BuzzSteem Ep 9 - Don't Let Steemit Become A Ponzi Scheme
Howdy dtube and steemit. Mostly though, this video is for the whales out there, can I get a wuzzah?
Steemit is teetering between becoming full blown Ponzi and collapsing in on itself like Bitconnect, or stabilizing to become the world's best and strongest social media platform powered by the world's strongest and most stable crypto-currency. Who holds the key to this final balance?
I'm lookin' at you whales.
We have to do something to keep minnows growing, and to keep all sizes of fish in the pond. If the whales only feed the whales and the dolphins, the minnows will move on in search of food elsewhere (namely other sites that are also paying their users in crypto, but where users feel they have more of a fair shake.)
Users like @troglodactyl can see the damage these practices have caused and urge the Steemit powers that be to shift course. If Steemit is the Titanic, we haven't hit the iceberg yet, we don't have to sink, but Goddamnit listen to the warnings and DO SOMETHING about it. Steemit is the greatest crypto ship to ever sail the sea. Don't let thousands of people drown now. (ok maybe I took the Titanic comparison a bit far. So sue me.)
Whales, only you can prevent ponzi schemes. Watch. Listen. Resteem.
▶️ DTube
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Thanks for making this video. Just to reinforce, the determining factor for whether Steem goes Ponzi or not is whether investors vote to reward productivity, or just to pay themselves regardless of productivity. Unlike the original Ponzi scheme the investors in Steem have voices and votes that will determine whether it collapses and is forgotten or changes the world for the better.
Those who find this video interesting may also be interested in my original post on the topic: https://steemit.com/steem/@troglodactyl/is-steem-a-ponzi-scheme
I followed you closely since I've joined the platform @troglodactyl. I've seen you very active in the current war between bernie and haejin and in some other cases of abuse.
I just wanted to say thanks for being one of the few good guys who takes action in making the Steemit community go in a positive direction! I am to small to count but I would really want to help so if you ever think me and other small and new people can help, please let us know! Thanks again!
Thanks for your support. Everyone can help. The greatest need is education, and when ideas flow through communities everyone chooses which ones they support and which they resist. Steem builds on that natural dynamic and emphasizes supporting ideas with SP, but even without SP it makes a difference what you talk about with people and write, and what you share.
Without SP you can still contribute to productive discussions, share good ideas and posts, speak out against abuse, and recruit people to help resolve issues too large to deal with alone. Providing encouragement (like you just did) to people you think are doing good work may be more significant than you realize also.
I'll do anything I can to help this community go further!
PS: Curious, and you might have more information about this. What happened to @berniesanders? It looks like he is leaving Steemit? The good guy is leaving and the abusers still here?
That's the first I'd heard that he's leaving. If he is, hopefully the people who buy all that stake vote wisely with it.
I don't know if he does but it looks like he's completely powered down and his account is barely worth something anymore, so that's why I was asking if you know more about this :)
Yeah, I understand that this is a very dumbed-down version of an explanation, but I was hoping that anyone googling Steemit being a Ponzi scheme would find this, and understand it. These topics can be a lot to wrap your head around. The whales will probably never see it anyway, so if regular people do, and it helps them understand this all a little better, I think that helps a little bit! I call it my "basic bitch" explanation. I'm a total luddite, so I feel for people who have comprehension difficulties, like myself, haha.
True words... Yesterday was with a group of people and I basically kept talking about how it's not a ponzi scheme and making them understand the difference between the steemit platform and ponzi scheme.. If only they could see this too.. Nice post... It will sure go a long way in convincing them it's not.
No, the video is great! I really appreciate it, and it really is necessary to communicate it in a widely accessible and comprehensible way (which I'm afraid is not one of my strengths...though I'm working on it). Just trying to get some cross-referencing to maximize visibility for both presentations.
Awesome, keep spreading the word!
Nice video, There is definitely major flaws in the steemit system. Gonna be hard to keep the small/new people around. Whales who sell their votes should be penalized.
Absolutely agree with that sentiment. If the whales don't clean up their act with vote selling, they are setting the example for everyone else. They need to realize that they are part of this problem.
Great presentation!
Just a quick point - More STEEM isn't produced as more content is created, it's kinda fixed I think. So ultimately, more content creators will see less rewards as it's spread thinner.
The upside is with more people the price of STEEM should naturally go up so therefore, the actual monetary value will still be the same.
Unfortunately, if big investors come in and just sell their votes, then it'll start to resemble bitconnect, especially if Steemit becomes known as an investment platform.
And you're right, the whales absolutely have the power to control this, but while there are idle whale accounts staying out of the action, too much is being done by too few.
Right now the bull has a rope around his neck, but if we let go of this rope, it'll cause an uncontrollable stampede.
If you take a look at the Youtube influencers for bitconnect, some have already turned their attention to Steemit.
https://www.steemithelp.net/new-page-3/
I had read on here that Steem is "mined" by creating new content. So that's why I said that. I don't think it's the number of users that would cause returns to diminish but how those rewards were allocated. I had also read somewhere that there isn't a pre-determined amount of Steem and that more is created daily. The issue I was bringing up is that whales who produce no content are therefore "raping" the Steem pool from all the minnows who are creating by just upvoting each other.
The steem economic model is infeasible and unattractive on too many dimensions to be a serious contender in its current incarnation and with the current group of shareholders. It's actually a ponzi scheme built on top of another ponzi scheme, which is current crypto price valuations. The way the pool is split encourages people to do anything but tell other people about steemit, as that just creates more competition. The prices attached to both currencies used here are fantasy numbers pushed ever higher by a combination of fraudulent money, fraudulent trades, and crooked exchanges. Once Tether implodes people will discover what speculators really value sbds and steem at, and steemit won't keep many, if any, users.
I've been here since November 2016. I've come to realized that the mode of maximum profit on this platform was contrary to my ethics; hence, my account has not seen the growth that it could have had I gone with the "flow". I opposed my own growth because it went against my principles. This is one reason I don't give reputation on this platform a lot of creedance because I know it can and has been bought.
The two biggest things I would like to see are bit bots completely removed and self voting deincentivized. These things are contrary to meritocratic rewards based on productivity and also to an ideal I hold dear of every person, regardless of stake, having an equal voice in regard to authorship. I don't oppose stake incentives for curation but have seen way too much abuse on the author side.
Thank you for shining a light on the problem of Steem's propensity to become a full blown Ponzi scheme. This is a real threat.
I agree entirely. I would love to see voting bots gone, so that we can tell the difference between great product and bought product. I upvote my own posts right now, because they are worth .08. If I ever got to a position where I could upvote myself into the hundreds, I just wouldn't. Besides, at that point, don't people have enough followers to upvote them? Ugh it's so frustrating. Steem has so much potential, but more weak heels than an army of Achilles, and it only takes one of them to rupture to take out the whole enterprise. I hope that doesn't happen though!
Absolutely @bethwheatcraft ! Some whales do, then stop. Other whales don't at all. Sometimes both are discouraging believe it or not. Gratitude is not a practice we've all had the fortune of learning. Flagging is only part of the solution (debatably, cuz it hurts and therefore discourages). Thanks for your voice ✌️
Yeah, everyone needs to be on ship dumping out the extra water, lest we all sink.
I am not too worried about this, when steemit first started people were making good money on steemit but when the Hardfork happened last year it heavily affected steem. In a matter of time some people are going to come in and invest huge sums and new whales will be formed. I think their are too many options and opportunities before steem would crash.
Right but Steem currency depends on lots of users, because of the way the creators have set up these different platforms around it. It's not like BTC where it would still have value if just a few people on the top held Steem. Steem's value goes up when its corresponding websites do well. If the whales crash the websites due to greed, they will lose all of their value in Steem.
This is an interesting video. I agree with it, and it makes sense. I think that this will turn into a modified ponzi scheme, but maybe not.
I hope not! Ponzi schemes always fail. Only time will tell. I just want to make sure I do everything humanly possible to prevent it!
@bethwheatcraft the ponzischeme plan by any person will surely fail.
Steemit.com is the best ship my life enteted👊😊.
See reasons here
I'm following you now😄
Ok, a little perspective on where we are in the pyramid. In 2012, YT had an estimated 500Million account holders; Steem is at 670K or so. Even if this is a Ponzi scheme we'd be in the middle. But then there is the greed of outside investors who buy their way in as Whales, and a couple of those can topple the whole works, ..if we let them. Fiat currency is not much different in that the central bank takes your value every time they print another Euro, Dollar what have you. There is more stability in fiat, but do not ignore the price we all pay for that. Money looses value as you earn it, even before you put in in the bank it will be worth less than at the moment the check was written. With Steem there at least exists the possibility that it will be worth more when we cash out. Fun post and certainly a topic to keep an eye on. Thumbs up!
I’ve run the regressions on this under the standard econometric modeling parameters, and it turns out there is only one solution that will really fix this and ensure that all throughput of the platform and blockchain combine to secure the stabilization of the long-term valuations:
Steem dongles.
I can't. Even. 😂😂😂
I thought you pulled an Amelia Earhart on us. I'm glad to see a post from you!