Is there more we can do with Steemit in the New Year? Are we doing our part? Can we grow to be mainstream?
I have recently taken part in a conversation that I think deserves its own post.
The original conversation here
There are a lot of things such as experience, knowledge, discoveries, topics of importance, and suggestions that are shared in comments.
When there is a topic of importance to every Steemit user, these small pieces of wisdom are a great starting point for your own article on the subject.
This is what I am attempting with this post, and I would love to see others adapt this format more often.
Steemit Messenger, Good or Bad?
In a recent post @stevescoins mentioned how Steemit does not yet have a Personal Messaging Inbox.
Steemit doesn't have a private message capability
They mentioned that there are limitations to the format we use to communicate within the platform, and this is where Steemchat comes in.
I understand that Steemit isn't good for long conversations with a 6 layer nesting limit - so people do need a place where they can go back and forth
In the comments section we continued the conversation, and @creator pointed out this great point...
I would personally value a PM system. My biggest "need" for this has come when I belatedly discover a gem of an article, find myself deeply desiring to compliment or question the author, only to discover that due to its age, comments under the article are closed and frozen. It would be wonderful at that point to be able to click a "PM" button...
- What I have done as a work-around, is to visit a recent post by the same author and comment there... However, there have been times when there are no recent posts!
In the comments, @keithwillshine pointed out...
I think there must be a reason PM wasn't implemented. Maybe so our whole Steemit experience is recorded for all to see, for a long time into the future. This way new users do not have to ask as many questions. Most questions are already asked, they just have to look for someone who has answered. This gets people to spend time on Steemit reading material, and enhancing their own quality of material while doing it.
@stevescoins replied...
There are some problems with the model, but I don't see a better way to do it. We as creators need to look at our contributions in the "what have you done for Steemit lately?" mindset.
What have you done for Steemit lately? Ask yourself.
@keithwillshine shared...
I was just mentioning that if it goes mainstream it will not be because the creators pushed it and advertised it. It will be from users that care and put a lot of their resources and time into it.
This is interesting because I am sure the creators made good profit from selling the coins. But not that they have no more to profit from the platform, they have no interest in investing in it.
I am sure they had to borrow money to create it, so they did their part if you think about it. They can only keep their investors happy with NEW Ideas and models of profit. They are currently working on the next tool. It will give Steemit more value if it is a tool or outlet that utilizes SBD Steem, or Steemit in some way.
They are off the hook, they did their share.
I do believe the people who can make it happen are already on here, we just need better communication and planning. If we all talk about Steemit on our other social media, websites, community events and jobs, we could very quickly create what looks to others as a trend. People follow the trends. Why was it not ever in newspapers, or television when people made 10-15 thousand for writing one blog post? I think we know why, because it does not pay well to talk about De-centralization.
We have other platforms that will cost nothing to spread the word on also. We could do fund raiser for these types of things. We would need help from at least one Whale for any plan like this to succeed. If it was covered by the evening news, people would take it seriously, and we would see a wave of new, different kind of user on Steemit.
It would take some sort of Incentive to get this area of media to cover, but it would be well worth it to get even a dollar from every successful person on here. I am sure that could help pay for anything we needed to help grow the platform. I am open to working with people create some sort of fund raiser, charity revolving around De-centralization, raffles, and any other creative and fun projects and to help the people of Steemit feel like this is their home.
There should be a Steemit group, gathering, event, or meetup in evey major city with an avid Steemit user. This would help in many ways. Not everybody can get on an airplane to attend Steemfest.
It is easy to feel like an outsider on platforms like this. Especially when people are working on their blog for a few hours per day, and have professional type posts. This can make the new-comer feel insecure, and less likely to create their own content.
Holding fun contests, community collaborations, having open groups, free give a ways, helpful hints and suggestions, as well as being a mentor to somebody new are ways to help strengthen, build, and enhance the experience of Steemit for all.
We must share our wealth. You may be able to get 20SBD every post sometimes. Therefor 20SBD is nothing to you. That same 20SBD could be given to a new member that you see potential in, or one that is struggling. If you see somebody on their first or second post, and it not earning anything. Show them that good CAN come by personally giving their post value by raising your Upvote impact, or transferring them a small amount of earnings.
What good is it to have an account with lots of power, and skill but not a big audience to share it with, or to comment, and give your posts value.
Some people may think that more users would make the payouts thinner. This may be the case for most people, but if you already are successful, you will still be ahead of the crowd, making you have more power than them, especially if you post almost daily, you will be one of the few with a head start, and that can keep consistently growing. Most people who will come will maybe earn enough to get them interested, but they will need to post good quality constantly to maintain that value.
Also if you help people out, they will remember, they will follow you, and share your stuff. They will also Up-vote your posts. You will create an army of Steem-soldiers who will fight for you, defend you, and have your back in case you ever need a bailout, or somebody to contribute to your cause.
It is not easy for a new user to get the courage to post. A small gesture could be the difference from them feeling inadequate and only observing and eventually giving up, putting their efforts elsewhere, to them creating their first post, and feeling good about it.
*P.S. Let me know if there is a better way to incorporate comments into a post, or you have a good reference of it done well. This is my first attempt.
Happy New Year!
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Gif created by @creatr
Great points you have made there.
Also, there is still a glitch in the system when you use 5 tags. Your post only appears in the first tag. Reduce this post to four tags to get more exposure.
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize that.
You're welcome!