I think that when everyone joins Steemit they are blown away dreaming of the potential about the future of the platform. I certainly feel this way, having only been on Steemit for a month and a half. But it seems that I am reading more and more negativity about Steemit everyday....or maybe I just never noticed the negative posts before?
In the beginning I only read posts that had very optimistic views about Steemit and it's potential to change social media. I am not sure if I purposely skipped past the negative ones, trying to keep myself motivated to continue on here considering how much work it will be to gain a following and earn anything.
I have to imagine that since the beginning of Steemit 2 years ago that people have been doubtful about it's future and the possibility of mass adoption. The whales that you see now felt like it was worth it to stay, even though we are in the middle of a correction, falling significantly from the ATH's. They stayed when Steem dropped to 8 cents a piece. Now, because of the risks they took they are able to reap the rewards.
Since I started here I have kicked myself everyday because I didn't research Steem sooner. I have been trying to learn as much as I can about crypto since September 2017, and yet I only joined here a month and a half ago. But I have to wonder, if I was one of the people that bought Steem for 8 cents, would I be so optimistic about the future of Steemit? I am not sure.
I can understand why some people are pessimistic. Who had anything to gain from Facebook's success? The people who own Facebook, of course. Who has everything to gain if Steemit becomes mass adopted? All of us. The people that have hundreds of thousands of dollars of Steem Power locked away, unable to easily withdraw worry about the future of this platform because their personal financial futures are tied to it.
You might be a plankton (like me) or a minnow right now, but if Steemit's popularity grows exponentially...we will all be far ahead of the new comers. I know its hard to imagine, but people would look at us the way we look at dolphins/whales. They will be day dreaming about what it would have been like to join when we did. It's funny to think about that now, because I currently consider myself the lowest of the low in the Steemit ecosystem. I might as well be alge, floating along with no real impact.
Imagine if the tiny amount of Steem Power you have was worth 20 times what it was now, and you saw abuse of the system, garbage content on trending, and new users letting their accounts go inactive. (How many dead accounts are there? It seems to me like while there may be 700K registered accounts, only 70K are active.) If my account was worth 20 times what it is now, I might start being more concerned with those numbers.
Alas, my account is not worth 20x. I have bought as much STEEM as I can afford, but I am no where near reaching any kind of social status here on Steemit. I am spending my time here, and my money here because I do believe in the vision Steemit has set out, I have talked to some really nice people and I want to make a bet on that future. But the longer I stay, I worry that the more negativity I read will start to tarnish the glowing optimism I have about all of this.
But what else could I expect from an ecosystem that runs on cryptocurrency? Is it possible that the negative news cycle, the fud, and the despair that is the markets right now has an direct influence on all of our attitudes about Steemit? If we were to enter another bull run tomorrow, would the majority of posts turn positive?
I raised this question before and people disagreed with me that the state of the crypto market doesn't correlate with sentiment on Steemit, but I still think it does.
How can we expect people to join a social media website running on cryptocurrency when the general population's view about cryptocurrency is currently negative?
If you don't believe me, go and ask a friend that has NO idea about crypto. Tell them about Steemit but leave out the cryptocurrency part. Tell them that you made "$XX.XX" amount of money on a post and watch their eyes go wide with interest. Then tell them that you get paid in crypto and watch the disinterest set in.
But that is crypto! We are all here because we don't look at things the way they currently are, we look into the future and imagine the way the world might be. We seem like crazy people to the "non-coiners." Have you ever watched Ancient Aliens? Yeah, that's pretty similar to how people view us when we talk about how "Crypto is going to change the world!" It was the same way when electricity was invented, it was the same way when cars were invented.
I don't know what changes will be made to Steemit in the future. I honestly don't know what changes would need to be made here to make it more lucrative for everyone involved. I leave that up to the more technologically advanced Steemians who obviously know more than I do about development. I hope they make the right decisions.
And when we enter another bull run, whether it will be tomorrow, a week from now, or several months from now, I hope that we can encourage the masses that join here. They will need it, and we will need them too. We need them to be hopeful so that they tell their friends to join Steemit, that is the only way we all succeed.
But currently for me, the little plankton I am...I'll just keep floating along, hopeful about the future of Steemit and crypto in general, hoping one day I will become a minnow.
Emily
So do the negative posts about Steemit discourage you from participating on Steemit? Has it gotten more negative since you joined? Do you think that the "mood" of Steemit is influenced by the state of the entire crypto market? I am looking forward to connecting with you in the comments below! Thank you for reading my post. I appreciate it! Steem on!
So yes, there is more negative sentiment now. There are a few reasons for this.
More people are on the platform, many of whom have absolutely no experience in cryptocurrency. Many of these people have no clue what a crypto-dip is, and are panicking. That adds to the general negative atmosphere.
The whale wars. The war between @ned and @dan has had massive repercussions, which probably won't vanish for at least another year, if ever. The current war between @haejin and @berniesanders is also bad (and ongoing) but doesn't involve co-creators.
Infiltration. Maybe this is tinfoil hat area, but considering the amount of brutally underhanded techniques the financial companies are known for I think this is a reasonable assumption. There are Big Fiat Money Players manipulating the platform. I have no clue how thoroughly they're using the platform, but they are here. Thankfully, I expect many of them are working at cross purposes. Sadly, the rest of us might get caught in the crossfire.
Vanished Whales. Some of the whales haven't logged in a long time. They set up their accounts for auto curation or delegation and just haven't come back yet (if they ever do). This means there are less whales out there looking for solid content from new people. The minnow support project does a great job, but it's a far cry from the tens of ghosted whale accounts.
There's a solid backbone of good people on here that give back every day, I believe the platform will weather this storm, and the next, and the one after that. All these storms just mean that We The Users have to keep putting in solid effort producing content, keeping up morale, and spreading the word.
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Thanks so much for your in depth comment, I appreciate the explanation! Seems like there's a lot more going on than I know about!
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It's a big blockchain. I doubt I addressed all the major issues, but those are the ones I've noticed.
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Yeah right now is just kind of a boring and flat time for crypto, while projects are continuing to improve and have good news, we just don't have that excitement of December and quite honestly I'm not sure we'll have that hype ever again, at least not to that extent. I think we may see slower longterm growth like the stock market as opposed to every coin going up 30% per day; day after day after day.
While I definitely think Steem and crypto prices play into the moral of this site I think a lot of the beefs or complaints about Steemit have more to do with not the price but the platform itself. I think this is a great platform but there are some areas that need improvement.
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I love Steemit and am very optimistic about it's future. My reason for being on here in addition to enjoying the platform and having made some friends and connection on here is also wanting to be on the ground floor of something potentially very big.
Many of the biggest Youtube stars we have today are where they are because they were early adopters so whenever I see a new social media platform come out that looks promising I try to gain a foothold. I did that with Periscope, that didn't wind up playing out that well but you just never know.
I've been on here since last June and it was pretty negative when I got on. Steem was at a low price and had been that way for a while, it was before hardfork 19 which apparently leveled the playing field more with whales and the rest of us so it was kind of negative back then.
I think it's important however to distinguish between negativity and constructive criticism. I see some people bury their heads in the sand and are just dillusional saying Steemit or DTube is better than Youtube. I suppose we each have our own opinions but to me nobody is as good as Youtube at knowing what I want to watch and delivering it to me. Steemit and DTube really make me work and sort through a lot of stuff I'm uninterested in to find the stuff I am interested in. There's also not all of the same content, Steemit and DTube lacks a lot of longer form content.
I think some people feel like it's bad to say anything critical of Steemit and I think that is also bad in that you can't improve if you don't acknowledge your shortcommings so to say Steemit is awesome and its gonna kill FB and Youtube is basically saying Steemit doesn't need to improve.
I really like @brianphobos approach. He's one of the biggest advocates and cheerleaders of Steemit and I think he's responsible for bringing a lot of people on here and keeping a lot of people on here, honestly if it wasn't for him helping me along the way and keeping me motivated I would have left a long time ago and I see he's the same with many others. A ton of people I follow I see brian cheerleading them on, commenting on their posts. In a video recently he commented on how he feels like his growth isn't as good as it could be because he's honest and shares his opinion and isn't rah rah Steemit is the greatest all the time. I actually appreciate his measured approach and prefer it over people who act like Steemit can do no wrong.
One thing that's been annoying me a bit recently about Steemit is all these reserved accounts. I was wanting to start another account or channel about self improvement and all the names I wanted were taken which is fine if someone is doing something with them but most seem to be reserved by Steemit or are people just squatting. @selfimprovement @getmotivated @motivation @inspiration @motivated. I suppose in a sense that's not any different than any other social media site where you have to be clever to find a name ie @selfimprovement1 or something like that but that's my most recent annoyance lol.
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I think thats really smart (being an early adopter on a platform) thats why I started here too, I have never written anything before but I thought I would have a movers advantage just because I was here before mass adoption. I am happy to hear that you are still optimistic and it comforts me that people were negative even back then, lol. I wish I would have thought out my user name more....but I didn't and now Im stuck with it. lol
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Yeah whenever I see a new platform I want to be the first person in my niche, business and entrepreneurship on there. Not all of them workout, I gave VidMe a try, that platform was kind of a flop and is going to be shutting down soon but every now and again you luckout.
I know Gary Vee talks about how he really wishes he would have stuck to Youtube. He was one of the earlier adopters of YOutube and actually left for some other video platform, the name slips my mind but they gave him some equity and he thought it was going to be big. He always says had he stayed on Youtube he would have been one of the biggest Youtubers today and I think that's probably very true.
Have you thought about starting any new Steemit accounts or just trying to focus on building up one?
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LOL I can barely keep up with the one account I do have...and I still dont have a "niche" figured out... I commend you for wanting to try to do a couple accounts. Maybe if I had some SP I would consider it, but alas I am still a plankton.
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I've picked up a couple accounts for various niches, not sure what I'm going to do with them, right now just squatting for the most part, however I'm not sure it's a good strategy. If Steemit was like Youtube where I put up content and get paid forever I'd start in one niche and create like 100 posts and then move on to another niche and do the same. Due to the nature of Steemit ie only getting paid for 7 days and then it stops you almost need to continually be active and I agree keeping up with multiple accounts is alot of work, i agree i have trouble keeping up with one as well
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The thing is, if Steemit becomes more like Reddit when they implement the "Communities" I am not sure if it will be a blogging platform as much, so niches might not be as important? Imagine if you wanted to talk about crypto youd go into your favorite crypto community, or cooking, or whatever else. Or maybe I'm thinking about it wrong and I have no idea what im talking about as usual lol!
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I think that it has definitely gotten more negative than when I started in January. Mainly because of the reward pool rape. However, I think that a thing that people don't take into consideration is that Steemit is dependent on external forces. There is a lot of debate on what is quality content and what isn't but this site needs to provide exterior value in order to continue. We see these problems in the Steem currency being unstable. There are a lot of imbalances here that need to be addressed. Hopefully the devs are working on something sooner than later to keep things going.
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I started around the same time as you so I am relieved to hear (kind of) that its just not me thats noticed it! The thing that I think may be the problem with Steemit is that its intended to be a "blogging" platform...and 99% of people are not bloggers (myself included!) I wonder if the "communties" feature that they have planned will help with that, as posts could be shorter. Steemit very well may turn into a more casual Social Media platform. Thanks for your comment! :)
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I think thats my initial trepidation.. why are photos of lovers on holiday saying 'heres us on holiday' earning steem .. isnt that for instagram? Im new here and I get waves of excitemrmt.. hey this could work! Vs waves of cynicism.
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I think that people are able to grow their network of support regardless is they write in depth blogs or post pictures. Engaging and finding people to connect with can be just as important as writing good content (its even more important in the beginning!) :)
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Thats what I am struggling with I guess.. trying to find interesting peoplr that post good content that dont have a major agenda. I will keep digging!
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I think quality content gets beat out by content from people who have a better circle of more powerful people around them. It's not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing its just the reality. I would however like to see quality content rise to the top more.
I've seen some larger Youtubers come over here and get paid big money for shitty content while there are some lesser known people creating really amazing longform content with a lot of media making $1, and then someone else posts a meme they stole offline and makes $300.
I think Steemit like you said is still trying to find itself as a platform and what kind of content were looking for here. I also think there is some inconsistancy where some established accounts post bot curated content and do well and then another newer account does the same stuff and has cheetah or steemcleaners all over it. There just needs to be more consistancy across the platform in that regard.
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There is some negativity going around on Steemit because of the whale wars. Wars like this maybe are needed to push Steemit to a higher level.
You also will find more negativity because tou are reading more and more posts, not only within the tags where tou did start, we are all enbroaden our interests!
Also maybe because the crush is over and it becomes love. Just like in a relation we are blind for the negative things during the crush phase, which evolves when we enter a more serious relationship!
I do think most if the inactive account are from people who thought that Steemit is a quick rich scheme, we all know that hard work is required so make a little buck. So I’m not worrying about these numbers!
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Well I am glad you are optimistic! :) I like optimisim @fullcoverbetting!
That is true, I guess I am reading more posts, so theres bound to be more negative ones in there. Thats a great analogy comparing Steemit to relationships...I like it!
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Awesome post, awesome write up.
I also flogged myself for not knowing since when it started..
With the down trend there's been lot of negative views about the platform, at a point I really want to give up but testimonies from whales and either steemtians that have meet have kept me going. Now I careless about those views or ideas
I believe in the future of steemit and I could invest my all in it .
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We have to keep trying :) Who knows what could happen next year if we do... I wish you the best of luck!
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I would say yes to your question. The whale/flagging wars and all the "reward pool rape" topics really does put a negative spin on Steemit. If the platform will make it the top accounts really need to put more effort into a positive for Steemit rather than name calling and flagging. the state of crypto effects us all in someway emotionally or other .. We are investors if were on here so yeah i think it effects us..
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Thanks for your comment. Yeah, its pretty discouraging reading about the whale wars. Especially since I cant really do anything about it either way.
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This is a good example of what steemit has become lol
This guy came and commented on my wife's art then upvotes himself.. leaving no upvote for her. I laughed so hard I made a post about it.
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Yeah, thats pretty common! It is frowned upon and they will find that out sooner or later...
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The whole concept of steemit is super freakin awesome!
But as I perceive it there is a great "class stratification" here and it is mainly by design, (the only visible posts are either whale or bot sponsored: Trending, Hot)... So for plankton and minnows it feels like we are out all alone in the big waves of the ocean, treading water and screaming our lungs out, to no avail...
It takes a very long time here to build some kind of "tribe" that help each other out, I believe most people just "quit" before they see the benefit of the platform...
@emmyem84
I came up with a solution that might help with this, if you have time to read my post:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@friendly-fenix/proposal-of-features-for-steemit-difficulty-levels
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I just read your post, its an amazing idea and it looks like you got some hopeful comments! I keep trying to remind myself that this whole platform is still new. I know that some people think that they (Steemit) arent listening to everyones concerns...but I really hope they are! If they want to to sell the ideas of SMT's taking over I think they need to make their flagship product the best it can be.
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Yeah @emmyem84, I hope "they" are listening, I think they are, are you going to be entering the : https://steemit.com/steem/@timcliff/the-steem-shilling-contest-round-2-300-steem-in-prizes
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I didn't know about that contest, Ill have to think of something :)
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What a great post my friend :). I read it all. I think negative posts (account) will not success in steemit. They will be left behind...
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Thank you so much for your comment! I love your optimism! :)
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You are very welcome :)
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It definitely is not what I thought it was going to be. This morning was the final straw for me, and that Steem I bought yesterday I mentioned in your last post got resold for a 3.5% gain on the exchange rather than coming here. I am not putting one more dime out of pocket into this platform. I will throw my little crumbs I earn into SP, but I am so tired of all the big egos warring with each other, collateral damage to accounts that walked into the middle of a war they had no idea about.
I keep seeing so many of the bigger accounts saying how this place is going to break apart, and they finally convinced me. For any visibility the bigger accounts charge you for a vote (because heaven forbid they actually curate something when they can cash in selling the vote).
Then you read on outside platforms people waiting weeks to get in (Is this so they have to buy an account to get in?). Then you have the no more bandwidth, pages taking forever to load etc.
I will admit I was really excited at first, was even planning on publishing a little guide for Kindle (to draw some followers new to the platform I was hoping). But yeah, thinking I will pass on all of that. If the platform makes it, I will be ok collecting my random crumbs, if not it wont break me to lose the hundred or so I put in here.
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Thanks for your point of view! Its unfortunate to lose your enthusiasm about Steemit so quickly. Steemit mimics society, some whales really do care about the community, others just want to cash in while they can. I can't even say I blame them. I was one of the first people on Facebook so I have been involved with social media for some time and Steemit has a way to go but I still see a lot of potential. There will need to be a lot of changes for this to get adapted into the mainstream.
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A big yes to your question
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I bought Steem at 7 cents when everyone thought it was dead. I'm still optimistic :-)
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That's awesome to hear (read lol)! And I am super jealous :)
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Hello my name is @ima98, I am new to this channel, I invite you to follow me in this community and generate a good friendship, see you soon
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Resteemed by @resteembot! Good Luck!
Curious? Read @resteembot's introduction post
Check out the great posts I already resteemed.
ResteemBot's Maker is Looking for Work
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I have been trying to upvote your post for five minutes, I keep refreshing and still won't work. :/ As you can see here, I had plenty time to make and crop a screenshot to show you..
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Even after making all these comments, my upvote still isn't showing up.. and when I refresh it isn't upvoted. (edit. it finally seems to have worked.)
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Yeah, I have been dealing with that too for the last couple days, hopefully its fixed soon! Thanks so much for your support! I appreciate it!
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I've been running into the same thing, I try to upvote and it just clocks. Normally after 2-3 tries it finally goes through.
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good inf follow now 😱😱😍😍
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For me I go with the attitude that anything we do in ‘Aversion’ to something else is just ‘Another Version’ of something else.
I.e. if you using steemit as a ‘middle finger’ to Facebook it’s going to carry that Aversion negative energy.
For me I am needing to focus on the positive aspects of whatever social media I choose and as I come into alignment with myself on them all that is no longer in alignment with me will filter out.
And who knows what that will look like.
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