๐โโ๏ธ Help Me (and other minnows) choose which Witness to Vote for! ๐ณ๏ธ Recommend Witnesses that deserve and could really use some extra votes!
Having been on Steemit for the past two months I am just about ready to take the next step and yet again get a little bit more involved with the Steemit community. I feel like the time is here to start voting for Steemit Witnesses. But who should I vote for?
Now, I myself am not a big fan of the top people getting all the votes just because they appear at the top. In fact, I hate this aspect which is in my mind rather centralizing. I believe our value as a community is highest if we have a lot of smaller whales, as opposed to a small amount of giant whales. Decentralization, right?
So I would much rather vote for a smaller 'underdog' of sorts, rather than just pile my votes on top of the big dogs like the rest. Somebody who maybe nearly has enough votes to get there, but maybe lacks a few more. Somebody who is just as good as the top people, but just doesn't get the exposure in order to join them yet.
Do you know any of those people? People who are trustworthy and act with integrity? People who would make Steemit better if they were a Witness? Please recommend them to me, as well as to others!
I am sure many minnows such as myself are just as lost when it comes to figuring out who is deserving of their votes! Please also explain why your suggested Witnesses are deserving of our votes! Perhaps, as a community we can put those aspiring Witnesses in the spotlight and perhaps get them to their goal while at the same time improving this platform the way it was intended!
If you know of any (aspiring) Steemit Witnesses that really should get some more votes, please mention them in the comments below and state why I (or others) should vote for them and perhaps we can make it so!
You may be interested in following Jerry and I's "Meet The Witnesses" series. We intend to do the first 50-60, but we did start at the top.
https://steemit.com/witness/@jerrybanfield/meet-steem-s-top-10-witnesses
I'll give them a look! I'm kind of hoping to get some suggestions of people who need just a little bit more. I know from experience that it's hard to grow from small to medium and from medium to the top.. so would like to give support where it matters the most. Thanks for the tip
Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma delayed part two. I've actually completed the research through about #25, but Jerry had to evacuate so it may be a week or two.
If you are looking for an engaged, active, underdog type witness, you need to go look at @klye.
@timcliff is also highly engaged.
Tell them I sent you over.
I'm going to do some research and look into them both!
Thanks for the suggestions! I have roughly 26 votes to give out still :)
I looked at both, and gave both a vote. They're both at the top of the Witnesses, so not sure if they really need my votes, but as long as I haven't spotted anybody who is really in need, I might as well throw in my support with them, so I voted for both.
Thanks for the suggestions!!
I think as time goes on, you will see they are good choices and fit the minnow mindset type / active person you are looking for to help people here.
Resteeming this to encourage all minnows and new users in general to explore the witnesses and actively engage in the voting process. You can see the top 200 here and do your research from there.
Is a witness missing blocks? Is a witness supporting the greater community? Is a witness doing their job, however you feel you should define it as? Everyone should speak with their votes.
Thanks for the resteem and the nice chat we just had on steemit.chat!
Hope to get some more discussion and witness suggestions in here! ๐
Like I said when you msgd me on my #STEEMU post about this, I thought this was a great post and practical one.
Shared on the twitter for you and tagged the official @steemit acct - hopefully it helps.
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https://twitter.com/BarryDutton/status/906923292325552129
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Oh, Barry thanks SO MUCH! I really appreciate it!! ๐
I know you do, things like this mean a lot when you are newer.
It means a lot to me, still, when people support my posts too.
If you read my posts and I think you do -- you see I maintain a
#MinnowMindset
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I know what it is like being new/lost here etc.
Too bad you're not a witness! You'd get my vote by now for sure :)
Again, thanks for your support, it means the world!
People have asked me to run a witness.
@klye and I kicked the idea around to run one together, I posed the idea months ago to him.
Thanks for the nice comments.
One of the things I did, and still do, is check out the comments page of the witness I'm considering voting for. This gives me a good idea of their level of engagement and how well they communicate.
It's hard to recommend someone in particular because what I may consider important may be irrelevant to you. It's worth the time and effort to do the research. I've been here almost a year and still have half my votes left. ;~D
Good for you - for community building and looking out for the little guys!
Tweeted this Minnow/witness post out to help out here and gave my input also Deb.
(:
Thanks for your reply! I will definitely do my research before I vote for somebody, that's for sure. It's just.. there are so many trees, I can't see the forest... If you catch my drift.
I voted for one witness so far. Kind of hoped for people to respond to this post with some really good community members who lack a few votes, so we could all vote for them and help them in their seat. But I guess I will have to do manual research, or perhaps let it happen more naturally as I encounter witnesses that seem trustworthy.
I just hope that witnesses don't become witnesses in the same way that posts make it to the trending page: the same people getting all the votes and smaller minnows/dolphins unable to get through!
You're welcome! It's a daunting project, no doubt. That's why I have over half my votes left. ;~D
The voting - be it for witnesses or just posts - has always been tilted towards the whales. It's an ongoing issue that has been through several forks and upheavals along the way. It's still not equitable and, sadly, I doubt it will ever be. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade and I don't want folks to get discouraged out of participation, however. Perhaps voting for 'minnow-minded' witnesses will be a step in the right direction. I certainly hope so!
In the meantime, I would recommend ignoring the trending page. It's not a fair representation of the platform, in my opinion. Tag searches are more fair and will get better content.
Just my .02 worth...
Oh, yes I never look at Trending anymore..
I think a lot could be improved actually if there were better UI and navigational and community building tools. Right now every post has to go through the same channel and it ends up being one chaotic shouting match where the loudest win. If we can apply better filters, or perhaps start mini-communities, that should decentralize everything again. Leaders in small communities can stand out and people can shine in their own right easier. The same should apply for witnesses.. perhaps some sort of election model, or having some sort of alternating 'banner' on the site where aspiring witnesses can advertise a small blurb. Anything but all this manual digging! 99% of the people are not this stubborn and determined as I am :)
edit: Also I am following you now, because you actually engage with people! Yay, real people!
Deb's a good one!!!
I did not know she was a witness/aspiring witness as well! Have been having a nice chat with her, so another vote there !
Deb's not a witness. She's just a good person, that is what I meant LOL
I noticed! Tried to vote for her, but couldn't. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, I guess? :)
Lol! No witness here. WAAAAAY above my head. Hell, I don't even have a 'smart' phone... just a dumb one for calls & text.
@barrydutton and I have been Steem-buddies for a while. He's a great cheeleader! ;~P
Haha, oh well, if you ever do get tech savvy enough, let me know!
Agreed on the chaos. Lol! From what I understand, the communities function is in the pipeline & supposedly due to be rolled out soon. That will be a tremendous help for navigation. Right now it's trying to take a sip from a fire-hose. I also keep telling myself to be patient and remember we're still in 'beta'. Discovering and resolving issues is the whole purpose. That said, it's still frustrating to see the lop-sidedness continue to be such an obvious problem.
Maybe you could turn your research into to a series of posts highlighting what your impressions are of the witnesses you're considering. At least that way, your time will be compensated...
Thank you for the compliment! It's nice to meet new folks and see the enthusiasm grow for this place. Glad to see your thoughtful input and are working to make the changes you'd like to see. Well done!
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I have yet to figure all of this out. I just joined Steemit a month ago. I am not in it for the currency (though earning rewards beats Facebook that you can't take to the bank), but I just like to get my posts out without getting censored (Facebook just locked me out a few days ago - https://steemit.com/facebook/@thermoplastic/wtf-facebook-i-am-royally-pissed-off).
PS: I don't even know what a "Witness" is, lol. The ones I vote for (and often resteem) are usually fellow artists that I either found here, or had known from Facebook before, and some are personal friends also.