Working from the Hammock and a Question about the Rewards Pool
I just snapped this photo from my a phone a couple minutes ago. The weather in Nashville is great right now and so I'm working from the hammock this morning. I love being part of a distributed team so I can work from anywhere.
I've posted pictures like this before on my other social media sites because they are fun, and I enjoy sharing the "work for yourself from home" lifestyle as encouragement to those who are working towards the same goal. As I was about to post it here, I thought, "Will I get downvoted for having too many successful posts lately?" There are no rulers on Steemit and so the community creates their own rules. I've talked about flagging/downvoting before, and I'm thinking about it again today as I lie here in the hammock before starting work.
On other social platforms, I post whenever I feel like it. If I'm inspired by something, I share it. On Steemit, for a while, there was a posting rate limit, which I think has been removed. So in theory, nothing prevents someone like me who has built a large following over the past 10 months or so to just post constantly and take a nice portion of the rewards pool for myself.
Is that wrong? Is that "abuse"? Is that a justified reward for 10 months of consistently providing valuable content and building a following who expects my posts to be worth their time?
I recognize many of the upvotes I receive are automated by those seeking curation rewards. They don't actually read my posts. I'm okay with that, on some level, because they are free to use their Steem Power as they see fit, just as I am. But what does the community think? Was it unfair when I first started with no followers and low rewards while others were making thousands of dollars per post in the early days? Or is that simply how things are, and we all have to work to build our own following of voters over time? Should I post less and/or decline payout once in a while or is that just silly?
I'm curious to know what you think.
I am here and I actually read your post. I am somewhat new here and I find it quite difficult to build a following, but more importantly, I crave interaction so I hate the bots. You look comfortable BTW. Take the pay and build your power. Then help smaller creators..
I just followed you. I realized I spend less time interacting with others on their posts and finding new people to follow when I have so many comments on my own posts to respond to. Building a following can be hard, but it's all about interacting with others. See my post count. I built my following by adding value to other people's discussions.
Thank you. I have started to make a more direct effort into interacting because I was drawn to this site without even knowing about the payment. I saw a video on youtube that advertised this platform as a potential place to protect free speech. I still believe that and wish more people would be drawn to that strength of the platform. Use the platform to speak, not just click a vote button or set up a bot..
Well, I'm new to steemit and it's concept but have to say how refreshing it is and how much fun I'm having doing just what Luke said in his reply to you. I stumbled across Lukes post from the "hot" key and now I'm following both of you. I think from what you've both written to one another that I can learn from you and enjoy new friendships. Like you draco, the wallet at this point, for me, doesn't effect me as much as the "freedom" here and the community and content but it is fun to peek every so often. So impressed with this site. Steem on.
Well said. :)
If all the money goes to the same people, all the time, this place doesn't have a future. I made a post on that today.
https://steemit.com/steem/@demotruk/two-things-which-need-to-remain-true-for-steem-to-succeed
On the other hand, it is good that there is a reward for those who have been committed to the platform, and built up their following that way.
Personally I have been selecting 'payout declined' on my casual posts. I think the money which would have been dumped on those posts (you can see some earlier in my history) is better spent elsewhere. I have so much more to gain through a growing network than author rewards, and I was also making over 1000 Steem Power per month on curation rewards recently. I think that is someone everyone (including curators) should decide for themselves.
That's a great perspective. I just commented on your post and followed you.
As you said, there is an "on the other hand" to this. There's a balance we have to find.
Post as often as you have content of value. In my mind it doesn't become spam and deserve a down vote until your quality drops off due to the volume of posts. Now is a great time to set the example for the type of community which you want to see. You've been a consistent presence for long enough for others to naturally follow as long as you stick to a positive course with integrity.
Wow, thank you for such an encouraging comment, @leongkhan. I really appreciate it. :)
I appreciate this response. As a new user of Steemit, I am looking to those of you who have been here awhile to provide examples of a healthy balance between posting and commenting.
I think your hard work is paying off. Steemit was designed as such. I remember you were still posting even when the payouts were low. Enjoy the rewards, you deserve them. I dont a have upvoting bot. I like to be enganged here on steemit on every level. Cheers!
Thank you. :)
I built quite a bit of my following during that time when others didn't want to post, but I continued to so because I enjoy the process.
Awesome work @lukestokes 👏
When I opened my own law practice 6 months ago I was careful to make sure that I could work from anywhere, and yet I get up and head to my office every day. It is a beautiful day here as well so I am going to get out and find a hammock somewhere as well. I think you should feel free to work within the existing system and post as much or as little as you wish. You didn't build a large following by abusing the system.
Work that hammock! :)
I just joined read your post and I wonder, are you contemplating using the very platform that was created to change things to just replace the people taking advantage. Imagine for a moment if you iddnt measure this experience financially at all. Forget about the money for one moment could you share your sense of gratification and fulfilment without being paid. Anyway like everything people monitize this too will lose its luster, I just hope something good comes out of it first.
I have imagined that in detail and talked about it here many times:
I think I understand where you're coming from here and people like Alfie Kohn have some some interesting research to show how rewards can actually diminish creative output. That said, I'm not convinced it automatically will lose it's luster when it's something people do everyday anyway (i.e. share on social media) so the motivations are still intrinsic, even with a financial reward. It's a basic need to connect with others and to be known. I don't think that motivation will go away any time soon and the financial rewards side of it just increases the value all around, IMO.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Hey, spring/summer is finally settling in and it feels like we waited a long time for it this year.
Posting penalty limit has been lifted in HF18 I think too.
I don't know the answer to your dilemma but I can tell you what I do. Lately I haven't been posting not because I got nuffin to say but because I honestly wanted to leave room for others who are newer than me. I've been around almost since the beginning and had my fair share given. I don't have a stance on successful steemians around here as everyone can do whatever they want with their steem and if you want to gamble with your reputation long term by milking some autovotes, do it at you own risk.
What I'm actively trying to do is be active through commenting.
Nevertheless I've read some of your posts lately and been pleasantly surprised by some information you've shared which I wouldn't have known if you didn't post it. All in all #steemon and if you're really concerned your posts could be claimed as reward seeking, post some of them with refuse payout.
Good post @andu !
Thanks for your input, it is much appreciated.
Happy to help!
as I saw before , your posts mostly have something to say, and even if upvotes are not because of the posts themselves , they are on the right ones , and feel free to post something like this one too, it is still fun to read them.
Thanks @meysam.
Free and open market- something that was stolen from us on FB with their restrictions and censoring of beliefs. If you are providing valuable content then you will be compensated based on the market reaction to your product. Keep on rolling!
Sounds pretty straightforward to me. Thanks!
I second this! Great comment. Thank you!
Great post. Personally I've always been against the whole bot voting. It defeats the purpose of the platform which is interaction/sharing. Keep doing what your doing. Success is good! :)
I too have a lot of concerns about bot voting, but I also really like the idea of using my Steem Power to support my friends and favorite authors. I used Streemian for a while to follow vote, but didn't like the result.
More on that here:
I'm currently using https://steemvoter.com/ to support accounts which I almost always upvote anyway because I really like their content. I like how they get my support (to encourage them to keep writing) even when I might miss some of their posts. In my mind, they've earned a consistent portion of the rewards pool my Steem Power can give them.
But I also see how this can be abused by high SP accounts and make it difficult for new users which harms everyone. It's complicated stuff, for sure.