Careful on the chainsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #steemit7 years ago

"The account is old and doesn't represent the brand I'm trying to promote. I would like to scrub it from existence."

This was the reasoning for a question last night asking how to delete a four month old post from Steemit. I checked some of the content, and I would want to delete it too though, I would never write it, let alone commit it to the blockchain.

And that is what this is here, a commitment that what one posts, whether in an article, a comment, an edit, a vote, a flag or any type of informational transaction will be recorded and become immutable until the lights eventually go out.

This should mean that people are relatively wary of what they choose to post, especially if they are putting their name behind it or, at some point they choose to 'come out' or get 'outed'. There is plenty of potential for doxxing here and many go out of their way to do so.

The issue, like this guy has discovered, is that a lot of trend content that is the flavour of the moment is very short lived and in hindsight, makes one look very short-sighted. This could be put down to 'young and dumb' but, this was four months ago. In the past, the rollover on trends could last years whereas now, it can be weeks or even days before it is well-worn and passe.

But, many of these trends are often quite polarising in nature and because so many people are trying to be 'popular', they swing wildly from one topic to another, one side to the next and then back again constantly. But, on the blockchain, this is all recorded.

For many, rather than seeing a constant learning curve and pathways of discovery, under investigation, most will look erratic and inconsistent in their approach. Bandwagon jumpers who ignored conversations until the trend was strong enough to join in. They aren't early adopters or creators, they are followers and regurgitators.

There is nothing wrong with following a trend but, when the trend discovery and disposal is traceable, it will be quite easy to see who is a real creator with experience, and who is trying to cash-in on a trend by using other's knowledge. Again, nothing wrong with cashing in but, how many times can one do it before people stop chasing the peak and start watching the swell as that will be traceable also?

In time and with better discovery tools and perhaps AI, the underground people and movements that generate the swells will be visible and those that are clingers trying to ride the coattails will be unable to gain traction. And their failures will become ever more apparent and public.

Those that fought very hard for one side may find themselves having to forever justify why they fought so hard and also justify why they were fighting at all. How can one justify if the 'correct' information was available and presented? There will be a receipt of every instance it was interacted with yet, one may have still chosen to ignore it or even attack it without real consideration?

From my perspective, there is no problem with being wrong and doing 180's as new information comes to light and understanding developed but, will everyone be forgiving? The blockchain in coming years is going to lead to a whole range of interesting situations where people of all kinds must defend, justify and likely be relatively embarrassed by what they have committed their future self to defending, long ago in the past.

As nearly everyone already knows, the core concept behind blockchain is that the information is decentralised and unchangeable, even after edits and deletes, information lives on. So, if you are unsure about the future and what you may want to do, be connected to or distanced from, think a little before clicking 'POST' as there will be no scrubbing from existence anytime shortly.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

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While it is good to remind people that what they write here is written in concrete even if they evolve, it shouldn't deter anyone from being flighty with their opinions. The kind of people who judge us should not be the kinds of people we're interested in reaching be they a fan or a nemesis.

When I was in my 9th year of day prison I was given something called the Kuder Preference Test. The system was using technocracy to try and find where I would fit into the slave force. There were probably 100 questions and each question had four choices. As you answered the questions it was supposed to form a pattern to show what skills and what occupation the student was inclined toward so that he could be channeled and trained for the job market. I couldn't pass it.

They accused me of not answering the questions honestly. I had to take it again and I failed again. Each question was something like: What would you rather do: help an old lady cross the street, repair a watch, play baseball, work out a math equation? Just like on the ballot, there was no "none of the above." Within the four choice parameter I was forced to choose one. The next question was four different choices of which I had to pick one. No pattern emerged, except that I was very low on the social type occupations. Mostly showed what I didn't want to do, and yet here I am on a social network.

My occupational life matched that test. I worked as a logger, a mill worker, computer tech, a solar installer, a landscaper, a crew chief, a chiropractor, a short order cook, a nurseryman and a newspaper columnist. In my 50s I tried to get a job up north in the oil patch but because I was old and hadn't wasted 20 years perfecting one skill set, nobody wanted to hire me. I only ever worked for money, not for the joy of the job since what I did in my free time was what inspired me...temporarily. I could go through that long list too but this is only a comment, not my blog.

The short of it is that some of us are all over the place and do not squat in one particular spot or get hung up on one particular opinion. Our opinions depend on the context of the subject being addressed. It's unfair and narrow minded to fault someone for that.

I can understand wanting to go back and delete things you've written in the past. I destroyed 7 journals; over 1000 pages that I wrote as I traversed a rather difficult period of my life. I didn't destroy them for many years, but when I went back and started to re-read them, I realized that if I didn't destroy them, someone might read them after I was dead and form an opinion of me based solely on those journals. I didn't want to be remembered that way.

But it was a genuine me in a particular phase of my long and tumultuous life. It was full of self-pity but it was honest. I guess my bottom line here is that as we roll down this road paved with good intentions sometimes the wheels fall off and we have to put them back on. You have to be yourself in the moment and not be to hard on yourself when a few moments later you become somebody else. That's just how life is for some of us. For me, to be something other than what I am would be way too boring. I wouldn't have it any other way.

My advice to your friend is to write with passion and to the best of his or her ability and realize that tomorrow is another day, another you and realize that people aren't really thinking about you at all. They're thinking about themselves and what you and other people are thinking about them.

Wow, your life has got to be rich with stories worth telling and listening. I'm in my early 20's, definitely a young lady compared to you, and I still find myself hard to believe a person can go through so many jobs!

Hearing from you, I have to agree. The wrong opinions and regrettable actions are what made us who we are today and there is no deleting that.

The problem comes from others who will take events out of context and judge us as a whole based on that one isolated event, whether what we did or what we say.

I think therefore we can either embrace being wrong, or recognize the fact that whatever we say will be scrutinized either presently or in the future, and so act with that awareness in mind.

I'd love to read more life stories from you. Wisdom only comes from experience and I already have a feeling that you have many of that to offer.

Steem On and stay Awesome!

Thank you. You've made my day. I've enjoyed my life immensely though some would say I wasted it. Therein lies my first and second recommendation to you.

  1. Your 20's are your true golden years. Don't waste them going to school, starting a family or entering a career. You'll never have those eye-opening experiences backed by boundless energy, a healthy body (and great sex!) again.

  2. Don't concern yourself with the opinions of other people. Most people will waste their lives trying to get rich or famous or popular and will fail miserably. Sure, you might work hard and end up with a great retirement income that lets you visit swank resort hotels that insulate you from the real culture of a country, but you won't have the energy (or desire) to do much more than vegetate. That's the truly wasted life IMHO. Follow your own drummer.

Thank you so much for your sage advise. I've been blessed enough to fail my A-level equivalent so i had to drop out of the education system at the age of 19. Dont plan to marry until at least in my 30's.

Sure, you might work hard and end up with a great retirement income that lets you visit swank resort hotels that insulate you from the real culture of a country, but you won't have the energy (or desire) to do much more than vegetate.

I'm so scared of that. I don't ever want to end up like that.

You won't. People end up like that who don't see it coming. My generation was all about accumulating junk. With my kids it was all about consumption. Your generation appears to be all about experience. That's what I personally was about.

Experience generates wisdom. It cannot be otherwise. A Beemer gets you nothing but debt. Go forth and rack up those memories. There will always be those doors you didn't open and those paths you didn't walk. You can't explore them all, but you'll be able to experience more of life if you aren't sitting in a cubicle for the next 40 years.

I do envy your youth but not your era. I hitch hiked the perimeter of Mexico in the 70's. I don't think I'd do that today. But then again, they told me I was crazy to do it at the time and so maybe my reluctance is simply the loss of intrepidness that naturally comes with age. There is a lot to be said about the innocence of youth. Have a great life!

@citizenzero you need to make this a post (in a few weeks time so I have time to transfer some Sparkling Steem and PowerUp) so I can Upvote you on this!

Thanks, but I seem to generate more Steem with my comments than I do with my replies. Go figure!

My advice to your friend is to write with passion and to the best of his or her ability and realize that tomorrow is another day, another you and realize that people aren't really thinking about you at all.

Yes, this is my point in part. People are chasing what will be popular, like bad clothing fashion. The problem is that it is largely an act, not them at all and they know it already. They are always one foot out of life in my opinion and although potentially successful, there is an emptiness there.

This guy in chat regretted following a particular news line that was popular with a false hard stance that he likely never came close to holding.

There is no problem with this but there are always consequences to actions.

From my perspective, there is no problem with being wrong and doing 180's as new information comes to light and understanding developed but, will everyone be forgiving?

IMO It's pretty important we support and allow this socially. Reminds me of this protestor.

Whatever about what this particular protestor was about, the message is one I support. But to temper it, you know, do think about your opinions before broadcasting them 😅

The tempering is the issue as people do 180s, 90s, 270s, 3s, 16s, 127s..... and then no longer know where they stand. :)

True enough 😂 Maybe we need a flow chart or something...

I did it! 😆

I like your heart @personz....I really do, oh yeah....me likes your flow-chart concepts, we'll call it personz-opinion-graph tracker bot.

u rulz with charity of spirit and generosity of hope!

Thanks! 😊

Oh how utterly grateful I am that Facebook and the like did not exist when I was in high school! I feel sorry for kids that grow up with the internet.

I do try my best to adhere to no drinking and facebooking!

@tarazkp .....That...Is...A...Damn....Fine....Post.

Imagine the field day social psychologist will have in the near future mining human interaction from Steem.

Imagine the impact of Bots Matching People to Followers, to Advertizers, to Products and Services.

Imagine.....a global EMP when the poles shift, then all the lights go out, and we restart again with a new chain :)

you have earned a follower today good Sir

Up-Vote for thoughtful catalyst to guide Steem (and other blockchains) participants to be critical thinkers....or at least show some care and thoughtfulness beyond just checking spelling and grammar before doing a digital write.

Most people don't seem to realise that everything remains on the internet - not just the block chain!

https://archive.org/web/web.php

Yes. Perhaps the difference is the immutable part and the chain of custody issues...

I confess here that I in fact have made some serious gains from jumping bandwagons before. No, not monetary gains by upvotes, but favors and attention which I believe worth more and upvotes ever will.

Even so, looking back I won't be regretting them anytime soon. It is possible to jump trends and still be historically correct. One just gotta know when to hold and when fold.

I guess because how new this platform and idea is, and how low the barrier of entry is, some people will not truly appreciate the power and permanence of the blockchain, and by the time they do, it's too late. Just look at the amount of people shouting "follow4follow" and my point is clear.

It would change though, some early pioneers who did it wrong will die with arrows in their backs. Vote beggars that go no where for example. And with time people will understand how to actually leverage this platform to not only be paid for creating content but ultimately have their voice heard.

I don't even mind about being historically incorrect but being faced with correct and then shunning it for popular is not my area, no matter the gains possible. It is a naive position I am willing to admit and one that rarely serves me well :)

Owh no no.. No way I'm putting down what I believe in place of popular. I resonate with you on that. It just doesn't bode well with me to go against what I stand for (either correct or incorrect in hindsight) just to be "in" with the masses.

I usually just go quiet when the pitchforks or parade flags are raised against what I agree with. Though that itself breeds another whole new problem I realise.

People must know this is the blockchain and it's immutable and uncompromising. History is written by whoever writes it because it's the blockchain Yo!

It's good blog, I read it and it's happen some time some good creators are done good and trending but some of them only for earning and use another post thanks for your post like it.

Try reading the posts instead of just randomly commenting.

Excellent post. I invite to visit my blog. Good luck.

Not only are you cutting and pasting comments, your blog is in Spanish.

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