RE: Open letter to @Ranchorelaxo and @Haejin.
After reading some of your content, I advise to post it on D.Tube. The bots are still an issue but there is a dedicated curation team which will upvote good content in a video format. I do feel your content is solid so I'll leave that to you.
To add, I feel that the way Steem uses investment of votes as a method of valuing content, is not a great one as I could post a picture of a glass of Coca Cola and with enough investment, get onto Trending as you've mentioned. This is clearly not an indicator of good content but rather an indicator of investment backing. I don't know the answer to this issue but it's clearly not a good idea for Steem to be promoting content via by investment but rather the actual quality content.
Give D.Tube a try with an introduction with yourself, a well made video which you would be happy to give to absolute strangers on the street and hopefully the curation team notices you. The curation team checks for bots.
Thank you and yes, I'm not exactly the camera-loving type which is why I spend much of my life under fluorescent lights and in front of monitors. Video is not an easy medium for me.
As you know, economic models are subjective....those who benefit don't complain while rest revolts. All of them are criticized at one point or another, so there is never a perfect solution.
Regardless, I point to the primary purpose of the platform, from which it naturally steered away, though likely unexpectedly. Still, something can be done. The bulk of problems for the 90% of writers (with the least economic power) are not set in stone on the blockhain but rather this layer, the steemit website. I have a pile of ideas in the last week alone but unlikely anyone is listening. But we'll see. All of this (Steemit and beyond) is no bigger than a toddler in the greater scheme of things. Lots of time to go.
From what I can see, you're able to cut through the bullshit when it comes to "Youtube Blockchain Tipsters" and there is no doubt that someone who is able to deconstruct these posts isof heavy valuable to Steem. That's going to give you a lot of authority on this Blockchain and from there, you could even refer people to your content to extend on your reasoning.
I personally believe a lot of the problem is the curation. I can understand that a lot of Steem users, feel their vote isn't worth much whenever a "whale" can change the tide for reasons outside of the quality of said content. I would rather do this via by reputation. The investment would still go through depending on Voting Power and Steem Power, but now it's not a game of who has the most money but rather, how dependable is this person's vote to said content. You would have to believe that a person who is looking for the best content, is not going to be as easily swayed as their reputation could be tarnished because of "voting fraud". With the current model, this just doesn't happen.
Personally a system needs to be made where a vote can be trusted as a means of quality curation. I can fully grasp that if a person invests money into something, it's a show of how much confidence they have in said content but as said, it simply just doesn't work. That's why I'd like reputation to be used. That way, if you keep ripping people's content but being right about it, you'll be seen as someone bettering the blockchain and your vote would mean more because of it.
How much you invest to said content to keep content creators coming back, that's up to you and I hope this happens soon. Would make for far better content.
I agree. It does kinda suck that rep has zero necessary connexion to income. I also can't help but just see the stark obviousness of @swinn's opinion that this hijean person just "figured 'it' out--" in a way, it motivates me to do better. Personally, yes, of course I would like to make a bit more coin--but hey, frankly I'm just grateful I've made anything. And though I might not be the strongest steemain atm, I have confidence that I will grow stronger. That being said, it kind of saddens me to hear someone like you, @swinn, be so quickly discouraged... Heajin is only one person!! If he's truly "so bad," then, someone better--and that's the thing--there is always someone better--then they will show up and prevail. Then life will go on lol. If you are a capitalist--in other words, a "free market" economist--then by design, you must adhere to the belief that currency (money) is a accurate representation of desire; the last word being key here. In other words, the belief that basically the "demand" for a product is one and the same as an agent's willingness to pay for it. If that is the case, then, we must agree that, although we might not like x,y,z that, if people are freely giving them money that we must--assuming we respect their personal right to spend as they wish and they are doing so "without coercion"--agree the recipient of that "willingness to pay" is necessarily providing some kind of value.
So what's the answer? Simple: CREATE SOMETHING THAT IS MORE DESIRABLE.
When I figure out what that is, I'll (possibly) let you know ;)
So @swinn, I challenge you to stay--the platform is young--the "quality" will improve--but not if all the quality people run off before that can happen!!