Dude Where's Our Votes? #DolphinSchool, the vote weirdness of the past two days and a balanced approach to it!
Dude, where’s our votes?
Before I even approach this subject, let me be clear. I am not complaining, or whining. This platform has been nothing short of a miracle for me, and even when there are no payouts to go along with it, I am so grateful for every single vote.
We hit a hardfork yesterday, you can find the details here:
A lot of talk happened (I was a small part of it, I guess) about the voting changes that were proposed as a part of it. It was decided and announced that there wouldn’t be any changes to limits or vote weighting, but I can’t help but think that there were changes in the psyche of our community.
Here’s a direct quote from the change: Vote Balancing We have reverted
the changes to vote balancing from 0.14.0. Voting power and vote
weights are unaffected in this release.
Yesterday, I received a comment that said, “I typically upvote your posts, but with the new limit in place, I cannot afford to do that since they just limited us to 5 votes a day two hours ago.” And another agreed with it.
I just saw a post that said after investigation, the writer found that even those that are voting are voting at less than full power, apparently under the impression that their votes have been changed.
Curie project, currently has a post with over 300 votes and less than $50 SBD in payout, it’s like steemageddon out here, but here’s the weird thing, Masteryoda says, we handed out more SBD yesterday than the day before, in fact, it’s going up up up.
And, I’m looking at my own posts and scratching my head.
Posts that are getting good comments and halfway decent votes, are not getting more than a few cents in payouts and my overall votes are down about 30%, on the same caliber of content I was putting out this whole time!
I wondered who else this was happening to and as I look around I realize, it’s epidemic.
So, while the voting is getting curtailed, and or power limited, (by the users, not the system) the competition is increasing. So, we are seeing posts sit at the top of the trending categordy with no competition and only one or maybe two over $1000 SBD at all at any given time.
So, what’s going on?
Well, first, let’s start with the fact that limits are always finite and definable.
Right now the new voting limits are in the users minds.
The same number of votes (more actually, since there are new users every day) and the same weight is available that was available two days ago, they just believe they’re not!
Second, potential and opportunity is always only limited by imagination!
The potential for payout is still there, and, in fact, bigger than ever, but we have to get the word out! So, I am asking you to help me by writing your own post explaining this, or resteeming this one. In order for steem to continue to gain acceptance, it has to be seen as activem and payouts are the most visible sign of that!
The news has not been all bad.
I’ve noticed that while I didn’t make much today, and not much better yesterday (in part my fault, for not posting my popular threads) there are some great new faces sharing fiction that are getting noticed in the vacuum. Here’s the thing, there’s more than enough to go around!
So, what do I plan to do about it personally?
• I’m going to stick to my plan, 4, awesome posts each day and I’m working toward getting them on a schedule so you know what to expect from me!
• I’m very, very close to launching the first printed book of fiction started on Steemit (that I know of) and I’m going to be selling it for steem dollars! (Benedict Cumberbatch and the League of Domesticated Assassins and other Steemit Stories)
• I’m going to keep helping people find their way, as long as the doors are open.
Here’s how I see it.
If there is someone on this platform getting the payouts I want, or
better, from fiction that is comparable in quality to my own, then the
problem isn’t in the system. The opportunity is still there! There’s
still oil/gold to be found! It’s all about consistency and audience
building.
The votes will eventually come back and those that turn tail and run will miss out!
Not only that, but there is a bigger picture at play here!
I read a post today reminding us all of what happened to those who owned just a small piece of the pie when Facebook went public, it made instant millionaires of a lot of people.
They owned a piece of that company and all of us that have received reward own that in steemit. As long as steem and the steemit platform continue to grow, the investment will increase in value. This is a long game!
So, that being said, if you have been holding back because you believed your votes limited, please read the link at the top of this article and STOP IT! You have 40 full power votes per day! USE THEM ALL! Spread the wealth. Vote for new people, vote for favorites, vote for things you think are important, but for God’s sake vote!
But PLEASE, I am begging you, don’t vote for me out of pity. Vote because you truly like my stuff and want to see it spread. I’m a big boy, if steemit dries up tomorrow, I’ve still got my stories and there are readers to be found.
Mucho thanks for posting this mark. You're an invaluable font of info. Have reblogged.
Well ,my theory has revamped a little. Other than the vote count being low that one day, most of the rest is due to low steem prices, which is our fault for letting things go so negative on here that the place looks like a bitch fest to new users.
I hadn't noticed the bitch-fest so maybe it's not so apparent to more casual users like myself? What I have noticed as a noob is not really all that surprising - the platform is a social network first, and content platform second. Personally I love what steemit offers for bloggers and users. What I don't like so much is all the 'gaming' - especially the gambling all-or-nothing aspect to payments, which means that many people vote largely for the popular horses that are most likely to pay out, and not primarily for the quality of the content. Right now it works for some authors who commit their whole time to the platform and do LOTS of postings and networking. Though even then I keep seeing posts with 200 votes that make no money, and this is concerning in that it might drive some people away. Also, for professional authors hoping to monetize serials and projects here - payments are too precarious, too hit-and-miss, to make that a practical option just now. Especially with a lack of a 'subscription' feature.
But I guess all this could change with an influx of new users and less 'gaming' in general, and a more even distribution of funds through dilution. It's easy to forget that it's still Steemit- BETA.
Anyway, I was still under the impression that I only had 5 power votes a day, so I appreciate you spreading the good news about this, and all your other helpful posts. I'm gladdened to see all your hard efforts and good work being rewarded here!
Spread the word! Since I put that up, my vote counts are up, but the price of steem being down keeps the SBD payout low daily, so not as much money. It will all come back and grow from there.
I think it's because of the vote slider. Prior to the implementation of vote slider, every whale's vote is worth the value and its amazing because even a single whale's vote like @smooth will make your post earn a good rewards.
Now, most of them (the whales) are using the slider to listen there vote weight, maybe they did this to spread their votes to various authors.
For me, a vote is a vote and its weight is absolute. If they wanted everybody to be benefited, they are so many ways rather than controlling the weight of their votes.
I think it makes more sense to have those who invested (either cash or time) to have more economic weight with their vote, but, I also think there's no reason that payout total should be the ONLY factor in getting on the trending page. This post, for example, has 50 comments. Why isn't it there?
I think I heard from @smooth that going to that page has changed. Instead of votes and comments, it now depends on the sp of the voters. It means that posts that starts to earn good rewards will be seen in the page.
Yes, that's what I'm saying. I think that's nonsense. It means that only big dolphins and whales decide what goes on the trending page.
Well, in my part, its not just few days, but ever since i started steeming.
Yeah right, if our post will not reach $150-$200 we cant get to that page. I hope Im wrong.
Exactly, unless they upvote it, you're way down at the bottom of it, where I've been for the past couple of days.
I vote quite a bit, every single day since I joined here in mid June. I haven't changed the amount that I vote, and I knew that the voting weight issue was not implemented in the latest hard fork.
For me, what has changed is reblogging.
I now have twice as many posts in my feed. I do my best to look at every post in my feed, every day. I still vote more often for a post that is not reblogged, because it is in my feed as a result of my following the author. But maybe 25% of my voting is now for reblogged posts, so that lowers the votes I have time and weight to give to the authors I personally followed.
Maybe others are also having tis experience, and could be part of the reason for what you see. Who knows what next week and next month will bring. It's still the most exciting site on the web, in my opinion! This IS a long game; I'll be here a while and sounds like you will too, and I'm glad about that!
Yep, I'll stay as long as I can. Whether I can keep doing it at this level or not remains to be seen. You can look at Steemstats.com and find the weight of every single vote cast on any post.
I have upvoted with my full power and resteemed your post.
Thanks, whale. I'm just trying to sort things out. LOL I'm sure there's a logical explanation. Without understanding the technical mumbo jumbo on steemstats, I can't really tell if the payout counter makes sense or not. It's awfully low for this post to be over 70 votes already.
Interesting. Thank you for posting. A problem must be defined before a solution can be determined.
I think the problem is people don't want to just show up and work, they feel everything needs to meet their standards before they can succeed.
Thank you for your reply. You are probably right. It takes determination and dedication even if it is on a small scale. Alternative media sites would do well here, it seems it would be a good fit.
Maybe, if someone at the top doesn't decide to target them, like what's being done to @masteryoda
Good stuff.
Upvoted + following.
I'm a writer too.
Take a look on my short stories and I hope you like them ;)
I will Dresden, is that your name, or did you pull that from the "files"? HA
Hehe!
It's my penname :P
Clever, steem on!
Very interesting. Followed.
I just joined today and am trying to figure out how this works. So we get 40 "full power" votes per day? From what I understand newcomers don't have as much influence as others.
I'm sure I'll learn as I go. Thanks for the post!
Start by finding the other dolphinschool posts on my blog and let me know if you have questions. Good luck!
Ah, "dolphinschool." I kept seeing minnow/fish/whale analogies. Alright, thanks!
Okay, so a plankton is a beginner, where you are. A minnow, is anyone between 1 and 10,000 Steem power, a dolphin is above that and a whale is at the very top of the food chain. It matters, because each group has more weight to their votes. A whale vote can add 100s or even 1000s to a payout.
I thought there was a certain amount of money that is spread among however many votes there are? So, all of the rewards should be going out? Am I wrong? I saw some posts asking the whales not to vote for a few days, and I actually wondered if that is what is creating the lower payout amounts. I agree something has happened.
The other thing that is not being accounted for is the serious drop in votes by number. I was hitting an average of over 100 votes per post, 3 to 4 posts a day, today and yesterday I saw about a 30% decrease in the number of votes. Perhaps they were just following the whales?
Another thought and a good one. If the whales didn't vote all of their bots wouldn't follow them. Also all the curation bots wouldn't have their posts to upvote!
Mystery solved, man. http://catchawhale.com/ there has literally been NO whale action today at all, and without the whales to gain curation from, the smaller voters are abstaining, shifting the balance.
Why would anyone ask the whales not to vote for a few days? Links to those posts? Curious thanks for the comment!
The idea was to take their power out of the voting pool, since it will be distributed anyway. I will look for the posts.
Well, that's interesting, but sucks to be me, I was making decent money a couple of days back, now bupkus
If that were the case, each vote should currently be worth more, based on that, but I think when the whales refrain, the amount just goes down. My vote is worth two or three cents, sometimes more if there is already a payout on the post.
I will find the posts as it describes a specific outcome that would happen if the whales didn't vote. Be patient, I shall be back!
Sorry, not being impatient.
Interesting. but even in that post the author admits, they don't fully understand it. Perhaps I will end up better off at the end of the day than I think? LOL
Oh, I didn't think you were being impatient. I just wasn't sure how fast I could find them. Here is one. https://steemit.com/steem-ideas/@dennygalindo/a-day-of-whale-abstinence-will-answer-the-question
and the other - read the comments as well. So, I agree something has changed and I don't know if this is the issue. https://steemit.com/steem/@luminousvisions/safe-steemit-1-day-voting-moratorium-for-the-whales
I'm a noob that's been on steemit less than 2 weeks. Your posts are very helpful. Still lot's for me to learn e.g. can you change the amount that you vote and if so how do you do it and what are the ramifications?
Is there a way for the community to draw whales attention to good articles? I've looked at the curie project and it seems like a positive initiative. Can the community help them (and other whales) to identify quality content?
Liked and resteemed - thank you.
I've read a few posts from curie,but I don't know the answer to your question. If you go to the search bar and put in the @ symbol followed by any screenname, you'll find a link to their blog where you can get that information
I always make sure I reblog, maybe someone will have enough weight to make a difference.
Maybe. If everything gets decentralized to this point, then there is more equity. Problem is, that means each post gets scraps. Period.