Without a doubt, the Steem Ecosystem has changed a lot since I first became part of it, in January of 2017.
Back then, I got off to an enthusiastic start because I felt like I was becoming part of a new incarnation of the old "Social Blogging" venues I was part of, back in 1999-2006... and which I — quite frankly — missed quite a lot.
In many ways, it seemed like the original Steem vision of @dan suggested that this would be a somewhat "mixed use" social content site, but with a considerable emphasis on content creation. I even remember some phrase about Steemit (as it was referred to, at the time) becoming a sort of "permanent repository of information" on the blockchain.
As such, it all felt like something I could "get behind," and two-years-and-change later, I feel pretty good about having stayed true to my original intent.
Purple heather in close-up
A Look Around the April 2019 Landscape
This morning, I spent a little time doing something I haven't done in a very long time: I looked at the "New" feed for a while; refreshing the page about every two minutes or so.
What I see today — aside from the current "reputation glitch — is definitely not the Steemit site I became part of.
Now, I'm not going to cast this in a "bad" or "good" light, it simply is what it is.
But as I looked at the unrolling feed — some 5-10 new items coming online every minute — I started wondering what would actually be left over if you removed all the largely "automatic" posts.
- Remove all the DrugWars battle posts.
- Remove all the ActiFit updates.
- Remove all the SteemHunt links.
- Remove all the "naked" Appics shares.
- Remove the various Dlike links.
- Remove all the SteemMonsters posts.
There are probably others, but no mind... my question is "What do we end up with, with all those gone?"
Not a whole lot.
Sure, there's still a lot of "worthy" content, but it's only a fraction of what it was, a couple of years back. Certainly, the total number of posts is significantly higher than March 2017, but what sorts of posts are they?
A daisy in the sun...
Towards "General" Social Media
From where I am sitting — and just a reminder, I'm not saying this is BAD, just pointing out that it EXISTS — what we're looking at here is the general "Facebook-ification" of our community. Rather than a "content driven" venue, we have ended up with something that's basically about people posting whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like it and nobody really cares what sort of impression it leaves, whether within the community, or on those on the outside looking in.
However, the difference is that on Facebook I can filter out the eternal CandyCrush, Angry Birds and FarmVille posts from my feed.
I can also sort my "friends" into groups, and just view filtered feeds according to metrics I set. I don't get to do that, here.
Now some might pipe in and say "Yeah, but you can just use SteemPeak, Partiko, Busy.... "
Problem number two — and I am mostly speaking to this from the perspective of "how this looks to others who might consider joining our community" — is that over on Farcebook, or LinkedIn or somewhere else you DON'T have to go use some third-party app to make the primary venue usable!
I think this is perhaps where we went astray when Ned decided that Steem really wasn't about "being a social venue," but about "building apps on the blockchain."
Nice idea... but who do you think is USING those apps? They don't "use themselves." And apps are pretty meaningless if they don't have users!
Tiny flower on the lawn...
Encouraged by Recent Initiatives
I do find myself feeling somewhat encouraged by recent initiatives that seem more oriented towards building community.
From the "Bigger Middle Class" idea to the "10,000 Minnows" project, it feels like there's a growing number of voices from within who are taking it upon themselves to focus on content and connections again.
And that makes me feel like I have not entirely wasted the past two years, pumping something I hope is of some value into an ecosystem that's purely a giant pity of automatic posts.
Hopefully, you're feeling something similar...
Have a great day, and thanks for reading!
What direction do YOU think this place is taking? Are recent initiatives at community building "too little, too late?" Or will they change things, gradually? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190416 14:03 PST
0979
When I first joined the platform in July 2017, before all the steemhunt, actifit, etc it was ALL about communication, connections and interactions.
I learned MUCH more from the other gardeners and homesteaders on steemit than anywhere else online.
The six tags you mentioned above are all over my feed as well; and I do understand that people come to steemit for one reason and their ideas change as they become more active and see what the platform,t he developers and app-builders are presenting. I can understand it and appreciate people who have a prolific life.
but on the other end of the spectrum... I am OCD and like things in their place. Categorize it all.. keep it all nice and neat. So when I see many things and topics that do not interest me... I tend to get frustrated. I really don't play games (so steemmonsters and DW hold no special place in my viewing heart)... I don't count all my steps throughout the day so actifit isn't on my radar and steemhunt... not going to get started there.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
@denmarkguy and @goldendawne
BOOOM!
And the same goes for the rest of the post. Not going to repeat what I've said before. It's the community that keeps me here. And knowing that when I have both "fluff" and something "real" to say, there's a platform!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I think of steemit as the ibm of steem that will disappear under its own weight. I only post with dapps now since they pay in upvotes and steemit does not.
I do not use either to post, but I like the actifit and steemhunt posts.
I have the nsfw on, so until right now, I did not know we had naked appics posts.
Drugs wars battles I ignore. Steemmonsters, I sometimes look a strategy posts, since I have many free cards I have won - but I have never played. dlike, I have never noticed or seen any of those posts.
I have so much good content to look at each day that I never get to it all, so we are seeing different things.
I wish you would keep freewriting. This is one place I really enjoy and the posts get better and better over there.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You are probably right that the Steemit front end will eventually fade into the background and go away quietly. I'm currently excited about what @steemchiller has been developing as a post editor for SteemWorld. Otherwise, I mostly access (and create) posts via SteemPeak.
As I mentioned in a comment to @mariannewest I will most likely toss a freewrite post or two out there, now and then. One thing I did learn from the "experiment" is that my most natural form of writing is the "flow-of-consciousness" style... which is a lot like freewriting, except without a timer... I let the ideas keep flowing till they naturally conclude. When using a timer, I find too much of my mental bandwidth is on "how much time do I have left," rather than on developing the idea, itself.
But time will tell.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I'm using busy, esteem, tasteem, dpoll, ulogs, and share2steem and getting good results from all. As far as I know steempeak does not upvote and I am all about the votes here.
For freewrite, I do not use a timer at all. I could not write like that whatsoever. It made me a nervous wreck. I go for word count instead. When I am near the end of the page, I'm done. But sometimes they go longer or shorter. I'm not cutting off my thoughts or extending them in a fake way. I'm also editing, since I cannot even read my first drafts.
Marianne is pretty forgiving and just wants the posts, luckily.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Well I suppose I would agree, at least partially, within the given parameters of only looking at the "new" feed. I should say I am not a fan of the automated stuff. However I have a few friends that really do use their ActiFit posts to make an interesting update/blog complete with text as well as photos.
I do agree things went downhill and fast after Dan left. I keep hearing "Steem is more than just Steemit" as an excuse to never update or half the time fix the Steemit front end. Where did all the time and money go that was obtained from their selling so much Steem every month while we were told endlessly about SMTs and communities? Yet, is there a better place to go? Will Dan ever make his Steem V2? So somewhat jaded, I keep plugging along.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You can find the community announcement on Discord :) and it has also been shared on our FB Page and Twitter feed.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Thanks for the support! @steemitbloggers rocks!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Your list
I have never used any of these, however, if this is what others want to post it is okay with me.
BTW: Good points, something to chew on. :) Nice to read your post this warm afternoon in Nebraska. I am loving the weather here.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I definitely don't begrudge anyone wanting to post these things... I just wish we had some kind of "filtering mechanism, so we could omit/include posts created by certain front ends.
Glad to hear you're having some warmer weather!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Hey @denmarkguy .. good thing you upvoted I came back to delete my comment lol
I thought my comment does not add much value to your post. I am with you filters would be nice. But look at how many people use the ones in your list esp. that actifit and steemMonsters.
Lol I would have very little in my feed. :)
Yes, the weather is so nice after such a long harsh winter. I do enjoy stopping by once in a while and reading your posts. Keep up the good work.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Totally agree. We started Steem in August 2018 with a goal in mind - only our posts and our travels for that one account. We quickly got caught up in the "resteem" only to find we were getting lost in our own account. It's frustrating for sure.
I do wish there was a way to quiet the specific post subject because there are people I follow who post a lot about the game. I still want to hear them, but not ALL of their content.
We came here for the social media aspect so we would love to see it be a bit more friendly for the general user.
Good post. Thanks so much.
Ren
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
That is why I never look at the new or trending posts. Actually, hardly ever at my feed. By the time I am done reading freewrites, powerhousecreatives, and visit people who comment on my post, I am out of time and voting power.
What I like about Steemit is that I can access all posts, no matter on which they were written. When I open 20 tabs to read freewrites and each dapp wants me to sign in, it becomes really annoying
Posted using Partiko iOS
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
It's not about the existance of those, it's about the general lack of intetaction. All kinds of posts remain unseen and not appreciated. Posts about your games and fitness activity can be as valuable as any other. Depends on what it does for others. Or for the author if a personal just wants to vent. It's the curation that should moderate the environment. If the rich audience wants to see our salads, than that's what we shall provide.
Posted using Partiko Android
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
My solution is to unfollow people who habitually post useless junk.
I'm not a hater of boring script generated content, I won't downvote but I won't follow or upvote these people. No one ever comments on most of these posts and if they do they recive minimal curation rewards for their efforts.
My solution to the addicts, create a second account. You can either migrate your $hitpo$ting to the new account, or use the new account to resteem your decent content. I recommend the former.
I do agree it is a problem for new users of the block chain. It simply isn't exciting for most people to learn how many steps you walked or to check out your referral links on steem hunt. Don't get me wrong there are good ones, but if it is good, I mean actually good, dont give them their cut. Post about ur awesome workout on Steemit and not actifit.
The worst of the worst are the freaks who bid it up. Sure you are collecting pennies without bids, but who is going to join steem if it is a bunch of people using bots to collect pennies here and there while enriching bot owners and dapp creators? Congrats you are a meta data creator. That os not a Steemian to me.
Remember every time you post you are asking all of your followers and everyone who comes across your post for rewards.
These apps won't even let you turn the rewards off because they take a cut.
Posted using Partiko Android
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You have a mindset of quality contents and the passion for long contents in words format. I keep using Steemit for comments and check my blog because is pretty fast.
You need to evolve with the new reality of this ecosystem.
Posted using Partiko Android
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I have to agree with you @denmarkguy, I skip over the Actifit but read the Steem Monsters. I guess just some people only do Actifit posts, like I usually only do #freewrites. 👍
Posted using Partiko Android
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
If you take away all the "shit" from the dapps, you're left with even more "shit" in the guise of poor quality posts, or plagiarized content. There's also obvious spun, "bot written" content in various places.
There's a handful of original writers, content creators and bloggers outside of that, and they are the ones that get the whole "your voice is worth something" - not all of them post for the reward, but for the outlet.
The fact that we can connect, and monetise the "Crap" like the dapp stuff daily updates is amazing in its own right.
Probably how, if we look at the content of the Internet itself, it's probably dominated by memes and porn.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I feel your pain. I have all but removed myself and the amount of time / energy away from steemit. It simply isn't worth it. At first I was inspired, steemit gave me a hope to delve in to my self and explore the thougjts of being social. Today I find thereare only a very few post / friends I care to even come here for to read, evident yours is one of them. Other than the few I find garbage, senseless babblings, and a never ending sense of sorrow, for lack of a better word. The inspiration is gone and the only question left seems to be whether to invest the time to cash out of what little earnings and investment I put in to this platform or hodl the hope for a brighter day ahead.
Blessings to you and yours. Hope? Isn't that for flowers? ( Trina Paulus )
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Not bad photos; I love flowers...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Although I joined Steemit a few years ago, I'm a newer regular-ish "poster" on Steemit, finding my groove. So I've been looking at what value it truly provides for me. Your post is timely! Thank you :) I too, look past most posts that hold no value to me, yet respect everyone's desire to work this platform however they wish. I'm using Steemit because I love what it stands for and it gives me a place to share my thoughts. Now I'm dabbling in communities and it feels good so far! My sense at this point in my juncture is to focus on connecting with like minds & hearts, and see what happens. The potential here is too grand to ignore for me. I hear you on all fronts and again, thanks for sharing! If everyone who uses Steemit knows their honest intention and comes from that place, rather than focusing on the financial aspect, it will help grow a stronger platform. Perhaps communities will help that along. We shall see! ♥
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I for one do not have enough data to watch videos, I don't play games and I only vote on fitbit posts that have stories attached to their repots. They normally have good information attached.
So that votes me out of many headaches my friend.
My idea is to simply create quality content and to stick to it. No bots, no fights and only kindness towards all others.
It works for me at least, even if at most times I don't do well.
Blessings!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
When I first found steemit, I thought it was so much like an old blogging site (Live Journal) that I had loved and wrote on daily for about 13 years. I made so many great friends there that I'm still friends with today... and I thought/hoped steemit was going to be similar.
But the glut of posts like you mentioned in addition to what felt like people only posting/commenting out of obligation rather than true interest (mostly) became disheartening.
I know that there are plenty of people here who are truly looking to make connections and maybe I'm an outlier in this , but I have a really hard time putting the time and effort into posts/commenting and even replying when it feels like most of the interaction is purely out of obligation.
It's hard to find common ground and connect, unless you're part of a group that you really fit in with. Even then, I guess my anti-social nature just bleeds onto online just like it does in real life.
All of that said, I have no idea what point I'm trying to make, or if I'm even trying to make one at all. I'm tired. :/
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What remains is posts like yours worth upvoting...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I don't ever even check the feeds anymore. I spent some time looking through them a while ago, trying to find fresh new voices, or even palatable content, and I was disappointed each time. There is so much low-effort content that I felt I was wasting time even clicking on the link to check it out.
And yes, using separate software to make this platform work is difficult for me - I want it all in one place. Perhaps I've become spoiled.
On the flip side, there are some great communities out there who are focused on creating awesome content. #powerhousecreatives is one of those communities. I spend more time on Discord browsing submission than I ever have on steemit.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Some excellent food for thought here. This has been my beef for quite some time:
The reason most of these other front end apps are necessary is because Steemit's UI is pretty much worthless, and there's no effort to improve it. Sooner or later, it won't even be necessary, and probably not desirable, to even post on Steemit. There will simply be various front end applications that will do all the posting and you can go to those various app landing pages to find the content you want to find. Will they be able to interact with each other? Maybe some will and some won't, but I won't consider that an improvement over what we have now.
Like you, I came here for the social blogging, albeit in March of last year. I don't have a problem with Steem being blockchain for dapps. But I do wonder if Steemit has the chops to survive as a social platform. Aside from commenting on posts, most of the social takes place off-chain in Discord.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Ohh how things have changed in only the year I have been here.... I often question our future and it’s sustainability finding myself diving down the rabbit hole of why user retention is so terrible!
I am a loyalist, never blogged or vlogged before Steem and DTube and until the platform is no longer I will be here along with the community I founded #OneLoveDTube!
Posted using Partiko iOS
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Very valid points @denmarkguy. It is hard to find the good stuff when it's buried. Which is a pain. Another community @pifc Pay It Forward Contests (I'm trying to convince them to change it to community) We just celebrated 1 year. Our contest is an active curation contest designed find those lost and forgotten about and try to get them visibility. We were averaging 20 entries a week. The past couple of months we have dropped to half that. Then entrant is not the only one who wins. Their picks win too. It's an SBI prize, but it ranges. Lately there has been so many giving to us to pay out more, but as I said participation is down.
I know there are other groups and people that do something similar, I have seen people grow and sadly watched wonderful creators leave because they can't get anything consistent. Those of us that have been around a year or more know it's all about which communities you are a part of, it' is about getting out and interacting with others. Sadly, it's very defeating to see an Appic getting 10.00 SP vote and you spend 2 hours trying to produce something meaningful or entertaining to get 0.10 SP
So many of us have said repeatedly that the trending page needs to change. I agree there are so many postings with what you mentioned, because of the chance of an upvote. I admit, I play DrugWars. I don't post my battles or such. If I don't want to see it, I know others don't. I admit we're all in it for an upvote, but I am not that desperate where I have to take a picture with an app or post a battle to get .30 SP for the week. I would rather take my chances and share what I do and hope someone reads my stuff.
My feed has gotten so full of this stuff that I don't see the things I want to see. Sadly, a bit of it is also from people who are wonderful contributors too. I do wish we had more options to control what is on our feed, especially since we cannot on the trending page.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Howdy sir denmarkguy! I couldn't agree more, it's quite a mix. I have to say that the place is too full of actifit, drugwars and steem monster posts that are meaningless but allow people to make an easy post. But there's still so much good content that I don't have time to get to it! lol. I just hope we're having these kinds of problems next year and the year after and the year after...
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You forgot to mention the incestuous posts about steem/steemit. Remove them as well and you really cut the amount of content.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I truly agree...the list is kind of spines on a rose. The feed page hardly matters. As users has got an excuse to keep them selves alive. However they focus the importance of being social on steem
Posted using Partiko Android
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Good communities, great content keeps a blogger coming back normally. I have not used any of the above mentioned, after visiting communities enjoying great posts there is no time left in the day.
I do agree most will not join/stay due to so many outside platforms linking into the system, it becomes too much for most. Those monetizing will use apps to make the most of their precious time building content.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
First of all, I love the images of the flowers. Very refreshing. The purple heather are just impressive, so abundant. I think these flowers make a nice contrast with what you have observed on Steemit.
You can have have the same flower repeated a thousand times on the same plant, but far from boring you, it just adds to the wonder and beauty creation.
I share your feelings about how mediocre the platform may look when we see the amount of chaff among the wheat. Yet, I guess that was mant to happen, just like it has happened in other social networks. I think it allows good content to shine even more.
Of course, the real problem begins when so much chaff covers wheat to the extent of invisibility. It would be the task of the emerging communities of good content creators to shake things up a bit so that the good things can be made visible.
Whether these new communities use the same methods of promotion or create new ones is up to discussion, but from experience I can say that the economic profitability of the platform will also play a role.
I know many great content creators who just gave up Steemit because they can't even cover the phone/internet bills with what they make here.
Steemit can be very demanding in terms of time devoted to it, especially if the enphasis is on social interaction and network building through great content creation. For some people, even though they have great things to contribute, that is not viable.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I pretty much agree with your points. I spam the chain sometimes with drugwars post because frankly it is a quick buck. Trying not to do it so oftenly though, A solution might be to ask them to vote only for drugwars posts with certain requirements as word count, etc... Steemhunt is actually different, the posts need to follow some guidelines, I've been there, not so much right now but as far as I'm concerned it's a solid community. Regards Bro.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I joined Dec 2017.
I invited a few people to join me. But not everyone's a writer or a blogger and they went back to where their friends were. (By the way, I didn't come in as a writer, preferring to tell my stories through videos.)
Initially I dabbled with the new auto posts from the different DApps having been "trained" when I first came on board to write at least 150 words or be prepared to be flagged.
But the DApps have allowed for more than just the writers to come on board.
Getting off your laptop to run and be active may be what someone prefers to over sitting to research..
And then to read other Steemians post to engage... more sitting ;p
One man's spam is another man's value?
And I get that what bothers you most is you can's manage your feed. I use SteemPeak a lot and just discovered ulogs and now giving it a go.
Also, I know some actifiters, me included make it a point to tell a story with the reports ;)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I think everything about Steem, including the types of content that are popular, and the tools for blogging and interacting, will change continuously over time. Many new things will be developed and anyone who's nostalgic will miss whatever came and went in the past.
I also think that the excitement and energy for creating really in-depth content is going to ebb and flow with the value of Steem.
I write daily from Actifit, and really attempt to write something interesting, original and fun to read. I also post about once a week from Appics if I have a good photograph to share. Then about three times a week I write longer posts. This strategy gives me the opportunity to stay connected with people and blog daily, which I otherwise would not be able to do. So I love Actifit and Appics!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This is my biggest bugaboo with this platform, and is one of my main stumbling blocks in trying to onboard my blogging friends. Instead of treating Steemit as the foundation of Dapps (thereby giving users options), it seems TPTB are treating it as temporary scaffolding, which certainly doesn't inspire confidence in anyone checking out the platform for the first time.
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective, and...
via GIPHY
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit