Anyone Else Think Steemit Feels Like A Ghost Town? Is it Proof that Without Financial Incentive Steemit isn't that Great?
Steemit Feels Like A Ghost Town
I typically login to Steemit every single day. I'll checkout some posts, claim some rewards, and if I have content to post I'll post some content.
Lately it feels to me like Steemit is a ghost town. Many of my favorite Steemians are nowhere to be found. People who were posting everyday or even multiple times per day havn't posted in days or even a week or more.
It's totally understandable, I mean I too feel like not only Steemit, but the entire crypto space is kind of boring right now and in a holding pattern. While I still have remained active on Steemit, I'll admit I'm not posting as much as I normally do. As far as crypto goes, this is gonna sound crazy but I havn't checked CoinMarketCap or gone on a crypto Subreddit in probably over a month and I'm someone who used to live crypto, first thing I'd do when I woke up is check prices, last thing I did before I went to bed was check crypto prices and every hour in between. I've kind of purposely decided to take a step back from crypto, as they say a watched pot never boils. That said I have remained pretty active on here because Steemit is a community, I have friends here, etc, it's more than just your average cryptocurrency.
That said seeing Steemit turn into a bit of a ghost town is somewhat telling. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to attack Steemit, I'm just speaking my truth.
For a long time I've heard people say Steemit is the best social media site out there. Watch out Youtube within 6 months Steemit is gonna take you out. Don't get me wrong, I get the whole circle jerk that happens around insular sites like Steemit. I saw people on VidMe talking about how great VidMe was, even though the site was complete shit, that's before it went under, I believe they are keeping it live for a few weeks and then shutting it down.
Here's my point though. Steemit is a great concept. I love the decentralized nature of it. I love that no central person is in control and there's no central authority. On the heels of this Facebook data news, it's nice that Steemit isn't selling our personal data and harvesting metadata from our phones to sell to advertisers and Presidential candidates. And I also love the fact that rather than the platform getting rich, each of us have the opportunity to earn from our content as well as our attention. That's truly groundbreaking and an awesome concept.
That said when it comes to content, let's be honest, Steemit isnt about content and it isn't about creating quality content, nor is it about comming here to view content. Steemit as it currently stands is about playing the game. It's like an online version of Big Brother or Survivor. Come find your tribe, make your alliances, upvote each other and profit. Find a way to create some bots, use Steemvoter to upvote you and your friends, occasionally upvote yourself. Try to befriend whales. Steemit has very little to do with consuming content or creating quality content. I feel like were all creators with no viewers, people will quickly peruse and scan somone's content enough to be able to formulate a content that seems like they read it, so they can be rewarded for their comment.
If I'm being perfectly honest I spend hours per day on Reddit and Youtube. The content is interesting, it's engaging, it's well produced, and much of it is long form content. It's witty and it's about topics that I'm interested in. It's very easy to find the type of content I want, it's very easy to engage with likeminded people into what I'm into, and they also have amazing algorithms that know exactly the type of content I want. I can start watching a Youtube short documentary about North Korea and 5 hours later be watching another documentary about an adventurer sailing around the world solo. Youtube has a way of serving up video after video that I want to see and it keeps me engaged and on the platform.
Here on Steemit so much content is halfass content thrown up just for the sake of creating content and hopefully earning a buck. Because we can only earn for 7 days nobody wants to put in the effort to create super long form content or make a movie or documentary just for this platform. As it currently stands, at least in my opinion, it's not worth creating origional content for this platform alone, unless your creating content for another platform with another way to monetize it, it's just not worth the time or effort.
You Think I'm Wrong?
For anyone who thinks I'm wrong, or who wants to come to Steemit's defense, I think the fact that Steemit has turned into a ghost town is pretty telling. When the money is good everyone is here all rah rah Steemit, when crypto is down, and everyone isn't profiting all the sudden this place isn't really where people want to spend their time. If Steemit was so great people wouldn't disapear like most people are disapearing now. While Steemit is an amazing concept, the excecution has a long ways to go.
I'm not trying to criticize this platform or anyone, I'm just speaking what I see as the reality. I think too often with a platform like Steemit or any new platform people want to be supportive of it and that's great. But sometimes people get so caughtup in the circle jerking and in being supportive that they ignore the shortcommings of a platform. Let's all be honest with ourselves, while Steemit is great and has a lot of promise, there's a lot wrong with it, and it has a long way to go. I think communities will go a long way to help people better connect and find content they want.
Let Me Say Some Positive Shit Too
I know I've been beating up on Steemit like Ron Jeremy on a pornstars behind, but let me leave you guys with some positive shit as well.
As I started off with, Steemit is an amazing platform. It's the marriage between social media and decentralization. The union between social media and web 3.0 and cryptocurrency.
This platform has no central authority to demonetize us and no corporation to harvest our data and treat us like products while invading our privacy, that's truly amazing. It's also amazing that unlike sites like Facebook where we are the product and they profit off us, Steemit allows each and everyone of us to earn off of our content as well as our attention which is one of the most valuable things out there in this media world were living in.
There's also a lot of amazing content on here but we need more of it.
I think Steemit is awesome. I have earned over $10 k here since June 17 simply sharing my art work and photography. My whole family is on here now and doing well. We are artists and grew tired of posting work elsewhere (Facebook, Instagram etc) where Zuckerbergmakes $$$ from our work. YouTube is still ok for earning $300/ mo but that’s it.
started Jan having moved from YouTube and am loving it so far! I’m learning something new everyday and when you find a decent community or people that share a vision it’s brilliant, and for artists it’s perfect!! So what if the markets down 1/100 is the money for me (that’s what drew me in 100%) but now am 99/100 for the meaning and ethos behind the platform and the fact I can share my love work and ideas to the whole world :)
Steemit and Steem are the best. I wish I had joined in 2016
I never felt this way to be honest. I joined Discord channels to improve relationships. I do feel like content here can be lackluster or posted just to earn money, but I am enjoying my time here. I have made some good gains and made new friends.
At the same time, I feel like Steemit might be an experiment. They want to come up with SMT for people to implement on their own site. Sites like Steemit, Busy, DTube show a proof of concept, but who knows, maybe the future of Steem is to implement SMTs on other sites and Steem tokens being use for bandwidth.
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I totally agree, which is part of the reason why I personally will be taking a break, due to most of the things you pointed out, and after studying the Steemit statistics.
The platform is not growing, in fact, it's doing the exact opposite, and most of the interaction is done by bots, or by third worlders who don't even speak English, and who just post memes in your comment section trying to get a few cents.
I'm taking a break mate, and I hope when I come back, that Steemit will be a thriving and informative place on the internet... just as it was originally meant to be.
@yallapapi had a great post the other day, kind of a rant and very comical kind of touching on this. He talked about how someoen from a third world country the earnings may be worth their time, but for someone in the USA or Canada or Australia, were very fortunate to have all the opportunities we have available to us ie Paypal, Affiliate Programs, Youtube Monetization, etc, etc, etc. There's so many things that are way more lucrative.
I really like Steemit, I really hope it can turn it around. I'll probably continue posting on here because heck I'm already posting to Youtube, what's another 5 seconds to repost here even if it does only earn me 0.30 cents, however its going to be less and less interesting when my friends aren't on here. I connect a lot with you, @brianphobos , @emmyem84 , @kenanqhd , @mitchyb @reseller , the list goes on and on and on, but I'm noticing many of these guys I used to interact with on a daily basis I havn't seen them in 4 or 5 days a week, etc. As my friends aren't around on here there's less and less reason for me to come on here though I think I'll still stick around
Yeah, I just see that the platform is dying, and the only thing that is happening, is the people at the top are getting huge payouts by bots, but if you look at their comment sections, they never interact with anyone, because why would they... the bots are already giving them everything they need.
Yeah, I'm starting to think the only way to really succeed and make any money and grow on here is to build a team and within that team we only upvote each other, we resteem each others posts, etc. We grow as a group and we continue to help each other grow. Yeah its stingy in a way, yeah its not really what is best for this platform but shit its really the only way to make a dent on here imho at least the way things currently stand.
I have some Steemit friends on here who have been having a ton of success pretty quickly and was really excited for them and I dont know exactly what changed, I just know Steemit is shittier as of late and I see these people disappearing which really kind of confirms everything I'm thinking
Yep, it's how I feel, plus the bots and the circles are in fact making it all, and to be maverick on here isn't really possible.
Plus, unlike on Facebook, when you have the amount of followers that you have, they all see your posts in your feed, so their's no excuse to have 1,000 followers, and only 20 up-votes.
I believe that we will experience huge wave of interest with steemit once market will recover. Till then it will be getting quieter slowly but steadily.
I want to see actually interest, meaning staying power, so I will reassess in an about a year or so.
Im afraid I've lost you :(9
Not everyone wants to create content. Not everyone is capable.
Writing a book or a song and getting royalties is a good gig, if you can do it, and it pays for a very long time.
The fact that nobody looks at your posts on Steemit if you don’t have big voting power, coupled with the fact that even good content does not pay after 7 days, and a shitty search feature, do not make for a lot of incentive.
As many others I started with the idea that I will post some articles I wrote in my area of expertise. I tested the waters first with something designed for a broader audience.
Nobody is looking, it’s a waste of time.
I am not looking to make a living creating content. I did not expect big money here. But since I am also not willing to buy SP and to pay bots, writing post graduate level articles to post here is totally useless.
I enjoy the interaction, and I think of @Tolkatore as a friend. But I totally understand the frustration.
Hey thanks bud, but I'll be taking a long break, and maybe when I come back, real growth will have come along with it, but this whole staying in the same spot, with the whales raping the rewards via bots all day is not something I want to stick around for.
Plus, now that Google is banning cryptocurrency related advertising, I have a sneaky suspicion that they will be giving Steemit a whole lot less weight in search now too.
Enjoy your travels my friend. I’m sorry to see the Tolkatore Café closed down and I’ll miss the interaction.
All the best to you
I will be back, I'm just stepping back, because the numbers are just getting worse.
I'll miss our interactions too, but if you're around in a year, hell if Steemit is, we'll get back to those interactions. I wish the best to you as well my friend, and good luck!
This is the first Steemit post about Steemit that I've seen that doesn't sound like all-out propaganda. Thanks for the honesty.
I'm a new user, and I was excited at first to try this out. But I've been here a few weeks now and I am getting the impression that this place is pretty dead.
It's tricky business when the main selling point of a platform is the money-making, not the content or the relationships. This taints everything from the get-go, because it attracts a wave of people whose main motivation is money. It really undermines the building of a legit, resilient community.
That said...I'm still here. I'm still intrigued by the concept of Steemit. And I hope that once the gold-rush people are all gone, those who remain can rebuild something cool over time and breathe new life into the platform.
Id say give it a little more time but if after a week or two your not enjoying it move on as we are on kijd of a downswing. You may want to checkout smoke.io a new platform similar to steemit
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Yep, agree with your observations, steemit is regressing. The only people profiting here are those with big following bases from other social media channels, they may post 2 memes and 2 sentences andthey got the big rewards, whereas quality content is not viewed at all.
Yeah that's really a shame. Not only whales but also people with a big Youtube or Social Media following come on here and it's automatic money for stolen memes while some people are putting out great long form content that's very good thats earning $1.
Also my favorite Steemians who I normally check everyday and see a new post havn't been on in days or weeks. If this platform was so great and so engaging people wouldn't dry up when the money slows down. The truth of the matter is Youtube, Reddit, etc at this point in time are better platforms. Not to knock Steemit, obviously it's a lot newer, its working out the kinks and growing and figuring out what it is. I think the next hard fork which has communities should be pretty good but Steemit needs to improve
Very true. The fact that content can be monetized for not more than 7 days, people tend to create smaller posts. More focus is towards earning maximum rewards. Without the rewards Steemit would definitely not be this popular. It would just be yet another social media.
Yeah for me I post on Youtube so Steemit is just a bonus, but if I was creating content just for Steemit, its understandable why people don't make long form content, don't make documentaries or short films, because you have a very small window to earn and nothing after that. On Youtube I"m earning money from videos I made in 2010
Some passive income strategy on a post here will help. But I doubt such a provision is possible here on Steemit.
Do you mean you want to see me make some content on passive income or that earning passive income from this platform would be nice?
In terms of passive income I'm a big believer that nothing is truly passive, I think leveraged income is what we should aim for and seperating our time from money. Things that are passive require a lot of work upfront to get them that way adn even then they require maintenance or they will decline over time
I couldn't agree more @rulesforrebels. I joing in mid Decemeber so lots of people posting and engaging was my norm. Now, as you say, many of those people have stopped posting altogether and are longer commenting.
"That said when it comes to content, let's be honest, Steemit isnt about content and it isn't about creating quality content, nor is it about comming here to view content. Steemit as it currently stands is about playing the game."
That paragraph says it well in my opinion although there are still a lot of people here who are here to do "good" and are flogging on regardless. I think they genuinely care about other things than the money so they are still talking to each other and are happy. My feeling is they are in the minority though.
I have reduced the amount I post too and the length of my posts. How much longer I will keep going I'm not sure but it gets harder and harder to motivate myself. Apart from a few loyal responders it feels like I'm posting to the void most of the time.
I think the bots are a huge problem as they are continuing to grow. I read yesterday that they now account for more than 20% of the SBD pay outs. If that continues as it is there will be nothing left for humans.
It will be interesting to see what develops from here. Last year and this year are like chalk and cheese to me. 😊
I agree with bots being a huge problem on here. I think bots for voting are maybe okay but for commenting and posting content it's a cancer to Steemit.
Do you blog on a wordpress site or Youtube or do something in addition to Steemit? I find that if you can create content and distribute it across multiple platforms its much more worthwhile. I make a video for Youtube, it earns a bit there so Steemit is just icing on the cake.
It was the voting bots I was referring to @rulesforrebels. They currently take 20% of all SBD and it's growing apparently.
I don't post anywhere else anymore. Sometimes I do a vlog on Youtube but that's so I can put in on Steemit. I have a few wordpress sites but haven't posted on them for a long time! 😊
The real long term asset here is quality followers; and they've never been easier to get than right now.
If you're posting quality content, there are eyeballs trying to find it.
If you've struggled to be heard over all the noise, enjoy finally having a voice when everyone else goes quiet.
It won't last long.
@mattclarke you make a fantastic point. Many people have a very short attention span. Something is great until the first sign of trouble and then everyone moves on. I see the same thing happening with Amazon Merch right now, sales slow down a bit and everyone talks about I'm gonna take a break until sales pick back up.
I thought that was kinda silly. Sales and traffic and pickup on a dime. I'd much rather keep putting up shirts. If someoen takes a month off, at 50 shirts uploaded per day which is probably more ambitious than realistic but at 50 shirts per day after a month I got 1500 more shirs uploaded than them.
I think in business or even in growing a following if you can persevere when tohers go away it can be very powerful. Right now the earnings are shit and even the experience on here is kinda shit with a lot of the people I like being absent but like you said right now is a great time to gain a following and maybe "catch up" to some people who were ahead of you if they take a step back. Oftentimes playing the longterm game can really put you ahead
I'm not here for now. I'm here for 2023.
Good point.
However, I believe steemit will get big by 2020, or it will not.
Well you certainly have some good points there. I think it partially has to do with the fact that it is a blockchain platform. This of course attracts mainly crypto interested people. A lot of them purchased cons from late december on. And some are just in deep shit. Most people only wat to brag about their wins, about being a dolphin or whale on steemit. They don’t like writing about losses. That’s way some leave.
Other do leave because their contents just doesn’t get enough value! And other leave because they thought that it was a quick rich scheme, which it is not!
On the other side subscriptions are coming with 1000s a day. Fresh meat. Some of these do belong the one of the 3 groups above! Some will invest time or money in it and will stay for a while.
But yes, quality posts are decreasing, the 7 days do hurt. All valid points!
Thx for your viewpoint. It’s appreciated!
Only time will tell!