I took these pictures with my iPhone at the NC Museum of Art!

Hello All!

The ideation has been percolating in my head for a while. This love affair I’ve been having with Steemit ever since late April this year often mimics being smitten or sometimes even the disappointment you feel with a new love early in the relationship. Sometimes you are ecstatic, sometimes hurt, excited, yearning … But, how do I explain that to you, so that you really understand what I am trying to convey here and have you leaving this post with my sanity still intact in your eyes?

Then it came to me it’s like that old song – Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered!

If you have ever been in love with a rascal, mesmerized by your own child, or fascinated by something just beyond your grasp or complete understanding, you will easily relate to this song.

It was originally written by popular songwriters Rodgers and Hart for a 1940's musical, Pal Joey. Over the years, many artists have payed tribute to this song, but I am choosing to feature Linda Ronstadt, who lost her mighty voice to Parkinson’s disease. Linda wore her angel wings when she sang Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered.

source

How to Explain?

Bewitched

Soon after I joined I was caught up in the blocks and cogs that propel Steemit into the future. I don’t know exactly what causes me to be so drawn to Steemit. Maybe it is all the great members, among the unknowns, the mystery, … and the promise of more unknowns and mystery.

Do you have a theory?

Bothered

Just before the recent hardfork (HF 21/22), I picked up that several Steemians were not happy about the new 50/50 award distribution, among a few other changes that HF 21/22 brought. It bothered me that people were so downhearted and upset.

After HF 21/22, I experienced my first “love taps” from the “serial downvoters” and then learned (in discord) that this was quite widespread. I will not mention any names here, because I don’t want to invoke the downvoting idiot spirits!

Shortly after the HF “downvoting virus” made its way through Steemit, a new gangster emerged, downvoting people, and charging them Steem ransom to prevent future downvotes from that scoundrel. I honestly feel sorry for anyone that is desperate or greedy enough to extort any value from another being.

I have also witnessed, albeit from a safe distance, some arguments and even some battles with voting often used as ammunition. I find this sad.

Steemit is just a sampling of the human population and sometimes it is troubling to see vivid images of the darker side of humanity playing out in front of you. Fortunately, the bulk of the Steemit community is populated by great, kind and decent people who will rally for you when you need them to do so.

Mostly Bewildered

In spite of that and even though I feel like I have a better understanding of the Steemit platform than I may have had back in May or June, I remain mystified by many things here.

Why do some of my posts get a huge response, while I can hardly garner attention for others? Do people just look at pictures and vote based on what they see? If that is true, then why are there 1000+ word posts that get a lot of support? I myself do not like to read long blog entries because they take too much time, so I keep this in mind when I construct mine.

I have noticed somewhat similar behavior on other social media. When I post a picture of my new boots, I get all kinds of love, likes and thumbs up emojis on these posts. But, when I post something about the environment, usually only those that are truly committed to making things better on our planet respond to my political / advocacy / calls to action writings.

I see some folks getting a few votes and high rewards from the mid-size to larger fish in the pond, and I see some folks get a mind-blowing amount of votes, but only getting a small share of rewards because all their votes came from tiny fish.

There have been some community contributors with great intentions - getting downvotes on original material, only for self-boosting their blog entries, when I know they are planning on reinvesting those rewards into their tribes or community initiatives. Why are they being punished?

Amazing People!

And what is most puzzling is how some of you manage to make so many great posts, provide support and curation for newcomers and your community members, make yourself available on discord, keep up with all the Steemit news and still have a life!

I know you have a life outside of Steemit, because I read about it in some of your blog posts! So, how about you?

Are you bewitched, bothered or bewildered?