Steemit Bots Deserve Better and so do Honest Content Creators
I refuse to game the system. Sure, I know enough to be able to host some bots, I can script and run some macros to automate my posts to chat channels. I can join networks of people who vote on each other's content to try to get noticed by whales.
But I wont.
Part of this is my own moral integrity. I see these things as shortcuts. I want every upvote to come from someone who is inspired by, or appreciates, or even actually READ, my content. This is counterproductive for me, if I want to actually succeed in Steemit. On top of that, I'm not spam posting four worthless posts a day. I'm taking my time to attempt to the best of my ability to generate quality content.
Don't get me wrong. I get it. There's no way that this site could be a totally just and fair system. I'm not asking for that. I'm simply stating that it's a bit disheartening that so much work goes without being seen, that so many good contributors go completely unnoticed. I think some of them might be going unnoticed for the wrong reasons.
It seems that after payout, the incentive to comment, like, or curate, completely dissolves. On the one hand, this keeps fresh content at the top of the page. On the other hand, the creator of content has very little insight in to if older posts have any additional hits, which could suggest to the creator that a particular post or series actually has more of a following a few days after it's been posted than in the twelve or twenty-four hours immediately following it's publication.
But there's another reason why I'm not trying to outsmart the system. I want to have a real connection to my following. I want to be noticed not for my ability to abuse a bit of code or some cheap advertising tricks. I want to be heard because my voice has meaning, not because I've spammed it harder than a buzzfeed article on a facebook wall.
I cant stop the bot armies, and I'm not particularly enraged that they exist. All I know is that the only robots in my content will be enthralled in epic tales or funny gags, not wasting their existence trying to increase the return on investment on a random post by a few cents.
That's my rant for now. I dont have any solutions (yet) and I'm not sure what the best way to handle the situation is. All I know is that my work will remain honest, that every upvote comes from my hand, and that I believe in those that do the same.
I really understand the discussion on economic impacts of making decisions. I respect it a ton. I love optimal solutions.
However, I just feel like I have so many other things in my life to be concerned about to care about holding off for 30 minutes to upvote. I have to remind myself the beta on the Steemit nameplate means exactly that. There will be solutions proposed and passed that will make discussions like this go away in the future.
FWIW, I think the community is starting to find itself, and am already seeing pockets forming of solid people forming that look out for great content and consistently promote positivity and genuineness. I am optimistic that trend will continue.
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I do agree, I dont worry too much about keeping tabs open to wait on my upvoting, generally I upvote/comment when I finish the article. And I really am not trying to sound petty or flippant when I talk on the subject, but I just feel it's a shame that one of the best ideas (cash for content, comment, and curation) is at the same time already so wrought with the focus being on upvoting "schools" of minnows that all upvote each other's hashtags just because they exist rather than for the content of their posts.
I agree, it's beta, and hopefully things will resolve. So long as it's not in beta forever, like so many games I know of, wildly successful but still not "technically" released.
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