A Vote is NOT a Like - Steemit Explained for Noobs

in steemit •  7 years ago  (edited)

Facebook Likes and Steemit Votes are not the same - here is why

I am confused about some people discussing which posts deserves more rewards as others. Especially the experienced ones should know better. SMH these days more and more - might be related to the declining steem price - relax, take a deep breath and do not mix up Facebook with Steemit. Some might still use Steemit as they use Facebook (or think it works the same - it is not!) - however the main difference in the following:

On Facebook you like something because it is hot or you agree on a content

Means to me - as a Facebook User I would likely vote for that:

On Steemit you vote something because you think it generates curation rewards

Means to me - as a Steemit User I might even consider to vote this:

This is why some people earn a lot money (if they own enough Steem Power), they do not vote what they like, they vote from an ROI perspective.

Thanks for your attention!

Sources: Pixabay

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You are trying to tell the truth about steemit. This is also my passion and my mission. But who makes friends by telling the truth?
I hope you'll have much luck. Upvoted.

This post received a 1.4% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @steemit.nemesis! For more information, click here!

It is not about making false friends - however i am not telling anything new but discovered some strange habits recently and wanted to write about - that is all :-) - thanks mate

Good point. The truth sometimes makes people scatter.

A Vote is NOT a Like

I totally agree, yet would personally find it even more to the point to state it as "A Vote is not necessarily a Like*, because many do consider their votes as a like and most of these users don´t care too much about a ROI. And imo there is nothing wrong with that. Along the same lines, also a downvote is not necessarily a Dislike.

This is totally true @shaka - I might change my text and adapt your quote "A Vote is not necessarily a Like"

I'm now following you. Don't get a big head, it's just an investment & educational tool. ;-)

:-) yeah bud, awesome decision

Good point! Steemit hat its own rules. Steemit is NOT facebook. That's quite simple, but sometimes people forget about it.

A Vote is not necessarily a Like

Yes, but everybody likes a vote :-)

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Oh yikes, I realize I am so completely lost on Steemit. I'm upvoting the above post and @shaka's comment because I learned something. I don't like what I learned ;-) and I wish it weren't true.

Vincent van Gogh's ROI was eventually huge, but unfortunately for him, it was a very long term investment. @roused

Du hast den wichtigsten Tag von allen vergessen: #tittietainment! :-D

Aber um auf seriöse Weise auf Deinen Post zu antworten (den ich endlich mal wieder mit 100% voten konnte - VP is back, yuhuuuu!): ein Like auf Steemit ist ein Investment. Eine Vote Entscheidung ist auf ganz anderen Motivationsgründen basiert als es beispielsweise auf FB der Fall ist. Ein Vote kann strategische (ich vote, weil der Empfänger in irgendeiner Weise "bedeutsam" für mich ist) oder ökonomische (Curation Rewards) Gründe haben.
Sicher gibt es auch auf steemit viele User die (immernoch) voten, was sie - aus rein emotionalen Gründen - "gut" finden. Die lernen aber relativ schnell dazu...:-)

Resteemed.

In der Rolle "Curator" kann ich dem Autor am besten meine Wertschätzung ausdrücken, wenn ich dessen Artikel nicht nur vote, sondern auch inhaltsbezogen kommentiere. Ich versuche das bei so vielen Artikeln wie möglich.
Allerdings ist das bei der immer weiter zunehmenden Flut von neuen Posts kaum noch möglich.
Weil ein Vote alleine wenig oder gar nichts über die Motive des Voters aussagt, sollte man nicht zu sehr darüber spekulieren. Als Autor freue ich mich über die Votes, aber auch über die Kommentare, vor allem dann, wenn sie meinem Artikel einen inhaltlichen Mehrwert geben, sei es als Ergänzung oder als Kritik. Ist ein Vote eines Wals mehr "wert" als das eines kleinen Fisches? Gemessen in Payout auf jeden Fall. Bei den Kommentaren kann das anders sein. So ist Steemit eben so vielfältig und undurchschaubar wie das Leben selbst.

Danke meine liebe @surfermarly - gute Punkte - ich wollte lediglich einen Unterschied aufzeigen, den manche (nicht alle) so sehen. Bitte bleib hier und lass Dich nicht unterkriegen, wir alle sind evtl. etwas angespannt und sollten tief durchatmen und uns alle versuchen zu verstehen. Das gilt für alle Parteien. Die Community sollte wenn nicht 100% positiv so zumindest professionell bleiben. Menschliche Reaktionen und Aussagen sollten wir nicht immer persönlich nehmen. Da fasse ich mir an die eigene Nase, da ich auch manchmal überreagiere -am besten einen runden Tisch und persönlich austauschen. Die Community braucht Dich!

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

I surely agree with the first part... mainly because I do not have Facebook...
But on the second bit, I disagree. I would vote on that picture because I like it too... not because I will get lot's of revenue by voting on it.

I see Steemit as a free open society and definitively not censored, allowing me to freelly express my will. Therefore I can just tell what's on my mind, as anyone else... like you for example. I would also say that mainly the value comes from personal opinion and whatever people identify within it as intrinsic values. This makes up room for what voting on Steemit is all about. People that want voting power, want it for two reasons (mainly), to invest in long term and to have a powerful decision on Steemit! - not necessarily to win more revenue. But sometimes to do simple stuff like, up a reply, or making someone feel valuable because that's what we wish the post to be valued about.

Hence I do really see your view about Facebook... and having some historical reasons for not being on it... I really see why you and I would vote for that amazing picture =)

Although on Steemit, I feel I could vote for that same picture because I would be allowed to freely choose MY importance on it. As opposed to a SIMPLE Facebook LIKE, that has nothing to value on your own opinion (in terms of weight compared with the Facebook community). You get the same value as Michael Jackson for example!

Nice post.. and because I wish everyone to comment and check out my comment.. I will upvote myself (not because I wish to win curation rewards, since I on my current 92% of vote power efficiency). AND I like to vote when I am near 100% if not at it!

You officially have my longest reply... =)

This is an awesome reply and i hope to generate more of these reactions - totally agree. My post is in no way aimed to only vote for sth you get rewarded - it was just a very tight summary of how some people vote. Glad about your reaction, happy to elaborate. Being naive i still believe in the community aspect and censorship freedom to do what anyone wants to do.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Same feeling here!
grede.png

I upvoten this article because I think the author has put thought into the content and hit a good point in the steem meta game. I value the creation and hope my contribution will bring on other members.
Re-steeme.

Edit: the boobs are also very pleasing to look at

Yep very true.

I personally try to bridge the two, but certainly my votes are distorted by financial incentives....

Thanks mate - me too - if you are not a whale it is difficult, i try to make good split also to help people that i like and that have my back instead of supporting people that do the opposite. Thanks for your support

There are many reasons for voting. A few days ago I got a big vote for only one word.

Nun hast du mit diesem Artikel ein dickes Brett gebohrt und damit viel Erfolg gehabt. Glückwünsch und Respekt für deine Courage. Die Anzahl und Qualität der Kommentare sagt vielleicht mehr als als die Anzahl der Votes und die Höhe des Payouts. Wir sollten alle mehr auf die Wertschätzung achten, die uns durch sinnstiftende Kommentare zuteil wird. Payout ist nicht alles.

Danke @freiheit50 - was meinst mit Courage genau? Stimme Dir in allen Punkten zu

Yeah - makes sense. It is sad in a way or maybe we can say that different people may use this platform for different purposes. It is after all a great place to find interesting articles and information on various topics. With that in mind, I think there are those that are on here primarily for the rewards, others clearly not, they are here to share, learn and connect with like-minded steemians. What I find very difficult as a newbe is that our posts are often zapped by without being noticed. I.e. we put a lot of work in a post and in the end 5 people end up seing it. Personally, I am trying to figure out whether this makes sense for me :) As a source of information I find it interesting and a valuable addition to the social networking landscape. Nice post.

Thanks @snailpath - agreed on different purposes - good to have a mixed community. Being a newbie it becomes more difficult to be noticed that is true - some group might help you there for certain topics or languages - you might want to check relevant gas to build up your network. It sure takes time - i made zero cents in my first months. Keep on trying

Thank you Uwe, appreciate your time and interest! I will go checking for gas now ;)

great explanation

but in this case I like and I vote :D

@kam.ila

Thanks a lot @kam.ila

Hi Uwe,

Yes you are right,

Likes do not produce anything.

I do not think most users on Steemit vote for the curations rewards. Curation rewards are for the small SP holders next to nothing and they must realise this quickly looking at their weekly curation rewards versus weekly post and comment rewards.

And if most of the users would vote to maximise their curation rewards, they do not seem to have the correct knowledge in how their rewards are maximised. It seems that posts with a lot of votes and a lot of rewards will automatically attract even more votes. Users vote for HOT and TRENDING posts. But in fact, the result of such votes are minimisation of their rewards, unless the votes are casted as one of the first, before the big fish casted their votes. And even then, the rewards can be quite low for a small SP holder of which we probably have 99% of in our community.

But actually, I think most of the Steemians do vote what they like, instead of thinking "will I maximise my earnings with this vote?". And to be honest, I would love it when most of the users would indeed only vote for those posts that they read and really liked. The vote slider can be used to express how much you like the post, 100% for awesome and 1% for "I somehow like the post, but somehow also not, but I like to support anyway" or whatever reason it is for a 1% vote.

Thanks for that detailed reply, much appreciated. Agree that as newbie with near to nothing on SP the ROI aspect is not relevant. Personally I try to find a way to vote for both. The Whales might see this different as they might have invested some real money.

I don't vote on things because of rewards at all. It never factors into what I vote on Steemit. I just vote on what I like and if the content is something I like.

The pics are nice but it's not why I upvote a post. I even upvote things I disagree with if it is well written and offers a unique perspective. For example, I don't agree with the points in this post but I still upvoted it because it gets people thinking and talking about why they upvote things which is good for Steemit.

ROI has nothing to do with my decision at all. It doesn't factor into who I vote for, or follow, or comment on. All I do is create the best content I can and interact with people on the site and try to help where I can. It's that simple really.

Great to hear - gives me hope for the future! Thanks for replying

I just vote what I like. :-)
Sometimes, even when the reward is not expected to be good.

Awesome buddy, I know you are a great nice personality!

Thank you

After two weeks on steemit ... that's the only thing that saddens me. It should be all about the content, but in reality it's all about the money. If anything could be the downfall of this thing ... that's it! I vote because I like something ... and consequently my ROI is about zero :)

Thanks for replying - when you scroll through the comments here you might see not everyone is in for the money which is a good thing.

I don't really think about what curation rewards I will get. Over a week I will make a bit, but I'm not checking on what posts made me most. I vote up posts that I think are good so the author earns something and to make them more likely to be seen. On FB people end up paying to get their content seen. That's a big difference and when more people realise this they will come flocking to Steemit

that's some perspective. I think i vote for everything I like. My vote doesnt count for much yet, and i like many things. boobs and flowers are both nice :)

Glad you like boobs and flowers, sure your vote will count a lot soon.

I disagree. I think that you could look at upvotes from an ROI perspective, but if you do you are simply "buying in" to what you are guessing will be popular.

I think instead of curating for cash, we should curate for value.

A post is valuable when it adds value to the community. That value can come in many forms;

It's something beautiful
It's funny
It taught you something
It made you happy, sad, feel any emotion
It provided a useful tip or trick to help others
It gives something back to the community or the world
You agree with it
It created discussion

Looking at it from a purely ROI perspective means that whales get richer and minnows eventually drop away until Steemit dies a miserable boring death.

Upvotes are important for the growth of the community. Don't pick something because you think it's what everyone else will pick! Upvote what brings YOU value.

Just my two cents, for what it's worth.

well said - i totally agree - but look around and see what reality is - i am totally wth you that would be the best - but we live in huge as well s micro circle jerks - the bad thing the ones driving such jerks public vote against what they do.

i wrote something very similar and referred to members who vote as pass rewards on as power followers. I also highlighted that all members should manage their voting power %. Let me know if you want me to link you into what i wrote ... upvoted and resteemed

sure - link me

To a certain degree, I think what you wrote is true, on steemit, whether people admit it or not, the main lure is money but humans being humans can be predictable and unpredictable at the same time, people think about ROI most of the time but will also likely to upvote a post for many other reasons besides ROI.

Totally agreed, just wanted to show my feelings and what I (just my thing) think

Votes represent quality and not just randomly sprayed likes.
This article is great and it really does explain a lot..
The moral of the story is that this website gives support to people that have quality stuff on their heads not only pictures of cats and selfies.
Cheers and best if luck frien

I love my curation rewards, even if it's tiny. Not even 1 SP per week right now but it's all cool.

So how is the rewards distributed!? Because I cannot understand why a post with same potential rewards and similar upvotes distributes differently between author and curators.
I never understand how to interprete ROI as you say. Is it just voting the trending posts?
Thanks for clarifying!!

Let me elaborate later on this. Something to do with timing on votes and who votes when (different Power e.g.).

ROI not really trending, when you vote on a post there usually curation is already allocated to them. Better vote new ones with not many votes and hope they will receive tons after your vote and become trending then

Thanks!! So now I understand why the introduceyourself posts from others get so much money! (Not my case ;(

It's really up to the user how you vote.

I've previously been extremely picky about who I hand out money to, but recently I've made it my job to have many interactions and build up my accounts, have projects etc instead.

Your way is a great way - i used to focus on interaction - I still do and try to up vote nearly any useful comment, sad this it what many stopped doing. Re the the post I just wanted to explain a bit how the successful ones (financially handle it).

LOL..oops I fall into the Noob category! I always use my upvotes as likes..more to support people as well as content that I like :))

That's why my curation rewards are sooo low they are pretty much nonexistent hehe

I get what you are saying, and I agree with you. But when I upvote a post that I like, i vote for it to reward that person who took the time to write something of value and that people want to read. That should be the real underlying reason to vote for a post for someone else. Hope I made sence.
Thanks for your post it does help people understand about voting.

Nah, I only vote on content I enjoy. If I don't I don't vote, curation rewards were cool a year ago when I first started but in reality if you're upvoting for curation rewards you're constantly spending a ton of time on here finding content to upvote around the ten minute mark, or you use a bot and manage it. One is a pain the other you miss a ton of good content letting the bot work for you.

I'm here for the content not the rewards, they're just a bonus.

Just the thoughts of someone who's been here a year.

I agree with your POV.

Thank you. Following you for more tips..!

For me, the big difference is with Steemit you can vote for simply liking it, or for making money or for both. With Facebook you only have that first option, you can also throw your productivity out of the window if you choose to spend too much time with it.

Thank you for your explanation. Appreciate it

What your implying is users of steemit will vote on posts which are known to go trending, ergo generating SP for themselves too, even though they might not like that post , I was doing that initiallly but now i only upvote if i really like the content

Thank you for another reason to think about what I do here on Steemit. I frankly have a spinning head and still have no clue what the hell I'm doing or what it could possibly give me. All I know is, I am staying true to myself. If I like something and it touches me in some way, it gets my vote!

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Absolutely Right !

Thanks @uwelang for this. I'm still trying to learn about the Steemit world.
Very helpful. Cheers from Barcelona.

I absolutely agree with this but your mindset is also different on Steemit since there is money involved, even though it might be pennies.

Good explanation ;)

I'm too new to know the "right" way to vote. I upvote things that move me in some way, but, with the little power I possess, that doesn't happen as often as I want.

Upvoted

In facebook we earn nothing but in steemit we get paid for voting or been vote for

Correct answe

Huh this is interesting! How does something generate curation awards? I don't quite understand that.

You get curation rewards for voting, however it is more relevant if you have gained more Steem Power - 25% of the rewards for each post go to the people that vote. If you are the first to vote a post exactly 30 minutes after the post has been posted and this post goes very well, you earn a lot - that is the ideal scenario though.