This post is payout declined since Steemit centric posts and circle jerking are sickening and taking way too big of a slice of the pie daily, and I think it needs to stop. There's rarely any other point to them than the fact that the authors lack any and all imagination, and people upvote them because people upvote them. Most of the time it's the same stuff over and over and over again, and people masturbating over how everything is awesome, and they're awesome for being a part of something that is so awesome. Awesome.
Anyways, this is not circle jerk.
I'm frustrated over two things in particular.
One is the amount of circle jerk everyday, and Steemit promotion always being money centric. Steemit is great because people make money, basically. Second is the amount of hardforks that are constantly being done to tinker with the reward system. No development on the site to speak of. It's all about the rewards, everytime.
First off, making Steemit marketing all about the money is a doomed effort, if we are to make STEEM, the currency, into something big, with Steemit being the flagship app. And that should be the focus! I want a goddamn financial revolution, yesterday, and it's already obvious that Bitcoin won't bring it to us.
So, why is solely focusing on the money such a doomed effort? People will always automatically come for free money, right?
Wrong.
Raise your hand if you were skeptical at first about being able to make money on Steemit.
I know I was.
For years, while being on the internet, I've been taught that easy money on the internet is scam. End of story. Smart people tend to avoid scams. People who don't, are usually dumb. And I won't say anything here about a sizable portion of the Steemit userbase, but you can draw your conclusions.
Now, Steemit is not a scam. It's possible to make money, risk free, and cash that money out on your bank account. This is a fact. And if you play the game the right way, make the right whale friends, and make the right type of Steemit circle jerk posts, then yes, it's possible to make thousands upon thousands of bucks per day by spewing bullshit that no one outside of Steemit is interested in reading.
Why, then, are we still such a small community, even after a year of payouts?
Because A) People don't believe that it's not a scam, because easy internet money is a scam almost without fail, and B) People usually don't believe in their own chances of succeeding. Even if they believe that it's possible to make money on Steemit, they quite often lack the faith in their skills to find that success. We often have very low self esteem. This is a psychological phenomenon that has been skipped over completely in Steemit's marketing.
Also, when the money is made, then what do people do? They cash out. You can't buy anything with the STEEM in your wallet, and the people who come here for the quick buck are not going to hold the quick bucks in their wallet, they're cashing it out. That's why I find it so stupid for certain well esteemed Steemit members to make posts about how they talk about making such and such amounts of dollars during their first year on Steemit, because no, you did not make the dollars on Steemit, you made STEEM. You made the dollars by dumping and cashing out.
What's the message here?
It's that STEEM is not anything worth holding, it's just a tool to get FIAT. You know, the real money that can actually buy you nice things. If I don't understand any of this, and I'm reading this, it does not give me the impression, at all, that STEEM could be something worth owning. You just get rid of it as fast as you can to get those sweet government dollars. Or bitcoin, or some other equally worthless shitcoin. Yes, I just called bitcoin a shitcoin, deal with it.
Also, how come no one is asking the question "Why does Steemit suck so much that we need to literally bribe people into using it?"
Reddit doesn't pay its users. Facebook doesn't pay its users. Twitter doesn't pay its users.
But people still use these sites, among other sites.
And don't get me wrong, the money is a great thing, I like having the rewards system, it's what the site is all about - BUT ever since I joined, I've wanted it to be about more than that. And as long as it's all about the money, I find it broken and flawed.
I think focusing on the money is ass backwards in the sense that the site itself should be fun to use for free. That's how social media sites are designed.
It's possible to make money on YouTube if you're successful. But it's still a fun site to use if you're not making money. Millions upon millions of people use it daily, for free.
Instead of these endless hardforks that just scare off investors since they can't trust the economics of STEEM staying intact for longer than a few months at a time, how about some UI development? How about an interface that's not from the year 2001, one that's actually engaging, addicting, fun to use, and not a clunky piece of shit?
I know for a fact that some people I know have not joined Steemit simply because it's ugly and confusing.
Sure, for crypto nerds like us something like that is not a big deal, but we're in a bubble. We're in this nerd bubble where we can easily forget how normal people see the world. We can spend time figuring stuff out and making sense of things, and we may even enjoy figuring this shit out, but most people don't. They'll give a website three seconds to impress them, and if it doesn't, the chance to impress them is gone forever.
I just don't understand how INC can't hire a competent, or even semi-competent web developer, they're not that expensive. A former co-worker of mine could make a better website for a hundred bucks. But it's not just the functionality, it's the design, the look. This shit is not hard to figure out.
I heard that work is not being done on the website right now because INC is busy working on the mobile app, and while a mobile app is a good thing, isn't the wrong way to go to have a shitty website, and then go for a mobile app while the website is unfinished? The mobile app is something you get when you like the main website. Why would anyone search for a Steemit mobile app on their App Store? Surely you need to know what Steemit is first. And in order for people to like Steemit.. you get the picture.
Point being, the desktop site is still your flagship app.
Hell, the site crashes all the time, everyday. Instead of planning the next hardfork, how about working on the site's stability? Even for a little bit?
And regarding the money, and this is coming from someone who is a beneficiary of this and is making good rewards, the fact is that you don't make good rewards on Steemit because your posts are amazing. You make good rewards by knowing the right people. That's what it is, it's a social media phenomenon, it won't change, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just how social media, and the world, works. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, if you felt special, but your circle jerk posts are nothing special, people upvote A) for curation rewards and B) to kiss your ass because you'e an influential member. Simple as.
That can't be fixed, and no amount of hardforks will change that. And maybe we don't have to.
What can be done, however, is taking some of the focus away from the money, and making Steemit a good social media to use even without the money involved.
First, you plan a social media that people want to use for free.
Then you add the money.
Then you have a winner.
Give people a reason to stick around even when they're not making big rewards.
HF19 will happen this Tuesday, and I know for a fact that my rewards will take a hit, and admittedly my motivation to use Steemit will probably take a huge hit, as well. I know everybody's all excited about the hardfork, but to me it just means all users will be more equally poor, and it makes the site less exciting.
That being said, it annoys me that just because my rewards will get lower, my interest in Steemit will drop. I still want it to be a thing, and that's the reason for this post.
Where's all the focus on the STEEM blockchain being censorship resistant? Where's the focus on Steemit being free from shitty Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. algorithms? Where's the focus on Steemit being free from big business advertisers who dictate what content is and isn't allowed on the site?
These are the big fucking deals.
But when it's all about "I've made $50,000 on my first year on Steemit, woo!" the important stuff gets buried underneath all that shit. The things I mentioned are Steemit's gimmicks that make it special, focus on them. Not just the fucking money, especially since after HF19 no one will be making any money here anymore anyway.
And when the site is not being worked on, people will skip it, unfortunately.
So, yeah, sorry for not sharing your enthusiasm for the site, but I'd like to mention that I'm only being critical because I give a fuck. I'm pretty sick of traditional social media, and want an alternative, and Steemit could be that, but it lacks focus, or at least the focus is on the wrong things.
If you disagree, shoot me up on the comments.
I agree with your assessment, but I think I'm a little more hopeful (naive?) for the long run. I lurked for about a month, reading articles here and there, and it took me a while to see the long term value. Yes, there is a LOT of "circle jerking" (as you call it), and so many times I see people getting paid $1000+ for a single, poorly written post that does nothing more than reinforce a desire for more money.
However, I joined because the more I got involved, the more potential I saw. I also began to see the smaller communities that have formed, that may not get paid as much as the fanboy posts, but have quality content that is actually curated well (not just by upvotes). I'm thinking right now of the SteemTrail movement.
What I envision is a site where people write about the things they care about, and are passionate about. Things they want to share with others. And I like that you can get paid for it, because it really does take a lot of time to write well and craft something that is valuable and meaningful. I think we're headed that direction, but it sure is messy along the way. (Just watch what comes out in the "New" feed.)
But I'm here for the long term, for what this might become. It might not ever come to fruition, but it's worth the risk to me.
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I read your post....and frankly Steemit could fail
I am new to steemit...I posted several stories....see my blog...and 6 days later I suddenly cannot post a story anymore.....why....I did go into live chat and ask several questions about steemit and all and two people were very rude and reported me to abuse where there was no abuse at all I asked 2-3 questions and they went nuts....is there some sort of cult like group in steemit where they know how to shut your account down through computer programs using abuse? Is so then there is no free speech in steemit and it is noting more that crazies who are hurting steemit where fewer quality people come to steemit...please let me know about this so I do not waist my time....I was never rude or a jerk to anyone...
Also, many people commented that I actually used my real name and I have my Linkedin page in my profile....so it is like there is some sort of group of people in steemit who do not want people like me in steemit...they want there little bitcoin hype platform and nothing more...they do not want people using their real names in here...they want more of a AOL thing where nobody really knows who the other person is.....
if steemit wants to be nothing more than bitcoin stories then it will fail....
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Michael, did you ever find out the answer to your questions, b/c I wouldn't put up with that shit.
Are you able to post now?
I read an article that says you can't post if you don't have enough steem or something.
Another guy had the same issue & people gave him steem (how I have no clue) & he was able to post again, but like me (see my reply to this article below), he doesn't know how long before it stops him from posting again : (
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That's why I wanted to join, to write about things that matter to me, but I already do that on my site & wanted to know if I can just post the link here just like people do in FB groups.
How do you find a community?
Do you get an e-mail when someone responds to your comment?
I commented on one person's article & when I went back to it, I couldn't find my comment :frowning:
Thanks
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I wrote a post a few days ago on the value of the Steemit blockchain to future historians, called "Mining the Babylonian Blockchain". It hasn't caught on so far.
I'm afraid expecting the average social media user, most of whom suffer from some degree of narcissism, to care more about anti-censorship than personal financial reward may not be realistic. I don't know that you get mass adoption that way.
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in the end tho Steemit is all about the money... its why we all are hear... But its not as much of a community as people say it is... it's more of a "hey help me get to this money" community if anything... Calling each other sea animals and shit.. what the hell? But we All want to reach that status... This site could be so much better if we did 1 thing....... HIDE THE PAYOUT amounts...
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DAMN!!!! that shit right there!!!!!! Hide the payouts almost too fucking genius!!! still gotta show the votes tho!!
Only OP can see the payouts!!!
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hide the payouts. that is a the best idea i heard in a while. YT doesn't show you how much each video gets paid. you can easily find out using a program like tubebuddy but it doesn't automatically display the monetization for all to see. great idea. sea animals and shit...lol that cracked me up.
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I read your post....and frankly Steemit could fail
I am new to steemit...I posted several stories....see my blog...and 6 days later I suddenly cannot post a story anymore.....why....I did go into live chat and ask several questions about steemit and all and two people were very rude and reported me to abuse where there was no abuse at all I asked 2-3 questions and they went nuts....is there some sort of cult like group in steemit where they know how to shut your account down through computer programs using abuse? Is so then there is no free speech in steemit and it is noting more that crazies who are hurting steemit where fewer quality people come to steemit...please let me know about this so I do not waist my time....I was never rude or a jerk to anyone...
Also, many people commented that I actually used my real name and I have my Linkedin page in my profile....so it is like there is some sort of group of people in steemit who do not want people like me in steemit...they want there little bitcoin hype platform and nothing more...they do not want people using their real names in here...they want more of a AOL thing where nobody really knows who the other person is.....
if steemit wants to be nothing more than bitcoin stories then it will fail....
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Is seymourbucks short for Seymor Butts??? LOL
Great idea actually.
I agree that this site was NOT thought thru carefully at all!
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I absolutely love this article, and as a new member, really needed to read it. Of course, as a singer-songwriter, after years and years of working really hard online and having so little to show for it, I am so grateful for something that could give me a chance to get a start. HOWEVER: it's not why I love it. The other ones weren't worth the work, because the algorithms ruin it and because they are so utterly based around falsity and stupidity.
Being here is incredible. Interestingly, I have to say that even the chance of being able to see a bit of a financial reward makes it possible for me to commit to spending time on it. It helps me justify the time it takes to get quality content up. I know it's not a guarantee, but it's game-changing for an artist. I guess youtube is the same, but I hate being a part of the advertisement culture, especially when they can advertise whatever the heck they want.
I am an artist, and all I want is to be able to find a way for me to share my best work with the world in such a way that I can afford to keep doing it. Steemit is amazing that way..
You have some good ideas about getting people on here.. and you're right money shouldn't be the first order of business. It got me on (have to be honest), but we do need to find other ways to make it attractive.
Anyway.. no answers but grateful to read this--especially because you declined the payout.
Gonna follow to keep tabs on you! Thanks again. Xx, Kay
PS: what is hardfork19?? Not a techie here..
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kayclarity - I like what you said.
I also don't know that HF19 is & what DID happen that Friday. I forgot to ask him. LOL
Hope things are working out for you now.
I have thought about doing something for artists once or twice in the past, I just don't have the capital to start something.
No offense to you as I haven't seen your work, but so far whenever someone has said they were an artist, I haven't resonated with their work.
There was a site I was on once where you can vote on singers & I found some REALLY good singers on there, but I can't remember what it's called, & I don't know if it helped them in any way.
Plus really there needs to be someone to help singers/actors b/c they tend to get EATEN alive either by their parents or the "NEW" manager who's ONLY it in for the money : (
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Hardfork is a change to the software, so to say. And next Tuesday will be the 19th hardfork. The change is to the reward structure; the reward curve will be flat, instead of exponential, as it's been up to this point. It means new users such as yourself will have more "power", and established users will have less. It's good for new users, bad for older users. It's either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective, and whether you're a new user, or an older user.
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Thanks! I had that same question as @kayclarity. I totally agree with you on this one. Steemit could be SO MUCH BETTER! There's no text editor even!! Even I can build a website with a text editor and I'm just a visual web designer! WTF??? Having said that, I must say I like it; flaws and all. Just got so tired of FB and its b.s. censoring and spying shit. I'm really not here for the money. Honestly, I didn't think I'd make any...or maybe a dollar or two. I really like the social interaction, the exchange of ideas, experiences...and FB is just a meme vending machine with little or no intellectual value. Kudos for the truth telling.
I hope you don't mind, but I was reading your article in Robert Downey Jr's voice. Lol
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This comment gets an upvote! I feel exactly the same, and smiled at the Robert Downey Jr comment.
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He must have taken out the comment about Downey Jr. b/c it's not there now.
It has been 7 months since the article was written :)
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Ditto on the text editor & the bloody emoji code doesn't work for me : (
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getemoji.com works! :). And.. the Robert Downey Jr. was in response to the one right above. You'll get the hang of it all soon here, I promise! It's overwhelming at first but then it all becomes second nature. Worth the fight - promise!
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Gotcha. Thanks.
Still hopeful that Steem will stay and become good good good. It's just such a great and refreshing thing..
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Hey Kay, do you write songs, too? Hardfork would be a good title.. ha ha. When will you upload a video? I believe there's some shit code for uploading videos here. Hmm...not sure.
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lol. Put it on the ideas list! haha
I have a few up! Go take a look :). I just upload them to youtube and then copy the link here. That'll work for now at least! Xx, Kay
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Would you believe I can't find them? I'm pissed. Please paste a link here for us Steemit-challenged folks. Thanks.
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lol! Sorry! I don't like to post the links too much because it can seem kinda spammy.
https://steemit.com/music/@kayclarity/for-all-of-the-90s-fans-savage-garden-cover-to-the-moon-and-back
https://steemit.com/cover/@kayclarity/incredible-song
https://steemit.com/openmic/@kayclarity/open-mic-week-37-original-soothing-song-downloadable
There you go! Really hope you like! xx
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OH WOW!!! THANK YOU!!! YOU'RE AWESOME!!! Girl, you've got the looks and the voice!! You're going places! I'll resteemit and post on my FB, etc. Just remember who followed you first when you're rich and famouse, though.. ;-)
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Thank you so much for your support! I am sooooo grateful for my first followers here--really & truly! xx
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😁 👍 👍
Look what I found! EMOJIS!!! https://steemit.com/emojis/@blueorgy/steemit-emojis-master-list
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lol - just stumbled on this comment again and it made me smile BIG! Hope you're doing well here all these months down?!
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lol! HF19 stands for "hard fork 19" which is basically Steemit geek lingo for "significant change in the way the website is run" which is done through witnesses voting and some developers making the changes happen. They do them periodically.. I'm not sure which one we are on? But 19 was the one where they shifted voting power a little bit so that minnows had a bit more influence (you'll notice that people with full wallets have a LOT of power in their votes--one "whale" could single-handedly keep you doing really well on the platform.
I tend to dislike a lot of artists, too! Especially poets.. ah.. In general, though, you'll find that Steemit's quality is waaaaaaay above what you see elsewhere. I was expecting the same thing, and of course you have to sift a little bit, but there is much more great quality than I expected.
..except for the poetry. Most of it is painfully sentimental dross with no poetic effort beyond predictable rhymes and teen-girl journal free verse.. harsh, I know. But a bit true. Talking about it here just made me grumpy so I don't look at it anymore or talk about it much. lol!
But most everything else has been a very pleasant surprise. Lots of disenfranchised but intelligent and talented artists have come here like moths to a flame. You'll enjoy it, I think!
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lol! HF19 stands for "hard fork 19" which is basically Steemit geek lingo for "significant change in the way the website is run" which is done through witnesses voting and some developers making the changes happen. They do them periodically.. I'm not sure which one we are on? But 19 was the one where they shifted voting power a little bit so that minnows had a bit more influence (you'll notice that people with full wallets have a LOT of power in their votes--one "whale" could single-handedly keep you doing really well on the platform.
I tend to dislike a lot of artists, too! Especially poets.. ah.. I'm extremely picky, although I also try to see potential in attempts as well, and not be too elitist about it either. In general, though, you'll find that Steemit's quality is waaaaaaay above what you see elsewhere. I was expecting the same thing as you, and of course you have to sift a little bit, but there is much more great quality than I expected. Not as much wincing as you'd think.
..except for the poetry. Most of it is painfully sentimental dross with no poetic effort beyond predictable rhymes and teen-girl journal free verse.. harsh, I know. But a bit true, and it doesn't bother me to say as they get a TON of upvotes, so whatever. Talking about it here just made me grumpy so I don't look at the tag anymore or talk about it much. haha
But most everything else has been a very pleasant surprise. Lots of disenfranchised but intelligent and talented artists have come here like moths to a flame. You'll enjoy it, I think!
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To be honest, I can't stand most of the "hot" and "trending" posts so much, that I don't even write a comment, even if I know it's a bad financial strategy.
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I have to agree with you wholeheartedly! wish I didn't but I feel the same way.
First off, making Steemit marketing all about the money is a doomed effort, if we are to make STEEM, the currency, into something big, with Steemit being the flagship app. And that should be the focus! I want a goddamn financial revolution, yesterday, and it's already obvious that Bitcoin won't bring it to us.
Where's all the focus on the STEEM blockchain being censorship resistant? Where's the focus on Steemit being free from shitty Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. algorithms? Where's the focus on Steemit being free from big business advertisers who dictate what content is and isn't allowed on the site?
Hell, the site crashes all the time, everyday. Instead of planning the next hardfork, how about working on the site's stability? Even for a little bit?
And I completely agree about another damn hardfork! I dread it completely and not just because the rewards will be less but because in every single way it's a total buzz-kill.
Thanks so much for your post, hopefully witnesses will see this and take it to heart!
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resteemed
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I'm new to steemit and I post stuff everyday because like everyone else I have an opinion about everything, and I don't mind sharing it. I see what is happening with everyone resteeming and upvoting the same authors (a post they likely have not read), and I was thinking about it last night. What if the number of votes and rewards were NOT shown on the post except to the author? I think that would force new steemians to read each post they were voting for to determine which posts were best.
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🍒 I think that is a very good idea, Hide the rewards from the public, and I want to add they it maybe a good idea to show the rewards AFTER the 7 days, so that people outside Steemit can now how much money you can get here, also it would be a nice surprise for Steemians to see how good they are curating content.
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There is a saying, "under promise and over deliver" if they can't get what they believed was the minimum payout (which is nearly all of them) they will get discouraged. Emotions and Perceptions drive decisions more than Reality. I joined steemit because Greg Mannarino @marketreport said to get involved. At that point I would have been happy voting for posts based purely on merit. But it became apparent that the opportunity on steemit would be wasted if I did not chase the curation rewards. What you want to see happen is for curators to chase content, not rewards...to get both. In the end the best curators and the best authors will win, and it is a foundation that can survive for the duration of the project
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I would like to be a curator but I don't have enough steem power to get any significant rewards from curation, actually I have noticed that I get more rewards for upvoting post that have few upvotes, when a lot of people vote I dont get anything, so I need to focus more on posting good content and comments
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If we rally the new authors together we can vote for each other which would benefit both the authors and the voters regardless of SP
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Interesting thought. You're right.. there has got to be a way to fix that.
They could also make it not possible to upvote unless you have actually opened the link..!
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Some see a world full of problems. Some see a world full of opportunities.
I don't want to dwell on problems. I'm too busy taking hold of opportunities.
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Dwelling on and recognizing are completely different things
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I belive the idea is for Steemit.com to be just a demo version showing how some front-end site could work on Steem blockchain.
Independent developers could provide other front-ends with better UI and functionality.
That's what busy.org and chainbb.com are started to do.
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I agree with much of what you said, especially regarding the "Fast Internet Money" sets off a red flag for many of us. I wish people would stop trying to market it that way as well.
In a (sort of) uncontrolled environment people are going to do what they are going to do.
People are just "watching" what works and following along. Maybe that is how circle jerks begin? (Well, they are getting off... I want to get off too.) Shrugs.
I often write about SteemIt, (too often, I know) it is because it is one thing we all have in common.
I enjoy your direct presentation.
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This post received a 46% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @thecryptofiend! For more information, click here!
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If you get some time you should read up on perverse incentives in economics.
Every day is a school day and today (first day here) I'm learning all about the unintended consequenses of incentivising content creation en masse.
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"First, you plan a social media that people want to use for free."
I think this might be giving up on Steem's main selling point. You can't easily break into a cornered market, especially one with a network effect like Facebook, without a killer feature.
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I think I can address one issue here:
"Hell, the site crashes all the time, everyday. Instead of planning the next hardfork, how about working on the site's stability? Even for a little bit?"
Steemit's daily active authorship is up 6x since 6/1/17. That kind of spike in users would have rendered my company's web services far more unreliable than Steemit has been, if it was a linear increase. I've noticed Steemit being down for a few seconds at a time. I actually think it's holding up fairly well to the traffic surge. The Alexa rank is from around 11k to 8k in that time, too.
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Steemit It will, give back the rewards to the people and not to the big Companies !
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Read with interest. As a noob, not even a fish, some of what you say is disheartening. I have been working online since 2010, and I too am tired of people promoting these get rich quick schemes. In fact I nearly didn't sign up because I seen one guy that has crossed my path before, and I predict that he will do the same here as he has done on other platforms.
Needless to say I still signed up. I love figuring out things, maybe that's why I stuck around!!!!
So tell me then, how would a noob like me, that wants to create a share good content go about meeting these right people here on steemit? maybe you will follow me and make some introductions...
Enjoyed the post, hope you have a nice day
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First of all, you're mixing up the terminology. A noob is a retard that cannot learn anything, while a newbie is someone who is new to the stuff and we were all newbies.
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Thanks for the clarification, wanted to call myself a noob before someone else gets there :-)
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Your humility is endearing. :-)
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:-)
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I'm still new to this, myself, but it looks like the SteemTrail movement may be what you are looking for. It is like a subsite of Steemit, with tags being curated by a solid backing of whales that care about quality content.
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thanks for the heads up. I will look this up and see what I can figure out
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Haha Ha....
One more time Haha Ha....
You just spilled the beans.
Well of course no one cares for content and adding value to the community. All they come here to do is this:
a) Watch for 15 days what kind of posts make dollars here
b) Make similar posts
c) Cash out the money Investors put into Steem.
d) End of Story
And I heard people talking on Steemit Chat that lets make a Blog Post Titled "How to make a Great Blog post to make Money on Steemit" or "How to gain Followers on Steemit".
All newbies Vote that up - and there you go, you've made easy money writing crap.
And then they Beg for Follows and Upvotes and all that Blah.
Bad Content Killed Google+
I fear the same for Steemit.
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Great post and I agree with much of your assessment. I get the argument about money but at the same time money motivates people and I think in many cases money justifies people in spending as much time on something as they do. I'm a Youtuber as well and while I would do it for free and continued to post more than ever during adpocalypse when I wasn't making any money, the fact that I earn money sort of helps me justify how much time I spend on the site that could be spend on other ventures actually earning money.
One thought your post kind of stirred up in me about circle jerks is the way new sites tend to get "circle jerky" lol for lack of a better word. I've been toying around with VidMe lately and I see people on there like Youtube is dead, Vidme will take over within months and it's like common you really think the second largest search engine in the world is going to be overtaken by this glitchy new vid site that kind of lacks diversity in the types of videos, I say that as 99% of what's on there is either gaming, animation or videos about the platform itself.
One other kinda circle jerky thing that annoys me is how when people hop on a new platform some of them completely abandon and trash old platforms where they spend their time and energy for years.
I've see that especially on VidMe but even on here I've seen some peopel trashing Youtube or saying Steemit is the future fuck everything else in a sense and while I'm new I'm a huge supporter and wanna see this site succeed but I think it's nieve to think all other and older social networks are immediately going to get bumped off due to something new. I also think its kind of silly that most of us who want to post video on here have to host it on Youtube yet we trash Youtube and rally around what an awesome site this is. Don't get me wrong this site is awesome but how can you trash Youtube while your still having to use them to interact on this site in a sense.
I always found it funny how wrapped up people get once they start on a mission be it earning Reddit Karma, earning fake video game points or money, etc and how much time and effort people will sink into earning points or karma that means nothing so I do think its really cool how we can earn money or crypto through here.
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i 'd like to point out your point about imagination ,i have done a few posts of my own,but i'm not here to make money though it is nice to get some,i like to point out pizzagate,pedogate,true news and true history,they might not be my videos,but i researched and found them so its my work,i'm not interested in getting an upvote for these ,but i would like people to share these videos,it makes me angry that people are not even looking at these videos or sharing them,because these things concern us all.if people don't wake up then were all fucked ,especially the little kids that go missing everyday.i've given you an upvote.
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i would also like to point out these women and men sending in porn movies ,for the so called desperate,to try and make a quick buck,i hope you all flag them.
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I second the motion that the flood of Steemit oriented posts seems to be dominating my feed. Some of it is well intentioned, but a lot of it seems to be a money grab.
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totally
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I think you make some good points about needing to mainstream the UX. In that vein, I'd love to see SteemIt have password changing capabilities without the user having to use the CLI. I know it's not hard to use, but it is a barrier to entry for the vast majority of social media users. As frequently as users have password issues and require them to be reset, the fact that this simple option is missing from the website is disturbing. Every social media site has the ability for the user to easily change their password within the security settings. Every social media site, save SteemIt.
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How many of them are tied to wallets with the remotest level of security?
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Online banking sites (which are not social media sites) are tied to wallets with some level of security (including 2FA). Industry standards for UX include GUI options for users to change passwords and other settings. If the banking industry had required users to use a banking CLI, then online banking wouldn't have taken off. Regardless of how "easy" devs think using the CLI is, the truth of the matter is that the majority of users are GUI users.
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I upvoted even though there is no payout. I agree with SOME of your points. This is just like real life. Winners, losers, complainers, idealists etc.. at the end of the day the question is, are people benefitting.
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And is the curve towards general good, or away, and the 2nd derivative of that curve.
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have to agree
With one year here, the site has barely changed and its frankly unattractive. The money is the only lure and that only attracts certain type of people.
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I think it might be wise if the whales continued to vote with the same lower power as now when the HF occurs. It has really helped to energise things and create excitement. Would be a shame if it ended.
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I think Steemit is only getting started, new sign ups are at a record high give it another year and it will have many million of members.
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wait why is your payout crossed out??? I think you pissed off one of the "whales"
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Because Steemit related posts are taking too much of the reward pool.
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Amen brotha!!!! The people that we want/need on the site needs to be diverse. Blogging about the platfrom that you are on is geared towards the people that already use it. I want to content to have more meaning and a way to discover new content. They need to have a better way to browse categories.
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New to all this also but I do read the post and resteem what I like. You have very good points
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Yeah, i agree. When i first signed up i just used the wallet to trade because of the poorly designed websute..after a while i finally figured it out..change would be welcome
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I aggree. This system is a great idea but still needs a lot improvement. I wonder what would be the best steps to balance things out.
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I agree should there be / is there a 'steemitfocusgroup' tag where people can post and discuss platform and interface improvements? It could form the basis of a functional spec.
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Maybe I'll check and create one :)
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The situation will improve during boring moments in the markets. And boring moments can endure for more than 1 year.
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I think Steem also does a good job of explaining that it is intended as a long-term move. That's the purpose of Steem Power. Getting "money" from posts should be considered as a similar investment too.
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The ONLY real downside I've found is the search function is not very good- an account I helped set up won't even come up in search EXPLICITLY? THAT'S lame.
The only reason I'm ever going to use FB, G+, and the other sites anymore is to offer my friends and fellow creatives an outlet that's less exploitative.
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I think I agree with you from what I read. Not all of it... Maybe a TL;DR section would be a good thing for the ADD peeps like me. Anyhow, yeah things need to change. I'm just waiting for HF19. And I give you my 0.001 Steem. ;)
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The site is still in beta. It's hard for me to have too many expectations until site out of beta
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The biggest problem... people want votes but they do not vote you
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I agree that it is confusing.
And I do not understand the difference between steemit and Busy.org, I noticed some feature on busy that I really like.ease of seeing vote power,and the way it generates better view of feeds...,yet there's a discrepancy in my wallet balance....
But I am enjoying my time here,and the better social media.lot more friendly.
Namaste
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I've been on steemit for about a month. I'm trying to raise awareness about invisible disabilities by telling my story. Of course, the money potential brought me here. However, the "circle jerk" is frustrating. I'm new to blogging and I'm battling with my PTSD every day. I can't write about it every day. I'd like it to be more social where it's easier to get new content from people you really want to see. Like a notification when they post something new. Chat is on a seperate platform which is frustrating because then replies turn can turn into public conversation. That's annoying when you take it beyond "nice post" , "thank you". Connection is the key here and connecting is not simple or at ease by any means here. It's frustrating. I've been contacted by a few people and we want to collaborate and write blogs together. That's a very difficult thing to do when you don't know them and they very well might be in another country and to chat about what you want to chat about is on a completely different platform. Then when you appreciate someone elses post and you want to share it, out of respect because you think it deserves it... your own blog gets covered up. That makes you not want to share others posts. I haven't made hardly anything on here. It's frustrating but it's also ok. As much time I spend on here (because I'm disabled and can't work) and as much effort and energy it takes to write my very personal blog is.. it would be nice to make some money off of it.
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Good read.
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It made me happy when I earned 1$ and when I earned 10$ and when I earned 100$. I drink beer, try to make people have fun reading about it and share my passion.
This is one of the best things that happened in my modest life.
Only thing that confuses me is who to thank most. People who told me it exists, people who upvote me, people who read what I write, or people who make it better day by day.
All of them I guess.
It's not that I don't give a fuck. I don't. That's the beauty of it. Freedom.
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Hi. I'm here almost a month and already I can see the politics of "who you know," matters. It's kinda sad when a whales vote is counts for about 50 votes compared to a newbie. I can see how a shitty post can make $200 compared to another shitty post for $.12. Unfortunately I'm not an ass-kisser, so getting pennies per post is it for me for now. Oh, well.
Thank you for being candid. You have very good valid points. Thanks for sharing. Aloha!
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Dang!! This was an awesome post!! As a new member I can recognize alot of what you are referring to, but I also see a great potential here. I believe with more like minded souls joining here, that it could possibly balance itself out. I am so following you so I can keep up to date with your candid, in yo face writings!!! Thank you !!!
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People cash out just for simple reasons, to buy things, it does not matter if its steem or any other currency... The day will come when we can buy things with STEEM, but until that happens, people will keep cashing out... As for the HF19, i guess they are incentivizing new users to grow the platform, and makes sense, there is no point on having just a little bunch of old happy users making big payouts, while new guys cant get more than 2$ a post even with 200 upvotes... Although i cant be sure of how HF19 will work, i don't think it will be that bad for you old users...
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We live in a dysfunctional world and people think it should translate to all things. When I say it's messed up I feel like most people and find it utterly ridiculous that people can get rich from a catch phrase, being a pregnant teen or being an airhead. Too many people have a lottery mentality online as well as IRL and carry a crazed believe that they are owed something when they are not.
Image Source: https://imgflip.com/i/1r14z5
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Very good post. To the point. STEEMIT really has a potential of being "the go to site" where you get freedom of speach. You are absolutely 100% right
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I agree with 99% of this post. Most of all, I agree that the site should be more user friendly. I tried to get my wife on board. However, the first time she used it she was turned off by how clunky and unorganized the site is.
I have personally spent hours piecing together "real original content" articles. Then I post my article with high hopes only to find that I get three up-votes before it gets lost in a sea crypto price updates and plagiarized news articles stolen from the web. Some of which have hundred plus dollar price tags attached. Seems more like a popularity game than an authentic "pay you for your work" site. That being said. I will still keep poking around to see if improvements are made. Though, it seems that the time I spend here is less and less each time and further in between.
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But what if I agree?
Anyway, thanks for writing this. Some things need pointing at.
Is there a "you're just a jealous socialist being toxic" reply yet?
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Woah! Steady on there old chap! :-)
I am just writing a post addressing these points, unfortunately it's a Steemit post!
I personally have given up talking about this subject, I last mentioned it in my first issue of The Critic, however it is the whales who love the Steemit posts who are fuelling this.
Plus of course, it becomes self-perpetuating, because new users see high payouts for Steemit posts, so they vote on them as well, and so it goes on, and on, and on.
Cg
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Say it again.
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Some excellent points - I agree on a lot - re the website I honestly do not think it is that shitty, there are shittier out there but it could be a bit more attractive - re mobile app I agree, website first then app - also why not just making esteem to the official mobile app?
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@schattenjaeger can you do a summary on HF19 ?
Steemit's search function is such shit I cant find the original post!
Searching for friends and posts on here really makes everything so frustrating.
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I read your post....and frankly Steemit could fail
I am new to steemit...I posted several stories....see my blog...and 6 days later I suddenly cannot post a story anymore.....why....I did go into live chat and ask several questions about steemit and all and two people were very rude and reported me to abuse where there was no abuse at all I asked 2-3 questions and they went nuts....is there some sort of cult like group in steemit where they know how to shut your account down through computer programs using abuse? Is so then there is no free speech in steemit and it is noting more that crazies who are hurting steemit where fewer quality people come to steemit...please let me know about this so I do not waist my time....I was never rude or a jerk to anyone...
Also, many people commented that I actually used my real name and I have my Linkedin page in my profile....so it is like there is some sort of group of people in steemit who do not want people like me in steemit...they want there little bitcoin hype platform and nothing more...they do not want people using their real names in here...they want more of a AOL thing where nobody really knows who the other person is.....
if steemit wants to be nothing more than bitcoin stories then it will fail....
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Thank you for the thoughtful prose. "the fact is that you don't make good rewards on Steemit because your posts are amazing. You make good rewards by knowing the right people. "
I hope that some of us new to Steemit can help to change this. Identifying the real people and creating a community of thoughtful commentary should be something everyone can get behind.
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What is this.? I came here just to earn some extra money
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Steemit is not all about the money, that's already true. This reads like a pre rage-quit post. Everything's bad, developers are all incompetent, etc etc. Too much of this, not enough of that. Yup, it all sucks. Have a good day.
Steemit's Community engagement is up over 1000%
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Many good points worthy of consideration! Social media has always seemed shallow to me but I concede to being fuckin' old:) Controlled opposition comes to mind, too, if the goal is to track as many as possible via the MPC( mass profiling civilization) .....It seems 2000 people have vacuumed up over 70% of the world's wealth and are turning everyone else into internet panhandlers....
Things you mention make me think of gatekeepers......
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I personally believe that a community that's happy and proud of itself has some merits and feeds the bit of tribalism that helps people stick around until they get addicted. So a dose of circle-jerk steemit-is-awesome posts might actually be healthy for the community as a whole. But if we want this to last for longer, there should be more than that and there are certainly people working on that. I see a lot of interesting posts about philosophy, politics, science, music, photography and so on. The thing about me though is that I almost never visit the trending or hot pages, I just look at my feed and look at the content of the people that I have decided to follow. I think a great addition to the steemit interface would be the ability to follow (or exclude) a topic/tag from your feed. So if you hate the cirle-jerk, you just mute everything with the steemit tag and suddenly you see a whole different network.
As still a relatively new user, I do read a lot about steem and steemit itself just because I find it all fascinating.
About the marketing, the money here is what differentiates the network - if it wasn't for the rewards, the clunky outdated interface wouldn't really be something to attract and foster a community. But I agree that it's better for it to be played as a bonus, not as a living or a serious income.
As you probably know, steemit is not the first online community/social network where people earn something for participating or producing content and many of those are not around anymore. But a phenomenon that you would always see in environments like that would be on one hand a lot of content about the platform, and on the other, a lot of people that are interacting with the others just so they can draw some attention to their own content and hopefully build a following and thus an income. So money and social media is bound to add some level of disingenuousness into the mix, no way around that.
But you are absolutely right, if steem is going to succeed in the long run, it needs to be full of engaging content that's worth your time even if you are not earning anything.
Still, there is one key difference between YouTube and Steemit that makes content creators behave markedly differently. On YouTube you don't earn money just from likes by registered users, you earn money from anybody that visits your post. On steemit, non-logged-in visitors are worthless in terms of rewards and to earn something you have to go after other content creators. So you don't make content that appeals to any casual user on the internet, you make content that appeals to other people that want to create content, build a following on the platform and earn money. This makes the circle-jerk phenomenon infinitely more likely.
Additionally, it's absolutely logical that the most discussed topic will be the platform itself as this is the main thing everybody with a vote cares about. If you write about any other niche, you are limiting your potential reach within the platform and keeping in mind that only registered users matter to your rewards, there is no real incentive to try and go after the casual internet browsing peep.
So in my humble opinion, some of the problems are here to stay including the circle-jerks and so many posts being about the platform itself. But hopefully the current growth would lead us to a situation where it's at least not bothersome.
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I found the "circle jerk" posts to be annoying, too. I mean, Steem/steemit related posts have always received big payouts and a lot of attention but about a month or two ago those "advice to newbies" posts were out of control. I literally stopped following some of the authors I formerly enjoyed because I couldn't stand their sudden, newfound love for "helping out" the new members. As if new people can't figure it out like the rest of us. From a psychological standpoint it reminded me of a child's developmental stage where they realize they are an individual and become captivated with the self. It was like Steemit (through its users) was just staring at itself in the mirror admiring its reflection.
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So are you saying that you think the new interest in the new members is because they know they are vulnerable ( the new ones are vulverable)? And they are just pretending to care because there are so many new people joining that they concerned that the new ones are floundering and want to sway the new "minnows" to follow them ?
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Finally, you said exactly what I suspected since I joined Steemit merely days ago. Especially this line: "the fact is that you don't make good rewards on Steemit because your posts are amazing. You make good rewards by knowing the right people." It really struck a chord. The site itself is barren to put it nicely. I keep hoping it will improve as more users join. However, seems like a lot of people here just want to game the system and cash out ASAP.
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Appreciated the ideas in this post. I am a poet who came to steemit searching for a platform to display my poetry. The money thing wasn't of great interest but a nice little add on I certainly wouldn't turn down. I have however noticed how incredibly difficult it is sifting through the crap people throw at the wall in hopes of gathering steem. There is quality, professional content hidden under the mounds of garbage if only it were easier to locate. Focus must shift from currency to content for steemit to be something other than just another flash in the pan get rich quick scheme. You are so right that the focus so far has been on the wrong things. It has placed the cart firmly in front of the horse and is going nowhere.
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I guess everyone's perspective is different depending on where they stand in life. I remember a time when I had to choose between going out to dinner or saving those few dollars to buy me some badly needed shoes. When one is at that point, cashing out your Steem dollars, or breaking your piggy bank, or pawning your cat (lol), is all you can do. I like your honest writing. Kudos!
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STEEMIT = DARK MIRROR ?
STEEMIT = PONZI SCHEME ?
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STEEMIT = DARK MIRROR ?
STEEMIT = PONZI SCHEME ?
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