And no, it's not the fault of the whale or the guy you don't sleep with, it's your fault. It's true that you may not get recognition if you don't fuck him, but that lack of recognition is a consequence of your refusal. Something that is your fault and you must deal with it.
Personally, I've never defended all these women accusing Weinstein of indecent behavior (yeah, that covers massages, sex, masturbation and everything) towards them because they accepted it. We make choices and must live with the consequences.
I never claimed different. But you have to admit that that's how Hollywood - and any business - works. The people who make it because of talent and not blowjobs are rarities, exceptions.
Advice that is appreciated. As always :)
That's like so untrue on so many levels.
You really need to re-read the "it's always your fault". This is not to say it's your fault you did not blow that guy...wtf, how can you even misread so much lol...no, the idea behind IIYF is that you can always push yourself if you think you can do something about it. No, again, not blowing guys in power, wtf!! It means, sure that guy wanted a bj and I didn't get the part no worry. I will hustle my way up by will, talent, perserverence...etc etc etc.
Hard work is almost ALWAYS the common trait of successful people. Whoever doesn't see this has a long way to go.
Work, bitch! :P
While you're right and i can't really refute your points, I'll say that while this crap is occurring here on steemit (because we're all humans and bring our humanity everywhere we go), there is ALSO a whole lot of incredible people, projects , relationships and dynamics here on Steemit that are a profound contradiction to our hierarchical world.
Oh I agree, trust me, I know there are a lot of great things (and people) on here, that's why I am here. :)
;-)