How do we create a middle class?
I haven't written about my views on the platform, for quite some time. While I was writing the article about a Free Society - How strong is the case, I was thinking about a real problem with the Steemit platform. Don't get me wrong, I love the platform and all the efforts which the developers are taking to improve the platform. I actually want to highlight even further that I believe @dan and @ned is doing a wonderful job, at actually listening to the users of the platform. They are improving on the issues and concerns, which are raised by us , the end-users of this system. For me this is showing real leadership and the creator's of the platform's commitment and will to make this work over the long term.
What is happening on Steemit today?
There are many posts and articles written about the issues of really good posts, disappearing into a big black hole. Let's face it, when you publish an article, it disappears within minutes, from the top of the new list, into the black hole :) There are only two ways currently in existence, of getting your post out of this hole, and the weight is heavily leaning towards one side of the two options. Option 2 is when you have enough followers, which I believe is not the case in 95% if not 99% of cases at the moment. Should all of your followers up vote your posts and most of them are heavy hitters, you might be pulled out of the hole. Maybe to page 25 or 30 of the trending pages, where most people are currently spending their time. So Option 2 is not really workable at the moment.
Option 1 is the one which we all fight for while writing content. When you receive a whale vote, you will probably end up on page 10, 9 or even 8 of the trending list. From here on forward it is all about a second and third whale vote, which will take you up to page 5 or even page 4 of the trending pages. From here it is all about the topic you write on and the quality of your work. The system is working great, but very much dependant on the Whale vote.
What about the middle class
We currently have a situation very similar than to what is happening in most African countries. We have the Super Rich, and of the poor. We do not have enough of the bigger accounts. Yes, some accounts is starting to showing a glimmer of becoming the middle class, but … and this is a huge but , there is not enough of these middle class users on the platform.
Most importantly I do not believe these users are being created quickly enough. Yes the wealth is definitely flowing downwards, as per @liberosist, post Steem Power Distribution. By the way, @liberosist, I believe it is time for an update on this :) I guess you are waiting for the end of the month?
So here is the bottom line - We do not have a middle class on Steemit and we are not in the position to create this level of users fast enough. In my opinion the middle class should be a combination of high hitting dolphins and tuna's - or whatever you want to call them for that matter,
Tuna's
Image Credit
Tuna's in my opinion, should be in the position to contribute around 20 - 50 SBD depending on their vests. This will mean if you have 6 Tuna votes (50 X 6 = $300), you are out of the big black hole and up to at least page 5 or 6 on the trending list. Now this is where the stuff really starts happening. If you now get a whale vote, which will be easier, as you have a better chance of being noticed higher up the trending pages. If you add the 1 Whale vote to the article, and you are on page 3.
Dolphins
The same conversation of the Tuna's can be used for dolphins. Higher end Dolphins should have at least add 10 - 20 SBD per vote and baby dolphins should at least add 5 - 10 SBD to the accumulative pot for the article. Now we have a much wider audience looking for the good articles.
Let's do the math
4 X Tunas + 5 X High End Dolphin + 100 baby dolphins + your following = (6 X 50) + (5 X 20) + (100 X 10) + (100 X 0,05) = $1 405 and all of a sudden we have 6 + 5 + 100 + 100 = 211. In the example, we empowered 211 users to decided if a post should trend. The masses of the votes will then follow. Currently if 1 whale doesn't see you, you do not have much of a chance to get out of the hole.
I believe we all know this and most of us also believe that this will be default happen through time, as the eco-system maturity develops.
Statement - In total we are currently 79 280 users on the platform. From this only 4675 people were active yesterday and 13 807 people were active in the last 7 days. In my mind all 79 280 (Minus the scammers) of us are early adopters of the platform. Surely we can find good enough content writers and ambassadors within this group of people to empower as the middle class. I believe the middle class will be created through time, but I am not sure that it will happen quickly enough.
Question - If we are losing good content creators from the platform, as a result of their content not being seen. How do we create a middle class faster?
Your comments would be appreciated .
Happy Steeming
I think some sort of "Internal Market for Voting Delegation" , similar to what is described here as rshares/SD market https://steemit.com/witness-category/@arhag/witness-arhag-update-aug-9-2016-to-aug-18-2016
could do the trick really fast
Really good article! I already wrote about the importance of whale upvotes and the 'Joshua Bell phenomenom' (https://steemit.com/steemit/@crypt0mine/steemit-whales-successful-blogs-and-the-joshua-bell-phenomenon)
We need a middle class. And we are too dependent on whales. We waste tons of quality content. I even saw an artist that posted once, received 0$, reposted one week later and got 263$ on exactly the same content.
Great comment and I read your article which is also great. Let's hope that a heavy weight bumps into this post of mine and lets see what the reaction is.
Great post! Part of the fun is stumbling into terrible posts and then finding gems hidden way down in the 'new' feed.
I think we should remind each other that this is supposed to be fun. Yeah, we work hard to create content. Some of us are better at it than others. And yeah the rewards can be awesome and really crappy.
If everyone helps a little bit: a comment a day, at least 20 upvotes a day, etc. then this platform could blossom into something really amazing! But we also have to remember that it will take time. I'm seeing great ideas on how to improve the voting system and the developers are reading them and taking them into consideration. I think we already have all the tools we need to grow the middle class.
Indeed. Also love to stumble across a good post. It is just a bit frustrating no to have the power to assist that article with enough vote love :) I am in general a person that can't wait :) Hence writing the post. In my heart I know that we all need to wait, it will eventually happen. But that is just the way I am :) I think I am worse than my own kids that can't wait to go to the sea, or on holiday.
However, the threat is that should we have a massive event, in the media, and millions of people flog to the platform, the current ecosystem will struggle to handle millions of new users creating content. We will lose a lot of good content producers as a result, because, the few Whales, will not be able to identify all the good posts and we will loose those millions again. Just my opinion though... This platform changes all the time ...
Yes, Steemit is definitely not ready for a huge migration from other sites, but it is still in beta. I do hope that people realize this. Beta means the platform is in a testing stage. It means things will be re-built, re-worked, tried and changed. We (the ones who are here early) will definitely make a big impact on the future of Steemit just by sharing our ideas and suggestions.
It does feel a little like it's Christmas Eve and we just want the perfect place to share everything we have and get acknowledged/paid for it right away lol
@jacor glad I saw this in my feed. The question certainly is how do we advance the growth of the middle class on a shorter curve than what is currently happening organically.
Right now it's a slow pace as the early adopters (us) who stay with it and post quality content regularly will be those that become the middle class as more and more users join.
What we don't know is how long that will take? How much does the user base need to grow. What kind of growth in active users do we need?
The robinhood initiative I read about today seems like a good idea to help the growth of the middle class...outside of that kind of blank in ideas.
Good to hear from you again @scaredycatguide :) That is indeed the question. How long will it take. Please read my comment to @mscleverclocks as I want to highlight the last paragraph :)
That is a very good point. Being that is how human nature works - the "herd mentality." When steemit does get a mass media exposure that mass wave of people come in - it's a total cluster f*ck and the consistent quality content gets lost in the sea. However, that wave dies down as all the people leave that didn't hit it big on their first few posts and we (quality authors) begin to float back to the surface until the next wave comes.
Wish I knew how may waves we have to ride out.
Well, I've found that the best way to get your posts noticed and have them earn at least 30+ SBD on every post is to be a hot chick. I think if we simply all work at being a little hotter and more female the middle class will blossom.
Fingolfin??
Spare your misogynist BS,please. If you have bitter,resentful thoughts, maybe examine yourself to find the real cause, within yourself.
Misogynist? It was a joke... Not to mention that on Steemit and any other platform really being an attractive person, male or female, definitely works in your favor.
Guys please ... English is my second language ! I need to google words like misogynist :) I think we all saw the tong in the cheek humor there :)
@jacor you knowledge of the English language is far superior to many people I know and many people would also be lost if the word misogynist was tossed in your direction. Keep up the good work!
tong in cheek was right. Or perhaps fork.
You can't say success and attractiveness correlate, it hurts feelings.
Even if it's true? However, I know there was a case in the US recently. A female dental assistant had been fired because she was too attractive (apparently, the dentist lost focus, plus his missus demanded it). Of course, the employee sued for wrongful dismissal, and the case got into the courts. The result? Well, the court ruled that being too hot was a legal reason for getting fired. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/iowa-woman-fired-attractive-back-moves/story?id=19851803)
@johnronnevik: especially if it is true!
Interesting viewpoint. This can help mitigate the need to value the natural result of trickle-down economics within Steemit. I never really put into mind that there could be a middle class. If you think about economic solutions that actually worked in real life, the middle class does a powerful job stimulating the economy with their liquid buying power after WWII. How would the turn out be if this was utilized in Steemit? It might be an idea now, but could end up be a revolutionary solution sometime soon. I hope @dan and @ned have a chance to check this out for a new experiment.
Thanks for your comment @marquismiller . I agree... this is exactly why we have the middleclass in the real world. It stimulates economies. I do however believe this will happen in any case over time. The question is will it happen fast enough.
I'm not sure about how all will be there.
But I'm sure what everyone must try hard every time.
Because easy to see what bad post or spam posts don't take attention and don't make any profit to author.
In the same way we all must understand what all we are sit on one boat and need cooperate and make good relationship between each user.
There is no competition where all other is your own "enemy".
If you not investor you must mostly consider on your post and content not on the only earnings on your post.
To be an average is not good for anyone there, you must try to be the best.
YEs ... love the sentiment. But in any community the average people are the ones that gives momentum to the ones that come up with the great ideas. You always also have those that just hang around and cruise ... nothing wrong with that, but in a value adding society, self gratification is seen as below average... not in ability, but in output.
I think That the steemit platform is growing
and having growing pains
I heard the stories of other companies
that have experienced this
I assume now that block chain
is not immune from this.
Changes are cool though
Whales need to be required to use a %
of votes to up vote minnows
I now have writers block,
Ok,
Everyone Should have to login every week
and more than 1 time,
Maybe 3-5 days a week?
upvote, comment, post, etc......
I hope this helps
Good points, and as far as I can see all areas in the crypto world mimics or follow what we have in the real world, so most logic one can apply on governance, community management and regulation, finance and yes, product life cycle seem to be followed.
Nice post. There are few activities that reward the middle class. I have been very active and I really can't justify the time I have spent here the last two months. I have time to do quick post and read a lot of post and vote on tons of post, make a few comments but none of this is rewarded much. We need middle class jobs to run this town. There aren't enough newspaper writing jobs someone must deliver the papers, set the type, support the good writers.