H19 Hardfork, a change to rejoice or regret?
Steemit is buzzing currently after the latest hard fork two days ago.
Many people are rejoicing at the increased rewards they will recieve for work waiting to be paid out. I for one have benefitted greatly from the change which has seen those of us relatively new to the platform recieve better rewards for the work.
I do however have a number of concerns regarding what will happen to Steemit in the future now after looking at some posts and comments since the fork was enacted.
I've seen a lot of chat from newbies talking about posting 20 times a day, copying and pasting any old rubbish in the hope of reward. Also I saw a post yesterday where a girl posted a picture of herself in underwear saying... I'm paraphrasing.
"I'll get my tits out if this post reaches $1000!"
Is this what we want?
The last time I checked it wasn't far off that amount so sadly I guess so. Don't get me wrong I'm not prudish in any way, shape or form and I enjoy an attractive woman as much as the next red bloodied male. Anyone who has seen me on Discord will testify.
I came to Steemit as I follow Jeff Berwick and others in the Anarchy/Truth/Crypto space, I didn't know what Steemit was and had no intention of blogging. I didn't know you could, I just wanted to support the truthers I follow without putting money in the pockets of YouTube who have become increasingly fascistic in demonitising people they deem to be "fake news".
The fact that I can use this platform to say my piece and connect with others is a happy bonus which I now really enjoy.
But I didn't originally come here for the money, I swear to you.
Which leads me to my questions for you all.
Do you want Steemit to become a platform where vapid and soulless posts are consistently rewarded?
Are you happy to see Steemit morph in a blockchain version of the worst of YouTube or God forbid Facebook?
Will you vote for these posts or will you save your votes for posts that help, educate and enlighten?
I'm a big fan of the minnowsupportproject, it has helped me to become a more thoughtful and hopefully entertaining writer.
As well as helping to find more like minded followers and people to follow.
However I would be happy to see a bit more guidance from the experienced Steemians in helping the new recruits to think about their posts to add value to the platform. This is no way meant as a dig at the great work currently being done as I myself would still be virtually invisible here without the minnowsupportproject.
Here are 2 examples (and there are many) I feel are testament to the validity of the project.
The first is @arbitrarykitten She posted this fantastic piece recently which as you will see has been rewarded well. Please read it if you haven't as it is a really great post and you can tell she has a lot to offer.
https://steemit.com/story/@arbitrarykitten/10-things-i-learned-from-being-homeless
The Second is a lovely bloke going by the name of @perceptualflaws His writing and photos are so lovely however sadly he is yet to recieve the level of rewards I feel he is due. Hopefully financial reward is on its way as he has great potential. Here is an example his great words.
https://steemit.com/travel/@perceptualflaws/part-2-of-a-beautiful-philosophical-walk-along-the-southwest-coastal-path-in-england-told-with-original-words-and-pictures
Hard to argue they are both talented. And that's my point. Steemit has attracted some very talented people and I for one would love to see creative, informative work rewarded more so than a picture of some girls arse or a dog turd.
I have been here about 5-6 weeks now and I look back on some of my earliest posts with slight embarrassment however I am learning and will always strive to produce better content.
I am currently trying to get TeamGB up and running as a support network and a bit of fun for those in Britain to join to get better exposure. There is also the opportunity to have some great banter with our cousins down under in @teamaustralia and with the currently being created Teamamerica.
I will say however that I for one will not be blindly upvoting any old rubbish put out by someone solely because they hail for the same shores. The cream must come to the top.
Anyway my fellow Steemians that's my take on the Hardfork.
What do you think? Am I being a bit snobbish or do I have a point?
I invite all comments but won't respond to abuse as that behaviour should stay at YouTube and Facebook, IMHO.
Thanks for visiting @tremendospercy
If you are interested in becoming part of the fledgling TeamGB please click below and leave a comment
https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@tremendospercy/a-passionate-plea-for-teambritain-can-we-rival-the-aussies
Tremendospercy avatar created by @epic designs
I love the hardfork - after 10 months on Steemit, yesterday was the best day ever.
Don't worry about old dog turd tits, that stuff doesn't work round here and all the newbies don't have any wedge anyway!
https://steemit.com/steemit/@sift666/hot-leather-clad-babes-on-motorbikes-vs-cryptocurrency-charts
See that's picture I can appreciate. Nice bike!
It's never nice asking difficult questions especially when it could open you up to abuse. The post is hopefully going to provoke thought about the content people vote for.
I don't worry about things I have no control over as its pointless.
I hope you're right. It's where the newbies end up that is my concern, if a huge influx of low content Steemians appear they will eventually have power and the quality content may get drowned out.
Thanks for commenting.
👍pic
I am going to Resteem this post so you can hopefully turn it into some more SP. Also MinnowSupportProject and TeamAustralia too brother 👍
Legend.
Hey @tremendospercy thanks a million for mentioning me in this post, it's greatly and humbly appreciated and I'm so glad you felt my work worthy of a mention. The H19 hardfork has an appeal in terms of a greater value for the votes that are given, but you're entirely correct because on the flip side if our voices are drowned out with a barrage of soulless money making exercises then I fear it will be at the detriment of not only the multitude of talented writers on here but also for the site itself .. I guess we'll just have to see what direction it takes. I'm just going to keep working away and trying to keep my content as high as possible, safe in the knowledge that patience is a virtue. Thanks again my friend you truely are tremendos!
You're work is so good and underpaid, hopefully my mention will help get you a few more £££
I guess we'll see over the next few weeks what the Hardfork will really mean.
Catch ya soon buddy and make sure to drop your work in pm for me so I don't miss it.
Cheers
Superb @tremendospercy I couldn't agree more. In fact I was considering writing a similar piece but you've saved me the time and laid down all the same issues and things that concern me. The day I saw the "I'll get my tits out for $1000" post I'd spent hours researching and writing a post about Jack Johnson a man who changed the world and is deserving of more credit
https://steemit.com/life/@gamma-rat/jack-johnson-legend-of-boxing-and-civil-rights-pioneer
.... and I think this is relevant as the people who tend to try to bring real change , with hardwork and sacrifice and talent are often forgotten by the "tits out" brigade. Im happy if it only gets a single vote so long as that one person is moved or interested by it.
I have a few extra issues starting to develop with Steemit as a platform ...
How can it ever be a meritocracy with the concept of Whales and Minnows anyway. I understand harder work and longevity deserve greater reward but its a bit too much of a heirarchical system so far in my albeit limited experience
Criticism is a good thing in life it helps right wrongs and helps us grow. If there was a financial risk at stake, the posibility of losing Steem because of her crass antics she may of thought twice. Not to just pick on her all the people just reposting an Alex Jones video would fear a loss too.
Is there a possibility in future of a real fork , where say a Steem Classic platform could form and take people with it that take content seriously?
Just a couple of points there I wanted to make but id like add some balance, Steemit is a wonderful idea, its not only got me creative and excited about sharing some of my thoughts and knowledge on subjects its also put me in touch with like minded truth warriors all over the world like yourself and @perceptualflaws who I share your admiration for. Im far from judging Steemit negatively yet, if its truly free market then the market must decide if it wants "tits out" or thought provoking, world changing, spirit raising , ass kicking content. I trust in people and I trust in the good folks of Steemit to make this work for the good of us all!
@Gamma-Rat
I agree that the minnows/whales concept is counterproductive in the sense that it does not incentivize people to vote for quality content, but rather to chase whatever the whales are posting and upvote just to get a piece of that pie whether the posts really deserve it or not. In my opinion, everyone's vote should carry the same weight. Just because someone has been on Steemit a long time or because they've perhaps purchased a lot of Steem doesn't mean they are more qualified to judge quality content nor are they more deserving of higher payouts just because of that. This is more of an oligarchy, rather than the true meritocracy that Steemit should be, as you pointed out.
A major appeal of Steemit is the lack, or at least theoretical lack, of censorship. Ideally this will be a platform where people can freely share ideas without fear of oppression. Yet this is a double-edged sword of course in that it can also result in a deluge of poor quality, trashy posts clogging the feeds. The NSFW, tagging and flagging system is supposed to help control that to a degree, but I think finding a way to give us more control over our own personal feeds would be helpful, especially since people do not always tag appropriately. If spam/trash posters know they can garner even a few extra votes by not appropriately tagging their posts, then they'll post anyway, which means the rest of us have to play policeman. Ugh!
Aside from that, and just thinking off the top of my head here, I'd really like a feature that would let me choose a 'top 20 or top 50 list of people I'm following so that I would be sure to always see their posts in my feed. This would help build community and encourage active support.
I agree with your suggestions @eyeofthestorm ..... we need a model were we are all the ocean rather than individual big fish! The essence of Blockchain. A holarchy rather than heirarchy I must admit that I thought that was how Steemit operated until quite recently I hadn't used my account much and only knew of whales from other areas of the crypto space. Voting should be equal for all otherwise its a copy of Hillary Clintons 'superdelegates' .... The system seems unfair on the whales themselves too as I wouldn't like being constantly harrassed by new users to upvote content I had no connection with, I'd much rather look for subjects that interest me organically. A tiered system may be a good idea where we all have a whale vote say 100% , a dolphin vote 75%, Minnow vote 50% and so can grade content we like by how high a percentage we reward them. Im in unchartered waters here as I'm no expert but there seems to be room for suggestion.
I really like your tiered system idea!
You also make a good point in that, even though whales benefit financially from the current setup, the downside is that people are chasing after them just for their status. Who wants to be 'loved' just for the money?
Yes these Steemit users are "Whale Hunters" 😂 or maybe "Captain Ahabs" is a better term .... How to stop Whale hunting? Well make the Whale blubber a much less profitable resource of course!
@eyeofthestorm I love the idea of a top 20/50 especially when you follow a lot of people. Although I would hate to miss certain posts who may not make the cut.
I already feel bad as I post, comment and reply so much that I'm missing great posts from people I like.
The discord app is a great way to pm your posts to like minded individuals to ensure their stuff is not missed. I do this currently with a number of peope.
Thanks for the comment dude.
@tremendospercy
It is hard to keep up already and I have less than 500 followers. I guess it's encouraging in a way and reflects well on Steemit so far if we feel like there are too many good posts for us to even get to.
I'll look into the Discord app. Many thanks.
Great comment and I agree entirely @gamma-rat I believe in freedom and if that's what the majority want they can have "tits out" and I'll go to Steemit Classic 😃 an idea that may catch on by the way.
Everybody's opinion matters however my main fear is that the most dumbed down opinions may prevail as sadly due to poor education and the reality show culture we are bombarded with daily, enlightening, cultured, educational and poignant content will be drowned out by a wave of , frankly Shite.
Thanks for your well thought out and smart comment.
@tremendospercy
Well my albeit limited understanding of Blockchain tech is that the same principal that stops central banks ever being able to control Bitcoin, if implemented properly on a social media platform like Steemit, should due to Free Market mechanisms and decentralisation stop poor content from swamping good content. I call it "digital fairness" and Im an interested observer on Steemit as to how this built in fairness will pan out. Exciting times my friend
You bet. I hate the banksters too.
It is indeed interesting times.
Superb Post Tremendospercy :)
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Thx for commenting buddy
You've raised important points and my answer is an emphatic no to vapid posts and Steemit morphing into a frightful Youtube/FB chimera. I also say no to the current oligarchical system of whales/minnows which, as I mentioned in my reply to gamma rat, may act as a bit of a disincentive to supporting high quality content if people can make more money by voting otherwise.
I will continue to vote for what I perceive to be good quality and to support fellow Steemers who are sincerely sharing knowledge, information, talent, experience, and beauty.
Good on ya mate.
I seen that post about that girl, I think lots of the people in the community flagged it... as for me, I don't want to see that kinda clickbate stuff ... agreed! 🙌🏼
Thanks buddy. It's encouraging to know I'm not the only one.
You've got my support fella, I trust you saw my post on the subject? I was a little more scathing and worried about the maths side of things but I think we have the same concerns - strategic voting, not rewards for quality.
No such concerns here, top quality :)
Cheers buddy. I'll go check yours now.
Buddy, I agree. I am seeing a lot of rubbishy posts coming through. I think some people think that by posting 20 times a day and getting a dollar a post = 20 dollars = a good day. I am finding that even with some decent content, it is a bit more difficult to get votes as they are a little more precious than before.
I hope it doesn't turn into a free for all and gets filled up with spam. I do feel that good posts are getting lost in the large amount of content being posted. It is a cause for concern as there are only so many hours in the day you can trawl through content. Thanks for sharing once again!
That's the reason why @teamaustralia TeamGB and the new stacksilvergold networks will be important going forward.
You will get seen and voted by like minded people and you can choose to cut funding by not upvoting if members start to post shit for $$
Thanks for commenting buddy.
i think it was a possitive change...
I don't disagree, I just would like to see folks think about their future content and not just chase $$$
Thanks for commenting.