Is Blockchain Based Social Media Creating A New Kind of Star

Hey Steemians

I just watched @meno latest post called Why do Youtubers Fail on Dtube/Steem and it got me thinking and I started writing a comment that got a little too long. So I thought I would change it into a post. No shame in a little self-promotion on my opinion hey?

I encourage you to check out his post, he makes some really good points that I do not tackle in my response

YouTube vs dTube

The Steemit blockchain has seen an explosion of dApps being built on top of it all with its own set of topics, niches, attractions and media types but one of the most popular and hotly contested ones would have to be @dtube

I personally haven't gotten into contributing on dTube but I do follow a few content creators that use the medium and have to say the formula for success is quite different. While YouTube did an amazing job of opening up the internet to the ordinary person who had a certain interest and wanted to share it with the world and in turn get paid and for their efforts, it's still a one-way medium. YouTube has essentially replaced TV in a sense and those who are successful on TV are those who are successful at reaching masses.

The YouTube model is based on views not on engagement so your content could be good it could be bad you get the same rewards because you're not rewarded on the context only on the views. It also allows users who have a following to ride the wave and produce sub-par content as their fan base will support it none the less since doesn't cost them money only time to view the content.

While dTubers need to adhere to a certain level of consistency as users on this platform are a lot harsher and if they going to sit and watch or read your content you need to wow or inspire them in order to get their upvote. One thing I am pretty fond of and like seeing with dTubers who are crushing it is maybe your initial content doesn't win them over but the debate that ensues in the comment does and you get your rewards. Which is what a decentralised platform is all about, opening discourse and exchanging ideas.

Image: Steemit - @lordmp27

Bringing over Youtubers

I totally get the idea of trying to encourage YouTubers to come over to dTube hopefully bring their audience with them, there are millions of users on Youtube if we are to capture 1% of them we would have a massive uplift in Steemit, but Its definitely a mindset change when moving over. While Facebook and Youtube and these other social media channels make it easier to cross post, Steemit is another ball game altogether.

I was personally pretty stoked when 2 YouTubers I followed came over to dTube and I would comment and upvote their posts because it was good content but quickly stopped as I noticed that's all they cared about. I never received a single response to any of my comments and it seems dTube was just another way to syndicate their content and perhaps earn some rewards in case their channel gets demonetized or to earn an additional income.

Bringing over YouTubers means they bring over the YouTube mentality of one-way mass communication. Like here is my content, love it, hate it, but above all just view it. Which is not an ideology that sits well with Steemians. If you don't engage, interact and validate us, we're not going to do the same. Actions need to be reciprocated and if you don't get that, then this is not the place for you.

I find this strange because my best posts came from ideas spawned in the comments section and why I haven't struggled with writer's block on Steemit as I did on my own blog before. There is a wealth of ideas and opinions on the platform all you have to do is respond.

Merit over fame

Since your rewards come from upvotes from the community it means you cannot take your audience for granted. Just because you have tons of followers doesn't mean your gaurneteed great rewards, which keeps content creators honest and on your toes. I've seen dTubers/dLive videos in the past that tanked because they were below par and it gives these creators the wake up call they need to up their game and improve.

Engagement over reach

As I mentioned Youtube is a mass medium, reach as many people as possible is the goal and it's been ingrained into these creators heads, it's their key motivation. While this was great for disrupting tv and other analogue mass mediums it's by no means the most authentic or efficient in my opinion.

Steemit is not about mass reach but about reaching like-minded people and helping these communites grow and support one another's interests. We're basically the Freemasons of the blockchain, we set the president, how things should go and we gather consensus together on what, when and how we support one another.

A space for new stars

Instead of trying to encourage YouTubers to adopt the platform perhaps its time we look at creating and encouraging our own flagship stars. I have no doubt dTube will eventually find its feet and we will see the Jacksepticeye, Markiplier, Pewdie Pie, the H3H3 of dTube and more. The trends will be a little different since the click bait medium won't work but those who are honest and committed to their craft will definitely have a chance of becoming dTube stars!

Ideally I'd like to see us build relationships and bonds, not megastars, but if that means fame, let it be!

Have your say?

What do you think of a shift into a more organic and authentic relationship with content creators?Do you think dApp based social media will provide a rival platform for traditional mediums in the future? What do you think we as a community need to do to reduce drop off rates of new users and encourage them to keep contributing?

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