Is Steemit really as good as people claim?

in steemit •  7 years ago 

I see posts talking about how good Steemit is. Now, I am only new and it still
feels like a pyramid scheme to me. Sure, when I first started there was a good
introduction payment for my first video, and I was told that this wasn't typical,
but now I am not sure how to really generate money with my posts.

The income seems to be somewhat random as it's based on votes and who
is doing the voting. Also, I am finding it difficult to see, at a glance, when my
favourite people are uploading their content.

I know you are all active enough doing whatever you can to build this platform.
So, how do I prioritise your posts in my feed?

Also, how I make sure that what I am doing is being directed towards those that
want to read or hear or see what I have to show them?

It's one thing to claim this is better than YouTube, but the number of down votes seems
to be a lot greater. While initially, I am making more 'money' (I haven't cashed out yet so I can't claim
to have made any legit real world currency yet) than I would be on YouTube or elsewhere,
I have no real way of promoting my material without bots.

Why do we need promotion bots anyway?
I have heard reports that Steemit isn't decentralised anyway and that those at the top
(sound like a pyramid yet?) have more influence / say / when it comes to voting.

This is why there are 'whales' boosting 'minnows', etc. think in terms of say 'Pewdiepie', with 60 million subscribers on
youtube giving your youtube channel a 'shout out'. You'd get a considerable amount of interest in your material and possibly gain quite a few subscribers.

There have been a few articles calling this a scam as well. However, I am going to reserve judgement for the time being.

If my podcast can generate at least $5 per episode I can drop Patreon for good.

Let me know what you think in the comments down below.

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Its not a pyramid scheme although it does promote community building and can be skewed due to upvote weight. Probably what you want to do to get more upvotes is join some discord communities and promo there as well as on other social media. Additionally its a good idea to enter contests that you can find.
I use steemnow.com to track who upvotes me in a day how much my upvote is worth and what my rewards look like.
I also use steemvoter.com to put my fave users on an auto upvote list where i get to choose the % of the vote I get.
Keeping track of users on your feed CAN be hard and is a big complaint we all have 😃
I aldo reccomend commenting on posts you upvote if posdible for bonus exposure points.
That being said its not for everyone. And i certainly made fuck all my first year here. It took dedicating time to post consistently and upvote and community build.

Hi Pepper! (It's always great to hear from you!!!) I guess I am just wary of enthusiasm for something that is new. Here, some local Steemit users have set up a monthly meeting in the city, at a pub (with a drinks tab) and I started going to get various tips and tricks and to sort out what people were actually doing on the platform.

I can do all of the above. Thanks once again. (I like your most recent video on MV, BTW).
Those tools are pretty cool.

no problemo! steemit is pretty...expansive lol. thats col that you found a local steemit hang tho!!

I am a fan of SteemNow, but I have to say I am using SteemWorld more and more...I feel like Im cheating on SteemNow LOL.

I think Steemit is good, depends what you're expecting of it though. I would say it's just as good if not better as any other social media like twitter of fb just more open in ways.

Thank you for your reply. I am only new and trying to get my mind around everything. I do find it a lot better than some social media already. I also find that people that wouldn't have answered my tweets are more likely to answer my comments here.

YouTube is a dead loss as far as I am concerned. DTube and Dlive are where it's at.

There are so many variables to STEEM and STEEMIT that its not easy to quantify and compare the cost/benefit to steemit over youtube. I read an article yesterday where the source claimed to have over 500,000 youtube subcribers and are making more money on steemit with 500 followers on this platform. That sounds crazy until you realize how much more you are rewarded through the decentralization of STEEMIT running on the STEEM blockchain. I have had some success recently, but there are vlogs or articles that I write that still don't gain traction. My suggestion is to put out as much good material as possible and do so daily. Do you have more on why you believe it might be a ponzi, I'd be interested to hear about.

It's nothing concrete, just a feeling. I guess it's good to be wary of anything new. So far I haven't had any real issues and I am still learning. Once I figure out how it all works then nothing will stop me from creating a lot more.

Its not as good or bad as anyone says, we will see. I think it is still a new idea, and with growth perhaps it will be better, content and payout. Don't you think?

It's still up in the air at the moment, so I still have to reserve judgement. It's yet another platform like any other. I came over because I screwed over by YouTube, but I posted this because people were making extraordinary claims about their income potential versus other platforms. That to me is a red flag.
The proof will be in the bank account, so to speak, when I figure out how to turn what I do into actual real life currency. Then it will go from a hobby to a full time investment of my time.

Hi,
Although I haven’t completed a month on Steemit yet and I am still learning the ropes, I believe that, apart from Steemit’s connection with the cryptocurrency world as a means of rewarding its users, it has many things in common with other social media platforms.
It is hard to follow a big number of accounts, not only on Steemit, but on any other major social media. But why should you try to do that? The real value is hidden in attracting the right pairs of eyes.
Focusing on following and interacting with a small number of users that share a common interest with you will bring the best results. Just like in real life, you don’t mix with everyone and anyone.
Another thing is posting quality content, which, sooner or later, will have the expected results.

Thank you for your reply. Yeah, I guess the challenge is to create the best content that I possibly can. This is why I posted this. I wanted to know what people thought of the platform and what it's like for new users.

It can seem overwhelming and complicated, etc.

I agree with much of what you express regarding difficulty generating money but here are my thoughts: Steem is very new and runs on technology 90% of the public does not understand with expert comprehension. It has a little over 1 million users. That is where Facebook was around 2004. I suggest you Google 'Metcalfe's Law' and see how it applies to the growth of Facebook and even Bitcoin. I am in this for the long game. Most people on here, including myself have not built up enough Steempower to have voting worth. That won't be the case forever. Now, regarding allegations of Scam - I have seen nothing that leads me to believe that. I question if you understand what a pyramid scheme is as I also see no indication of pyramid scheme here. I bought into Steem - where is my current risk of financial loss? Your logic reads 'I am not sure how to generate money with my posts therefore this feels like a pyramid scheme'. I should also mention that decentralization in pure form is an ideal just like true centralization or absolute hierarchy. Egalitarianism is not reality - different structures of delegations will always create contextual specifics. The appropriate use of metadata tags + follower networks is important on here. If you have less than 1k followers you likely need help from someone bigger, hence whales helping minnows and bot services. Finally, I take issue with your comment re: money. Steem and crypto IS 'legit real world currency' - more so even than the worthless fiat currency like USD which you are likely referring to. That is why say Bitcoin has a market cap of 151.98B$USD. Sounds pretty 'real world' to me.

No. What I said was "Now, I am only new and it still feels like a pyramid scheme to me."
It's a separate sentence to the following one which talks about generating money. I never said it was a pyramid scheme. I never said it was a scam. I said it still felt like one (because it's new, the unbridled enthusiasm by some users, various articles saying is was a scam and the various charlatans on the platform making extraordinary claims about earning potential).

This posting was a response to some of those claims and to gather wider perspectives, such as yours, on the matter.

Still not clear on how it feels like a scam. Does not to me. I also only make financial decisions based on rules, never feelings

Well it is not a ponzi scheme because you never have to put any money into the deal. I have cashed out plenty, so that is not an issue. This is a social site, so you will find you will be rewarded for building genuine relationships. Don't try to spam a much of comments, make authentic comments on content that you like. Enjoy the site and the people and the money will come.

Thank you once again for your reply. I will need to set myself up to do more videos and create more content more often. I don't want to spam anyone or upset any one, so I am still trying to find my feet.

Steemit is like any social media site. It takes time to build a following unless you get a boost from an already popular user. The money side of it tends to just put an extra bit of frustration on top, which is probably why you hear more complaints about YouTube and here than places where you can't earn. It's not so much a pyramid scheme as social media with added incentive. People complain about the whales not sharing, but it's no different to the popular people on other social media accounts who wouldn't give the average fan the time of day.

Have you joined up with team Australia yet? It's worthwhile.