Love Thy Feed - The Art of Building Value Follow-Ship
To Follow or Not To Follow - That is the Question
Every time I look at my feed, I am excited to browse though the rich content that is home delivered straight to my screen. Thus far I have managed to keep my ratio of followers and Steemies I am following at a somewhat even rate. But the numbers are misleading.
I am following creators that do not follow me back. Similarly, there are some who follow me that I do not follow back. Why is that?
Quid Pro Quo vs. meaningful Follow-Ship
Following back someone only for being followed creates in my view a false economy. What good is a post that I don't see? If I have 137 followers and receive 26 views, 7 of which engage, that's a 2 per cent success rate. Some readers may not be Steemit members, as I often promote an article externally. Let's look at a prime example: In one case, I received 1,882 views, generated 11 upvotes with a $0.07 reward and 4 replies. Mind boggeling, don't you think? I am not complaining. I am glad so many externals got to see the article, and hopefully some joined the Steemit community. But numbers can be misleading and they can promote a false economy.
Please do not upvote the post above anymore - payday for that article has come and gone. 😃
Who Wants to Be Spam?
Those whom I follow deserve Curation
How many users can we reasonably follow and give the attention they deserve? I rather follow 300 and pay attention to their work than 2,000, which are impossible to curate, even full time.
It is than only logical that I'd rather have 500 followers who value my articles than 2,000 that would hardly ever see my submissions. So far so good... please bear with me...
Would then not only my, but every single subscriber's work be watered down because of a drowning feed? Who wants to be Spam? I could not possibly be respectful of others in doing that. Perhaps, I got it all wrong, and there is a way to mass consume? If you know how, please let me know!
No Hard Feelings
This then lends itself to a real problem for both of us: The impression that I disrespect those I do not follow back. I don't. Just the opposite.
I respect those whom I follow enough to give due attention to your work, just as much as I hope my followers would.
There are many good people who follow me and I may not follow back. That gap will widen. Their content is often great. Yet I still do not follow back? Is this not hurting their feeling? It may, though I sincerely hope it doesn't. This is one reason for this post. If I don't follow back, it may just mean that the majority of your interests are not necessarily mine. If I am not interested in how cars work but I write about issues that add value beyond cars to a subscribers life, that's a natural dynamic. It is not personal. However, ignoring your post because I have put too much on my plate - that is personal. Does that make sense? Do you feel the same? Do you have a different view? I'd love to hear from you!
I see it like this: If someone is interested in @globocop content, they subscribe. If someone subscribes to my channel for the sake of a follow-back, it's for the wrong reason. The feed on either side becomes a Bulk Mail Inbox. And most stuff that lands in my email bulk folder is marked spam. Who wants to be Spam?
A Fluid Feed
The fact that I do not follow back is not a static given. Life changes. Users leave. New ones come on board. Interests change. The world develops - and so do we. Sometimes an upvote or comment and always a resteem entices me to visit that channel - and I may just follow - or follow back.
At the same time, content of channels that I do follow has changed in a way that does not lead me to engage - I unfollow so I can concentrate content that I can engage in... A 360 win, don't you think? Let me close with saying that I humbly appreciate each and every one of my followers. Thank you!
I look forward to reading your thoughts and suggestions.
ch @globocop
Personally, I don't follow back just because they follow me. I have some 815 followers and I follow maybe 500. If someone writes "Follow me" on my post- fuggitaboudit!
I follow content... good content. If there's someone I like, I try to give them the benefit of my limited knowledge so they can succeed (there's a lot I haven't figured out yet). As for the payout numbers- don't worry about it- they will come, just be patient. It took me 3 months to hit a $25 post... I wrote and wrote pouring my heart and soul into it and got payouts of $0.45... $2.50. I wrote about 3 paragraphs and posted a video and hit for $25. WTF??? Now I just post what I like and don't worry about it- the longer you're on here, the more people you will meet. I recommend checking out @dwinblood and @stevescoins... Both are friends and kindred spirits and worth following.
Good post- Upvoted & Resteemed!
Cheers my friend. Add that you care about curation - which is often overlooked.
Love your submissions! Thanks for upvote and resteem.
My pleasure... Like I said, good content deserves to be recognized and followed.
THNX my dear friend for resteeming this post, otherwise I would have missed a great thinker's view! C U soon!
You bet... He's new and I'm impressed by his posts!
There are so many - yet - unknown smart and bright minded guys out there carrying their heart at the right place, finding the right words - getting in tune... - you will see, overtime our "army will thrive!"
I hope I live to see it!
Hey mate, your comment under a recent post of @dwinblood made me think about a new feature called "favorites"
https://steemit.com/steemit/@thatgermandude/favorites-so-you-do-not-miss-the-articles-of-your-favorite-authors
I did not mention your comment because you said yourself it was rather ranty and I did not know if it was appropriate to Screenshot or quote you.
I am actually quite sad that many people seem to have dropped their support for me since HF19, but favorites was something I had in the back of my head for some time now - mailny to not miss any dwinblood content ;D
I also suggested the same thing to ura-soul who's a software designer who wants to do a steemit app that improves things. It would be really handy to be able to track friends without going to their blog page... maybe a notification pop-up app. I wouldn't worry about a seeming lack of support... it waxes and wanes it seems. I have around 850 followers and am lucky to get 60 views on my posts. You can feel free to quote me anytime... Like they say in Hollywood "No such thing as bad publicity."
I know that's why I like to behave like an asshole sometimes, at least you will get noticed :3
I usually try to be nice on Steemit, but maybe it is time to take of the gloves! Just kidding, some low reward posts make the high reward posts all the more satisfying.
I am actually hording quite a lot of power as well, just because I did not really adapt my voting to HF19 yet.
It's good that you understand the Quid Pro Quo vs. meaningful 'Follow-ship' difference; so many Steemers don't, and experience the resentment you discuss.
After looking at your feed, I see enough material for me to follow you.
You may find the #informationwar tag useful
Thanks for your comment @stevescoins. Love your channel page... A cynico-ptimist ! Very good.
A quick glance through your posts - indeed a must-have-follow-(back)! Good stuff.
Thanks for you comment and upvote! Looking forward to your content!
Thanks for the #informationwar tag. An information war for survival it is.
@stevescoins
looking forward to your contributions as well!
You are totally right! (I think everybody told it enough to you in the comments) I just wanted to agree once more. =D
Cheers from Switzerland.
Feel free to check my Guitar's Artwork, maybe you’ll like it! <3
Thanks @troilo Appreciate the feedback.
Wow, what a design. Amazing. Does the paint/varnish have any effect on the sound properties of the guitar? I play for a long time. Piano, too.
Thank you! It would, if I hadn't sanded it down before. But the sound is the same as before, even better I think, but that's maybe just and illusion. :D
Ahh, recording before and after would help to find out, especially if it improves... 🎸
You didn't miss the point!
It's not on you. It's maybe because people aren't able to distinguish between real content and spam anymore. Nearly everything you wrote in your absolutely outstanding post has worked in my brain since I'm an active member on steemit, and now after listening to you, I know, that I'm on the right path.
That a man has to follow his destiny without guessing if someone likes or dislikes what he's creating, or even worse - selling his soul for some bucks - worth nothing!
I wanna thank you for your insights sharing to our community from deep down the heart! Cheers!
Mentioning selling ones' soul doe some bucks... strikes a chord with me. If more people would look to create rather than consume, we'd live in a much richer society.
Thank YOU @zooropa, for your comment, follow and upvote.
Happy Sunday!
P.s.: resteemed!!! And I'm the one who has to be thankful!
Cheers @zooropa Followed. Love readers who engage!
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Being fairly new here I have struggled with this dilemma myself. Love how you break down this issue the approach seems sound to me and one I plan on implementing. The best feed is one that is not cluttered and has content that really engages you. And the best followers are the ones that really want to see and interact with your work. Thanks!
Thanks @altccy I think we all struggle to build that base of followers. Especially the ones who are, well, introvert... 😉
I think the quality content provider, and there are many, are going to look out for one another. It's is critical that we build a solid follow-ship - not based on greed, but based on quality. Thanks for reading, commenting & your vote!
agree)
Ooohh - missed your comment. Thanks for reading!
Cool article man, thanks for sharing!
Cheers @mindwalker Appreciate the feedback. Steemit is about quality and original content.
Great potential! 😎
ch @globocop