Are Charity Posts Bad For Steemit?
Look at these assholes ruining this wonderful platform with their attempts to make the world a better place! I never thought I would face criticism for trying to help a charity. I guess I was wrong.
Anyone that follows me has probably seen that I've been running a charity drive on Steemit for the last 3 weeks in order to raise money for Ask Me Why I'm Here (AMWIH).
This ruffled the feathers of one particular user who told me:
Look, I'm not trying to start any drama here. That's why I haven't posted this user's name. But I think his/her points ought to be addressed.
I've had almost a week to consider this person's point of view. Here are the arguments and what I've come up with in response:
Arguments Against Charity
Basically, the argument goes that my article did not meet the criteria of real content. A charity post like the one I made adds nothing to Steemit, it only asks for money. This isn't what Steemit should be about. Steemit is about reward content creators for making something that is valuable to the community.
This next point is more a criticism of my title than anything else. My title stated a goal and directly asked for votes. This is "plain pandering." Directly asking for votes disqualifies what I wrote from being quality content.
Arguments For Charity
Rebuttal:
- The idea that I'm attempting to expoit the platform is kind of a funny one. I'm not seeking personal gain through my charity posts, and I'm not doing anything shady. I'm using the mechanisms built into the platform to try to help others. I do agree that Steemit should be about a lot more than just asking for money. I would argue that most, if not all, of these charity posts do have content beyond the ask. They raise awareness of a group or cause and give a positive message to the community. In each one of my charity posts I added blurbs about the members of the group, their work in their community and my own philosophy. It may not be much, but it is content.
- We're all adults here. We know that a big part of success is having a headline that will grab the attention of other Steemit users. I'm guilty of click-bait. We all are to some extent. However, I don't think click-bait is a bad thing unless it's a bait-and-switch. As I argued above, my article had real content. I wasn't baiting people over to my article and then giving them nothing in return. This writer criticized me for not even including the name of the charity in the title. Perhaps this was a mistake on my part, but I'm sure you can understand my reasons: If the charity is relatively unknown, their name may not be enough to bring in an audience. So I opted to put a call to action in the title.
I'll concede that I do understand the arument that this poster was making. Steemit is not simply about asking for money for personal reasons. We need to produce real content that the community finds valuable. But like I argued above, there's no solid reason to claim that charity posts can't be valuable content.
Conlusion
I see no reason not to use this platform's money-making potential for a good cause. I will continue to do so. If this bothers you then you don't have to vote on my charity posts. That's how the platform works.
~Seth
P.S. All proceeds from this post will go to AMWIH. Even if you don't like charity posts, I hope you found this discussion valuable enough to be considered worthy of an upvote.
I did try one charity post. The result was zero. Without click baiting, the future results will also be zero. So I will plan my future charity posts better and use all the tricks available.
Simple 'here is a good cause, please donate' is just not enough, I am afraid.
As for the begging part - where do the asking for help ends and begging starts?
Ignore them and move on!
I think if someone came on and just asked for charity without a story, it would be inappropriate. But they can do what they want.
Why someone would find promoting general charity is beyond me. I welcome the opportunity to help, however little it may be.
Also, it's disingenuous to call raising charity "personal reasons". Trying to help others is "personal reasons", but posting for personal profit isn't?
Keep up the great work.
The community rules itself... If the community finds a post unworthy of getting money, it doesn't. People are allowed to have their opinions. You're also allowed to not care about their opinion.
My opinion? Fuck 'em. Do you. :)
I always find it strange when people feel compelled to be mean. If you don't like a post move on, unless you have a valid criticism and as a charity blogger you will need to be even more open than most. If Steemit is going to grow as a community, all members need to be represented. Good luck and all the best.
I'm not sure their intention was to be mean... but I was so taken aback by those criticisms.
I think it was, but disregard them.
Using Steemit to raise Awareness and Funds for Charity , it's the smartest thing ever. We will do more good than Harm , for Content that should be free in the first place . There should be more appreciation but greedy people just want everything to themselves. If there any abusive person , tag me and i will sort them out properly!