It is Time to Give Steemit the Kind of Content it Tells me it Craves

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This is certainly not the first time that I have attempted to establish a following. In some form or other I've been trying to do so for a good decade. At various points I have paused to ask myself "what is the point?".

I never truly had an adequate answer. It was purely about self-expression.

But the thing about self-expression is that it isn't a scheduled thing.

It doesn't come in bite-sized morsels that translate well to all mediums.

And Steemit Hasn't Been Giving Me Good Vibes.

Nobody likes to hear criticism - and I'm not even going to delve into the demoralizing element of having comments, up-votes and other efforts vanish to a system that is unable to cope with the pressures that it is being subjected to.

No, rather I'm going to (again) take a poke at those who feel that engaging in self-up-votes and circular voting is in some way a valid form of 'content curation'.

Rather, I am going to take a poke at those who treat their up-vote not as a curation tool but as an investment tool.

Oh look! A really interesting post! Lets not up-vote for a bit because of the 30-minute rule. And lets pay more attention to the Reputation, Steem Power and Number of Followers that a user has than the content that this user has chosen to grace the blockchain with.

Whether such be a well-edited earth-shaking revelation... or a 60-second meme text inserted to an image (probably not taken by oneself) to make it a 'derivative work'. Or equivalent...

And we, the unfavored many, get to watch as their modest efforts (and this is putting it kindly) consistently elicit a gush of contrived generosity.

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And then we get to ask ourselves... "Why?"

Especially when we surpass Reputation 52 and are no longer eligible to the lightning strikes of likes of @curie. Never mind that reputation is not a reliable indicator of one who is able to get by on his or her own Steem - pun intended.

Its like finding your way down an endless dark tunnel on a raft with a spent solar powered pulse engine, with the current pulling you ever deeper and further away from the light as our hands splash ineffectively in the water.

Steemit's 7-day Payout Period Supports This

One can publish anything to Steemit - and make cents for one's effort.

Better than facebook or just about any other potential location for blogging or self-publishing... but is this all that its cracked up to be?

Here is a conundrum for all to ponder.

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The value of our content (or more accurately, the speculation surrounding the perceived value of our content collectively) is part of what gives the Steem blockchain value. However there exists a 7-day payout. Suggesting that the value of information is confined to a seven day period.

Right...

Something does not quite add up.

And that which doesn't add up is the effort-to-rewards ratio.

Which leads to a bit of a wake-up call.

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If it truly is the case that content is voted upon not on the basis of its quality but rather as part of a calculated effort in investment - then there truly isn't any point in delivering more than the Steemit platform itself is sending signals that it deserves.

Even now I wonder if I've placed too much effort upon this post.

But then again, like I said earlier, inspiration doesn't come in the shape and dose requested. Sometimes self-expression has a value all of its own.

And - in recognition of that which I have observed upon Steemit - I shall begin to 'live down' to expectations. After all - the problem isn't with those who have got it good - but with the rest of us.

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If you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.

If you have some feedback for me then feel free to share your views in comments. A civil conversation can go a long way.

Sincerely,

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