I've got some bad news Steemit, or it will be if things continue as they have. Many of you know my story and follow us here. We are one of the top original content producers on this site. Steemit has been good to us thus far, we've never written anything to complain publicly. It's not perfect, but it wasn't worth complaining about as we understand this is a new thing, and will adjust and change over time. Due to this experiment, dropping Steem price and other factors our payouts have dropped significantly despite gaining popularity and reputation within the site. So despite rising followers and support, we're making less than ever to the point where it's getting hard to justify spending the time to write. Ever since this experiment started, we've suffered for it as have many others. Let me explain further.
I live in one of the cheaper parts of the world, in southern Mexico in sunny Acapulco where the minimum wage is about 5 dollars a day. The falling prices and payouts of Steemit previously have effected us but not to the point where we would have to stop. We are now facing that decision. This experiment has effectively got whales to stop voting, which is really anti-Steemit in many ways. It seems now that more people are making money off of comments like "Thanks so much for writing this" than they are original content. That is not going to encourage people to produce original content.
As one of the top original content producers on this site, I am one of the people actively sharing my life with the world, which evidently is interesting as I gain followers daily. I spend a few hours of work on a post like the last one I shared, where I pour my heart into sharing a story that isn't easy to tell. Recipes and things like that do take less time, but the stuff with the real value and content does take several hours a post, on a good day.
I have many reasons for sharing my story, the biggest one to try and prevent people like me from going through the same things I've had to go through. My current life economic situation makes it so I can only afford to take the time to share my story if I am being paid for my time. Our story will eventually be told, but Steemit has allowed us to do so sooner and support ourselves off of it which really matters at the end of the day. In many ways, our payouts on Steemit have made the difference when we literally had no other income. It has the potential to be this for many people, and that's something people need to consider. Most of the time, I get appreciation for what I do and what I've been through, but experiments like this seem like needless manipulation of that appreciation. I get just as much love as ever and more so, save from the whales who are too afraid to vote.
So if things continue and I keep making less than 3 dollars a post while others are making a dollar for a two sentence comment on someone else's post, I'm not going to be able to afford to keep going. I can't justify it when I could spend those same hours blowing glass to make more cash. Or really anything. I love that Steemit has given me the chance to share our story but that stops if this is the new reality. If commenters make more than content producers, the content producers will leave. That's how you kill Steemit. I'm not interested in seeing it's sudden and immenent demise, are you?
I understand that Steemit in it's current form is not perfect, but this experiment is not working as many seem to think it is. Sure, the commenters are happier but they aren't going to have anything to comment on if people stop producing. So many big names have stopped producing already or are producing way less because they weren't making enough due to other factors like falling Steem price. Some have stopped during the duration of this experiment. I'm one of the few content producers that lives in a place cheap enough to justify the payouts we'd had up until these last few days. With experiments like this, if they become the new reality, Steemit is going to change drastically. People will not spend the time to post when their commenters make more off of their posts than they do, for simple replies like "Thanks for this, I totally agree!"
So if you don't want to kill Steemit, reconsider this experiment and it's true effects on the Steemit ecosystem. What makes this great is that anyone has the chance to try and tell their story, whatever it is, and earn something for it if people find value in it. With this sort of active manipulation, people are not going to be inspired to come here to share content. They just aren't. Any many people like me who ONLY share on Steemit will be shut out completely, which isn't right. It's worth pointing out that there are active articles that have more money made in the comments than in the article. I am having a hard time understanding how that's going to help Steemit, when we're only incentivizing consumers at that point.
I also want to point out that this doesn't fit the parameters of an experiment. There wasn't preplanning, no talking before, no heads up. People are being forced to participate and whales are being forced to stop voting, as content producers get flagged if they do. I didn't realize it was happening until a day in, and it really seemed to explain my sudden drop in payouts. There wasn't a clear definition of parameters: what's the goal, what's our hypothesis? None of this was defined and that's worth pointing out. This feels more like an attack on the Steemit ecosystem than an experiment. If it's successful, I think Steemit is done, as sad as that is. It might still exist, but it'll never be what it once was.
Ask yourselves, what does this promote? Attacking the whales in essense attacks the fundamentals of Steemit. The idea was that those with the most invested are supposed to have the most say in how the reward pool is distributed, which makes total sense. This is one of the fundamental ideals of Steemit, so why are we trying to break that? Of all the issues of Steemit, I'm not convinced the whales are to blame like this experiment suggests. Yeah, there is room for change in many aspects of Steemit and I'm all for exploring those. Trying to say the whales shouldn't have a say is fundamentally anti-Steemit and I won't support it. I'm not sure of the motives behind the experiment, but I can say the effects are damaging and will get much worse if it continues much longer.
So take this as my public protest, this experiment isn't working. It's manipulation that is going to change the ecosystem completely and it already has in many ways. Consider what makes this site great, the content producers and the ability to become one and both of those are being lost here. If we stop rewarding the people adding value and start rewarding the people consuming it, how is Steemit to continue? How will anyone justify spending their time to produce original Steemit content as I have?
At the end of the day, the earnings is what is paying for the content. Steemit doesn't exist without the content and we need to remember that. I love to share my story, but when I have to worry about paying my bills and feeding myself, spending 4 or more hours a day writing is NOT an option for me unless I can make a certain amount, not even in cheap southern Mexico. That effect is magnified for those living in the United States or Canada. It'd be one thing if this was happening naturally, but this is artificial manipulation that is having a really negative effect on Steemit. How many more content producers have to leave before things change?
So think on it, Steemit. We're not done quite yet but we will be forced to stop and pursue other things if this experiment continues as it has. I know I am not the only other content producer out there faced with this decision. For me, Steemit is my only means of making money off of my story. If I stop making money, I stop telling my story until I can afford to do so. This is my reality, sorry to say but this is also the reality of many others here on Steemit. So if you want Steemit to be great, reconsider this experiment and it's effects.
I know this has caused me to look for Steemit alternatives, how many have felt encouraged to do the same?
Thanks for reading, resteem this one if you agree, please.
I tried to read some comments to maybe change my initial perception on this post but nothing changed.
This post screams "Self-centeredness" and "Entitlement mentality".
So because the system had been favoring you in the past, it should remain the same way? Did you even bother to check out the reasons for the "experiment"?
Sure the experiment in itself is flawed but the results are there for everyone to see (positive and negative)
It doesn't have to degenerate into a war of Content Creators vs Commenters.
Who are the content creators and who are the commenters?
The whole idea is to encourage more interaction between members of the community. All along, my upvotes added nothing not because they were totally worthless but because the way Steemit is set up, when some people vote, it reduces the value of mine.
The MAJORITY of people were complaining about this and it had to be looked into.
Just because you got into the good books of some whales (and they are way below 100 in number) doesn't mean everything was going fine for the other tens of thousands of users out there.
If you think leaving is the best answer to this, so be it. You have all the right to make that choice.
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One thing that I noticed is that users who are currently being autovoted by whales seem to be the most upset. This is logic because currently they have some kind of guaranteed revenue which provides some stability which is good for them. However what they fail to understand is that this stability is an illusion, it is very fragile actually because any whales can decide to stop the autovote for any reason at any time. This experiment provides a much more predictable and stable way to earn a revenue which is why I find it hilarious that so many people say they want to quit because of it. Authors who are serious about building a rep/following and want a stable source of revenue should be ecstatic about this experiment.
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Your point is correct but you may want to connect the dots a bit by explaining that votes from many followers are much less likely to shift with the mood of a whale or two, the formation or dissolution of a new guild, the decision of a whale or whales to vote less or not at all, etc. For all the noise about downvoting, what is going on now is mostly just whales not voting (this post got no downvoting as far as I can see) because they decided to see how a different approach from what they have been doing for a the past few months with guilds, etc. would work out. Because some bloggers were so dependent on the support of a few whales, the decision of those same few whales to vote differently (in this case, less) has impacted them significantly, a realization of the inherent risk in concentrated support. Live by the sword, die by the sword, so to speak.
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I agree with @smooth - the whales departure has meant many bloggers dying by the sword - particularly those who used Steemit to supplement their income. Now were really beginning to find out who our true community is.
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P.S. I spotted this and thought about the double edged sword!! https://steemit.com/funny/@thewiredneuron/stalin-reveals-a-dark-message-to-all-minnows-and-to-the-possible-whereabouts-of-those-flagging-whales-steemmeme
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Some people have just refused to look at this situation with an open mind. They've got a mindset and are ready to go to the grave with it. I mean, Steemit is less than a year old and people are already expecting stable income from it? Startups in the real world still end up failing at age five, not to talk of one that's less than a year.
But no, some people never want things to swing out of their zone.
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I have not totally stopped voting but have significantly cut down the max % i use in my upvotes.
I will say in all honesty the krakens slowing down on their voting has been a huge factor.
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Good to read that you too have decided to exercise a lighter touch. Just because we are whales and can (and even have a a perfectly legitimate right to) decide on all the payouts does not mean that we must do so. As owners of the platform we can decide that users having the bulk of the influence (or at a minimum some significant fraction of it) is more conducive to our own success. Very few have really been happy with the previous whale-controlled reward practices, except those who have personally benefited from it.
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Well smooth tbh if u follow my voting record ive really been pretty chill about it in the past too...but i did figure it doesnt make things any better to not at least try to create a silver lining to the way it was all done. So i went along with it even though i would have started it much differently.
It is a good thing to do regardless. Has made me look outside my normal spheres of voting a bit more too. All in all i do agree with the premise though. That is the honest and fair truth. :)
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YES :)
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I agree with you on the tone of this article. Anyone who thinks they can live off what they make on Steemit and it be an ongoing living, needs to rethink their reasons for being here. No one is entitled to getting any level of payout on their posts. They need to be grateful for what they get and either stay or go.
As for the whining over commenters getting payout on their comments, @lily-de-vine needs to be thankful to have comments on your posts and that they are good enough to get votes and engagement from other users. Many, many posts go without either votes, return or comments.
Steemit needs all its parts, investors, content creators, curators and commenters to make it work. Stop the whining or don't let the door hit you in the ass as you leave.
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Yet you currently can expect about a dollar for your comment bitching about my post, becuase someone who isn't considered a whale by "the experiment" but by most metrics is one liked what you had to say. Things like that didn't happen much before but now seem to be the new norm. Seems like maybe your the one not seeing the whole picture here.
*Flagging to apply your own mentality to you atleast in this one example.
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I'm so sorry if you see a comment on your post as "bitching". Remind me not to say a word on any of your posts anymore. There are glasses waiting to be blown by you. That's if something else doesn't blow you away before then. ✌️
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If you can't see how you chose to word your comment in a way that could be classifed as bitching I don't really think we can have productive conversation.
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Upon looking into you farther I find you position that much more amusing. You have about 1/4 the followers as us, recieve 1/4 to 1/3 as much votes as us yet make about the same amount. Yet you claim we are "self- centered" and are being unfairly rewarded.....
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I sincerely hope this doesn't degenerate into something negative because it's not my intention.
This
This is why I tagged your post (and several others I've been reading) as self-centered and it's because my high payouts stopped too and I was still able to see the positive side.
I won't be able to explain this further as i'm currently not in a good mood. I hate getting into arguments with people and I apologize for my earlier (wrongly constructed) comments.
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I am not worried one bit, my Steem are a future gamble on the team figuring it out. If they don't so be it but if it does holy crap.
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You would think people would just be happy not having to deal with the Corpses (corporations and Zuckerberg) on Facebook... oh wait! Some of US ARE! SteemIt IS THE Experiment. All the rest of the shenanigans are just shenanigans. I'm not worried either @hilarski, this will be easier to figure out than a new Facebook. I'm here for the long haul too.
Regards!
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agreed. :-)
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Don't quit, just take a break. Things have been really toxic around here for a while, and it might be in all of our best interests to take a step back. I am not going to look for steemit alternatives, I am going to continue to try to do what I can to make steemit better. There is a lot to like about this platform, and also a lot which needs improved. However that will never happen if people just jump ship during a moment of hardship.
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It is hard to take a "step back" if you are thinking of Steem as a primary source of income. I am not taking a side on any of the content or comments. If the poster is sincere, "taking a break" might be taking a break from their living.
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Steemit at this stage can not be a primary source of income.
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I agree, ... Well, if it is .. It would be a very shaky one.
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Well this has went on for long enough, I think (tired of mentioning them) just want this experiment to bring about the change, they don't mind the cost. They want to prove their point that it's a positive change, but I don't agree one bit anymore. I don't care I'm finally getting curation rewards when all the good people I found here have left, why, because it's pure bullshit. Why deal with the wild vest when you can just go where the people are anyways, liked this place, A LOT, but not like this, not with bullshit experiments, started by people with no consideration it seems or any patience. What's the point in talking when you can just gun people down and hold others hostage.
It's time for this senseless stupidity to end.
man I sound pissed :D who cares blockchain it :D
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same as the one above -^
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I have been asking this same question for the past three days. This is a stake-based platform. Users and investors are constantly told that if they want to increase their rewards, then they need to increase their stake or gain followers that have more influence. Then, when a user finally gains such a following or an investor finally reaches high levels to have a larger impact on the system, they are told, "Sorry, but you're earning too much and you have too much influence."
This so-called "experiment" is a slap in the face to all of the users who took the time to find their niche, to network with other users/investors, and to grow their following. And it's a slap in the face to investors who actually BOUGHT their STEEM so that they could have more influence - exactly as the concept has been sold to everyone for the past year.
The people who have been productive and know how to do social media well are essentially being punished for it. Those who are new, don't post much, don't try to network, aren't good at one thing or another, don't post subjectively "good" content that is valued by others...somehow they are supposed to be earning more than they get?
Most of us agree that the distribution of stake is an issue. Most of us also agree that there needs to be a change to the code to flatten rewards curves. But this "experiment" doesn't fix anything like that. It sends the wrong message and it completely contradicts the entire concept of stake-weighted voting/influence. It's good for neither attracting/retaining great content creators nor attracting/retaining those who want to make large investments into the ecosystem in order to gain more influence.
And as you, myself, and many others have stated, this is a completely flawed "experiment," "test," "initiative" - whatever you want to call it. It's just utter BS with some post hoc justifications for doing it.
Those who are demanding compliance are simply demonstrating once again that certain users have the ability to dictate outcomes...the very thing that they are claiming is the problem. But they seem to think that their demands are more important and that they're acting "for the greater good." Same collectivism, different medium. When will people ever learn?
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I hear ya. It seems like that collectivist mentality is attempting to force its way into Steemit. Thanks for your expansions on what I said, this is a comment worth a dollar, not "Thanks I totally agree!"
It's good to know others out there are outraged too, we've got the right to be.
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Sadly, it has always been here. It's just increasing and becoming more vocal...as usual. I think that most of the problem lies in the fact that users do not comprehend stake. They're used to just seeing raw numbers of likes or dislikes as they're presented on other platforms and they don't have much experience with a shareholder concept. That's why we see them constantly saying things like...
"Look at how many likes I have! Look at how many comments I have! Why is my post not at the top of trending???"
They're against bots, they don't understand stake and how it applies to voting, and they generally just feel like they "deserve" more than they're getting, often without putting in the time and effort. Just showing up and posting something is apparently the extent of their social media effort, because that's what most people do on Facebook or other platforms. And that's fine if you don't have the time or energy to do much more, but don't get upset when that doesn't make you popular and it doesn't earn a ton of rewards. That's just the nature of the game. That's how it is on all social media. This place is no different.
If anything, Steemit offers you a much better chance of earning money for doing nothing more than posting and leaving. But it appears that this still isn't good enough for some. And because of that, the successful users (and the larger investors) must be punished. It's the good old-fashioned Commie mindset. Still alive and well, as the rest of society demonstrates every day.
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Agreed.
The problem is that the mass market that we're after will share in this sentiment. Perhaps Steemit was doomed from day one.
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I agree with you and also understand about message that @abit want to share with us, but this experiment really make "ironic" situation. I know @abit have good intention about reward distribution but take wrong way how to share the message about that.
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I think its worth pointing out here the distribution of awards in these comments. Anything supporting me, even if it's got a lot of upvotes only has a dollar. Lots of the posts against me have the same amount for a fraction of the votes. How is that the intended result?
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quoting myself from "last month" the whole comment is a mouth full, the whole article there is a long one aaand you might have missed it :) it's interesting to read through I'm leaving a funny nested comment from there
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craig-grant73 · last month
if they are aware of whats going on, it would be a ton of fun, and encourage them to buy steem power on the days when their votes are worth nothing
$0.00
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j3dy 58 · last month
:D Purge day :D , I'm not sure I like your idea , you seem like a man who is fond of gambling and odds , I'm not sure that would be good for anyone, which whale will work for years/invest to have power of vote and then be welcomed into a slot machine :)
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I can totally understand what you are feeling in here.
Even I am very active member on this platform and your opinion certainly opens the point of discussion. Putting so much of dedication and work on and realising certain experiment is not upto mark for certain content creaters is sad. I think people at higher level should come up and speak about it on the recent downfall. But, There are various reasons that you can trust on the potential of steemit. Steemit is certainly a great idea and hve lots of potential, certain whales powering down and some of the experiments have effected the price but not looking only at money aspects we can actually build a platform where the content can be recognised and hold lots of content creaters like you. I hope you put on trust on Steemit and keep creating awesome content like you always do.
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Yes @mindfreak. I couldn´t agree more. We´ve built value. And that has been the purpose.
So there is no need to quit @lily-da-vine. Life is not linear, and challenges are part of it. It´s consistency that counts in the long run. Don´t leave! I´m following you now for future posts :)
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same as the above two, following and I see your point. But don't quit, manage the high tides. Surf and even where there is a storm put your message out once in a while like you have. I'm deeply saddened by people leaving, so I'm not sure the experiment is worth that, I did hope it would stop a few days ago,
by the way " Next hardfork scheduled for: Tue, 21 Mar 2017 15:00:00 UTC (in 4 days, 19 hours) -- releases " :) giving you a heads up :) get ready for the flood gates :) releases
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Ready when you are! Surfers are always ready for big waves, hehe :-))
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I can see your point in some regards, however my life is not at a point where I can prioritize things like this over other things. Most of my time all day every day is dedicated to making the money I need to survive. As an on the run individual here in Mexico, I don't have much.
There are no stashes of bitcoins.
Or Pesos.
Or dollars.
Or steem dollars....
I need people to understand that while I am publicly a capitalist, I am not all about the money. At this point in my life I have to be about the money because it's how I survive. If I cannot make enough to survive, I cannot keep my focus on the same things.
I know most of you don't really understand what I mean. Most of the time I've got less than five dollars to my name..TOTAL. That's because my money is spent as it comes in on things as we need them, rent, food, water, whatever it is. I've got no savings, no nest egg.
So while i'd love to hang out all day on Steemit and work on changing it for the better for free, I don't have the time. I gotta eat bro. And I am being COMPLETELY honest when I tell you this is my reality. I gotta eat.
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But that's not to say things won't improve from here, I just felt that there needed to be a public protest because there really hasn't been yet. And a heads up if I DO have to stop.
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Sorry to hear that. Hope you can get over it.
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I can understand what's exactly your situation here.
See the hike in price today and there is Hardfork that is to be introduced on 21st March. Wait for it.
Steemit going to make you solve all your problems and it certainly have a potential.
I hope you do well here.
All the best.
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The social experiment works because I just voted with 300sp.. and gave you 1 cent... Don't forget that there is no other platform like steem, that your work is redundant proof and that there is a fluctuation in value, your steem could potentially be worth hundreds more in a few weeks.
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yeh then worth a cent because all the investors/shareholders see that their long-term plan is a scam :| because ok I'm not saying it again :D so aliens is the better summation it starts with community and ends with faschism :D SCHISM oooohh wow, the two man team at the head got halved :|
Leaving you a link if you want to read up on the inception of the idea :)
Best of luck :)
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Little money is better than no money I have found. I would urge you to reconsider.
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That is exactly what is going on. Those with the most invested have decided to exercise their 'say' in the reward pool, in most cases, by abstaining (in a few cases by downvoting). That is a perfectly legitimate use of their voting rights, and it is quite possible (not saying it is necesarily the case, just that it could be) that abstaining is the action that maximizes the value of their investment. If so, why shouldn't they do it?
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Out of interest, do you like what has been happening to the front page since the start of this experiment?
It seems to be memes, rants, endless posts about dash, trying to get people to buy it, posts about steemit. In other words it is degenerating into "just another social media site".
Maybe I'm a minority, but I gave up Facebook and twitter and reddit precisely because I was tired and exhausted with all the trolling and memes. Steemit seemed like an old-school 1990's site where you could read interesting substantive articles on stuff that the press complety ignore (because they too have gone down the click-baity report-the-latest-troll-fight-on-twitter route).
I liked reading about Heidi's travels, and about gardening and seeing flower pictures and so on. It was like a little oasis on the web.
The experiment has turned it into another web meme/trolling site. Is that the goal here?
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I think the front page better represents what people on the site are actually paying attention to and voting on (i.e. what is actually trending). As you say, it is much like other social media sites and for much the same reason: such content is popular and engaging. Previously the Trending page was more of an "editors picks". I would hope that we can somehow figure out how to have both, because I agree with you that the "editors picks" concept of higher quality content makes a lot of sense too.
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But is that stuff trending because it is genuinely popular, or because there isn't anything else to vote for because the good stuff is being withheld/not published?
It's possible that Steemit is resembling sites where people post throwaway stuff without being paid, because there is no longer any differential in pay if your stuff is any good.
It's like if a rule was imposed on "the rich" aka the whales, where they were not allowed to pay extra for silk shirts, they had to pay no more than they would for a nylon shirt. What does the manufacturer do? Withdraw the silk which has a higher input cost, and only supply cheap nylon, because that is the only way to maintain your margins. So you are not going to be able to buy silk cheaply, you are not going to get silk at all...
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These are great points, but I'm afraid they will be lost on this crowd. They don't seem to comprehend any of it.
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There is a huge differential. Many posts still get $0 or near $0* and the top posts are getting about what they got before, though they are likely different posts and as a result of different (broader) voting.
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Is it possible to have the chance to up-vote posts a second time, but only once one has scrolled down through a post after opening it?
If so, we can make it so that a single vote will distribute STEEM from the rewards pool (no matter from which upvote button the vote came from), but a second vote will determine post ranking within the second type of trending page (the "double votes", presumably quality posts).
Single votes, such as the types that come from bots, will still earn their curation rewards, but second votes would presumably only come from satisfied readers who took the time to click on the post, read it and then scroll to the bottom to cast a second vote.
Only the first of the votes would count on the block-chain, but the second vote would determine the second type of ranking on the Steemit front-end.
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Interesting ideas!
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I recognize your point. Wheras I used to enjoy spending time scrolling the Steemit newsfeed. A lot of it is memes and talking points with repeated stories thrown in there. You get gems here and there but I see your point.
It seems like a rather pointed attempt to turn Steemit into what it never wanted to be in the first place. Seems malicious. And anyone speaking out is getting squashed.
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The word 'experiment' keeps getting used. The appropriate way to call it is 'redistribution of wealth' aka socialism.
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You made me smile with this one, when you coming to Acapulco so we can do a Gringalicious Collab?!
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I think we all need to take a step back and say "why am I on here?" It does not feel good to get downvoted and lose money...yes of course....it has happened to me. I was the top trending post at one point and was dropped down by about 60 bucks. That is not why I am here.
Money gives us an extra incentive to not only live more comfortably but also gratification of doing something good for a community.
Facebook achieves this with likes (and they pocket all your monetary value). We see plenty of posts about how much greater this is than facebook but as soon as the money is cut, are people really more satisfied being here than Facebook? People spend all day on there to receive a thumbs up! Here the money adds some juicy icing on the cake...whether its 5 bucks or 100.... but it's still superficial. I'm looking for real people..real connections...real life...many of which i have found on this site for sure!
Money is not my incentive but it is good to have. If you plan to quit because of the "experiment," then is it because of the percent money you lost like many have? Is the money what is keeping you here, and if so, what message are you sending to your supporters with that?
I respect your animosity towards this unchecked aggression, but I also feel some cheapness in your response to it.
I agree that the "experiment" can leave a nasty taste in the mouth, but does that destroy Steem and this community? I don't think the majority of my followers would budge because of this little chaotic shindig.
I invite you to stay and to contemplate your reasons for wanting the Steem community in your life.
I think your intent is good, and you clearly write some sound posts... but I think your response to the aggression shines light into the imperfections of humanity.....
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My supporters, if they really follow me, understand that I am not in a good financial system. I'm in a foreign country on the run with no identification so making money is not cut and dry for me. At this point, while I am to a point where I can support myself, I still am not financially stable. I've got less than five dollars to my name most of the time, including now.
If you had no money and were faced with the choice of doing something for free, but still adding value or would you turn to ventures that bring in some capital so you have a place to live and food to eat?
It seems like many people on this site do not understand what it's like to just not have the money to say, buy water. Or food. Or to see a doctor. But this is my reality, things look rosy on steemit but we spend a lot of time stressing about how to pay for food or rent. With that in mind, putting Steemit on the backburner will happen if this new paradigm continues. That's all I'm saying. I won't jeopardize my survival because I want to be a blogger, even if I'm successful.
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Thank you for the response. You are correct, I haven't hit hard times like that and I'm sorry that is the position you are in. However, I also believe people in your position also go on Facebook whether they should or not for their situation because they enjoy it.....not for the money obviously. That is my hope for steem at least. And if the vision is beyond money that is where the value will rise because of perceived value is greater. The pot of steem will feel longer to boil if you are staring at it,waiting for the steem to rise. If you plan the ingredients of the meal, the steem rises pretty easily and with a perceived less time.
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Like I said, totally not done now. I just needed to be clear as many have insinuated that I'm entitled. It's not exactly entitlement when you're trying to make a living and it's work that we should be awarded for.
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Glad you are not done! Keep up the good writing.
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Thank you for the things you said. I totally agree. I've recently on this platform but I have different experiences of the company paying (TSU, APP8, Niume ...). I think this is really different….
I also produce original content and I know the work that is to make the photos and thinking and writing lyrics .. I immediately said that this experiment was stupid and I immediately unfollower who decided it. (You can find it on my wall ...). I had 4 flags .... why? because my post was not to be appreciated. So I understand everything you say and now I follow you! Thank you again... @lily-da-vine
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I appreciate the comment and follow.
What I do not appreciate is how people speaking out against this experiment are being punished in several regards.
Are we not entitled to free speech here on Steemit?
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I do not understand one thing --- but this experiment is still going on? And the whales where they go? They have surrendered or have an agreement ...?
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I'm honestly not sure, but I know much of the payout of this post was dropped by the "whales" that support this experiment downvoting me.
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@ lily-da-vine I have seen. Now we have to censorship. A shame!
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Great article. I feel the same way on your point. I have a lot of articles that I have written but hesitate to post because they get buried, get no attention and don't feel that it's worth it to post. ALSO I have noticed, from being a major part of @brindleswan and his good content articles that there may be a lot of votes but very FEW VIEWS. Seems peeps are just reading the headline and not reading the articles. What's the point in that? I have made it a point to read the article, then vote. How this can change is the question. Who has the answers?
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I do find it interesting how few views my own articles get. I'm pretty sure it doesn't log outside of steemit views either, as so many people I talked to at the conference down here intimately knew my story but weren't on Steemit to show support. So I guarantee many of those views are on devices not logged in.
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I would love to see you not leaving - the community needs creators like you - especially now. Re experiment I think it makes sense however the comms were not ideal but there is no ideal solution and I also missed a bit of leadership but that opens doors for new development and I am sure there are plans in place (I sincerely hope)!
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I agree which is why I am branching out to other media that pays. I just created a crowd-funding Patreon account where people can pledge money every month if they want to see my art...I reccommend checking out the site if your haven't already. The artist referral is actually pretty good so if you want to sign up as artist here it is. Otherwise you can check out my account. Hope this helps! I imagine your recipes could go over well...you can also release stories or at least a link to your written works...when you sign up choose the writer/author category (I chose art photography), also you can change your category or add to it anytime. It's really fun to use and set up XOOXXO. TAKE CARE! I have always loved that you shared your story on here and you and yours are in my prayers.
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do you have a following outside of patreon? I hear it is geared towards people who already have a following. I set up an account on it too a few days ago and started following you there. Would like to hear how it goes.
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THANKS! Yeah keep checking in! :D All my goodies are now on there vs here
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haha yeah I sure will. You can check my profile out if you want. https://www.patreon.com/thefactsdojo
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As I am on the run I've got no access to the banking system..Patreon uses the banking system. I appreciate the thought though, honestly.
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okay sure :-/ sorry I couldn't help more......definitely go blow glass though ;-) maybe even offer english lessons?? I don't know...XOXO also I linked to mine to Paypal but not sure if you can link bitcoin wallets to paypal.....
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Nope, paypal is not an option for us either. We've got freedom in some ways but in others we are trapped
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We will see more articles like this one because no fundamental measures, on the platform inflow and outflow side, referred and suggested by me and by many others, were not taken up to this moment.
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I'm surprised there are so few articles like this one.
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There will be more of these as STEEM price dumps closer to 0.01$ and lower. And also not everyone is announcing it publicly. Personally, I have signals from people who are stopping or slowing down their activity until STEEM price is at least doubled so it's already happening at some level. I expect Steem whales have about three months to bring needed changes before loosing major support from community.
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Should be interesting to see what happens...
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I tottaly agree with you but i have a point here , when whales stop voting guilds take the power i see people with 4 posts in trending page .........IS THIS NORMAL ? If you really want to value the content it has to be forbiden to vote automatik
2 . Reward based on real value not of support of a whale etc guild
3 .More rewards in the pool wen people dasunt use bots to vote so canot spend all the voting power .
But whu care what i think or any minow around ............. trending page over 70 reputation ........
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Word on the internets is to the effect that there could be a turning-point after April as far as the value of Steem is concerned. So if Steem does indeed start climbing soonish, one month away is not a loss for you. I think they just need to do away with the flag thing, really.
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I disagree, the downvote is the only real defense against negative behavior we have in the current system. If we remove it we open the flood gates for many forms of explotive behavior.
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We have all seen flagging being used abusively against some people by some cliques to hurt them just because they disagree, and evidently not everyone is able to respect that which they disagree with. I don't think it is about the price to pay. Just in principle, when users focus on the positive in a constructive way I think that's a better practice than taking away something from someone by flagging. Sure, it will not be ideal, but such is life in general. They have it set up so people can flag items for not being original content, but users are able to abuse this without accountability. If we are going to do this policing here, there ought to have been another layer of a larger number of users to review the flags and in turn affect their reputation on that basis. That would make it multiples harder to organize the sort of abuse we have been observing.
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Also be careful most versions of that theory I have seen are based off the 13 week power downs finishing up. But with dan now power down because he has left steemit, power downs will contiue at current rate most likely or even increase.
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I hope you will stay ... and to improve your earnings I upvoted this article 100 %.
Sometimes one must be patient and hope that situation will improve again in future. However how can it improve if many good writers like you would quit now?
I would miss your good articles!
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If trolling in comments section is more worth more than creating content, that is obviously a big problem.
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honestly, I thought the "experiment" was over, since I read this yesterday.
But probably Dan's resignation is an incentive for these whale kids.
Btw, I totally agree to you. I'll stay here writing posts that take time to be written, but just to watch if something will change.
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I'll still post for awhile at least but not with the same ferocity. I've just got to focus on other things right now anyway
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Brilliantly put...thank you
@lily-da-vine
It should be all about the content, otherwise it deteriorates into a who likes who system...gangs and gang warfare...communism on a site like this doesn't work....there will always be bullies...
re-steemed
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Upvoted and mentioned in my latest post. Keep up the good work!
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Thank you for the support, this one was a tough one to write and publish but it needed to be done.
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Good luck.!!!
@lily-da-vine
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Do not quit...keep writing.. Look, there are many people give vote for you. Keep your spirit to move on. One door closed another door will open. Nice!
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I'm not creating any content on steemit, but I enjoy reading articles you post here. I follow other creators and I've noticed same thing recently. I really hoped that this service would be a start of a new social hub and it would allow you guys to make some buck for your hard work.
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It did, even with falling Steem prices up until the start of this experiment. Now many consider this experiment a success so I'm here to protest that. Thanks for the comment and for reading what I had to say.
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TLDR ?
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This hurdle is likely not a permanent shift in the way Steemit will work. Have a little patience. Take a couple days off if needed. But don't bail just yet.
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