@grow-pro Oh man, did this post speak to me. I actually found your second article in the series through Reddit. I loved it so wanted to read more from you and found this one.

I actually was going to ask on the steemit subreddit about growing on the platform, since I'm a noob and naively believed in the mantra spouted around here, "Quality will prevail". Pffft, yeah right.

I was actually highlighted twice by @curie, but the people that voted on my content basically saw me as a red pocket on a roulette wheel; a vehicle for them to increase their wealth. Once they voted and got their share, they were gone.

I admit, it was a rush to see a huge boost in views and upvotes on my content. It really cemented that stupid idea that quality content matters on this platform. But besides a nice bit of change in my pocket, nothing significant came from it. No followers, no friends, nothing.

It wasn't until I read this article and the comment chain where I realized that this is all just a game of betting. "Who you bettin' on today, Joe?" Quality content is not what this platform was made for at all. It doesn't recognize it. It doesn't reward it.

I had put myself all-in with Steemit, believing that the community here would appreciate what I had to offer, but it really doesn't. Despite all the negatives, Youtube is still the best place to post your content, no matter how saturated it is. Hell, I've had giant success on Reddit by posting a single picture on there.

Some people may say that "you're not gonna make money off of Youtube with their ad policies" and "you don't even get paid on Reddit", but they're missing the point. Ad revenue is a pittance. The real money comes from building your brand. Taking ownership of your content and deciding how YOU want to make money off of it.

On Steemit, I'm another horse on the racetrack, competing with others that have far more advantages that I will ever have. I really wanted to believe that this platform would be different, that the blockchain-nature of the site would lead to people being more focused on growing the platform to be THE #1 place for amazing content. But it's not.

I was planning to keep my content as Steemit-exclusives, to do what I could to help the platform grow. But in the end, it's a waste of my own efforts, and I'd be better off sharing what I've created with others and guiding my own fate, rather than hoping a whale or curator train drops some votes on me.

Anyway, sorry for the huge rant, but your post, despite being satire, just really spoke to me. I'll keep creating content to the best of my ability, but I'm not going to waste it by keeping it exclusive to a platform that could care less about it.

Thanks so much for the post. Upvoted and followed you, and looking to reading more from you!