Freeing minnows caught in the net - A proposal to propel quality content
Update for current voting system - A proposal.
@condra recently posted High reward for low-hanging fruit, an article addressing the temptation of up-voting popular content over lesser known, lower rated, posts. This is an issue I've also been brainstorming about for a while, and I have a solution.
THE CURRENT ISSUES
Up-votes are increasingly being given solely based on how successful a post is predicted to be, in order to receive some curation rewards and increase personal Steem power. They are not necessarily given based only on quality content as deemed by the individual's tastes. I forsee this becoming a big problem for Steemit.
As I see it, in conjunction with the above problem of skewed allocation of up-votes, another issue developing in the community is minnows not getting exposure for their content.
Let's stop whinging and be solution focused.
Minnows are constantly writing good quality content, I assume. I have to assume because unless I spend hours scrolling though all the new uploaded content, I won't ever see it. The rate in which posts are uploaded means posts, good and bad, submitted by minnows are quickly lost and buried in the depths of the feed. And to be honest, if I have time, I may as well spend it, and my precious 'up-votes' on finding posts that I think will become popular in the eyes of whales, not necessarily my own eyes. At least then I may see some reward. Sadly, but somewhat understandably in this cut-throat community of Steemit, that appears to be a common attitude. It's an attitude that, when acted upon, compounds the problem. If minnows cannot get exposure from their posts, they rely on being calculated with their up-voting to increase their Steem power. This mentality furthers 'popular' posts exposure and creates a cycle whereby new, quality content is overlooked because it offers no reward. If everyone is voting this way, regardless of what they actually enjoyed the most, how do we know what is truly popular?
I have a proposal to update the current voting system
It it consists of three parts:
PART 1 - 'Vote' option
The 'vote' would be a simple tool with no Steem power attached to it. It is given by the reader at no expense or risk, similar to Facebook 'likes'. This would remove the pressure and incentive to only vote on content that is predicted to do well. It is a simple action to say, 'this is a good post. I enjoyed this post'.
PART TWO - Up-votes
Up-votes continue to be used as they are now. In essence, as the 'powerful' vote. Up-votes can continue to be given as a calculated judgement in attempt to get a share of the pie, or for good content. This allows the whales like @dantheman and @ned to continue to steer the Steemit ship in the direction they want, encouraging and financially supporting the content that supports their aims.
PART THREE - Visible post views
Visible post views would allow the author to compare the portion of their readers, who read their post, against how many of those 'voted' or 'up-voted' it. This would give the author an indication of how good a quality post they have written. Eg. If you can see your post received '100' views and '100' votes, it's fair to assume that it was a good quality post. On the other hand, if you see that you got 100 views but only 5 'votes' it's an indication that you missed the mark. If you got 0 views, you know that you have no votes because it has not been seen.
The system above, particularly 'Part 3', could further be used to help drive exposure. If a post gets a high ratio of votes to views (only votes, not upvotes) there could be a non-steem reward given. For example, if 80% of people who read a post also voted for it, the author would be rewarded for legitimately creating quality content.
The reward could be in the form of:
This system would enable inclusion of posts with low initial readership, but with high quality content to rise up through the ranks. It would give a chance for minnows to gain extra exposure and also encourage readers to vote based on what they enjoy, not simply on what posts have the potential to increase their personal Steem power.
Many of us have lamented this current fact. It works similar to voting for political parties in many countries. There are usually 2 or 3 very big, established parties. But, there are often smaller parties that are more aligned to a voter's beliefs. Yet, nobody votes for these smaller parties because nobody thinks they have a chance of winning. So, everyone instead votes for a big party candidate that comes closest to matching their political views. If everyone truly voted according to their political beliefs, then political elections would turn out quite differently.
I think the same applies to voting on Steemit. I applaud and support your ideas for changing this, especially part 3. This could really prod curators to vote according to their own reading tastes. As for all the struggling writers out there, I would say "don't despair, keep writing content that appeals to you." Steemit is just beginning. Even if your content isn't noticed now, it certainly could be in the future. All the best!
Very true. I like the comparison. I think all authors could benefit from this system, from whales to minnows. Currently the monetary rewards aren't necessarily a true reflection of how much someone enjoyed your post. But for some authors a simple vote could be just as valuable as any amount of Steem.
I strongly agree to this one as a minnow Myself I need more people pay attention to us. I spend hours of writing end up my post go to drainage .
I'm still confused how long before I can make my brand go trending. Phewww
Don't worry my fellow minnow, @dantheman and @ned care about the big picture, and that picture includes everyone. The last thing they want is a niche social media website where #circlejerk -ing and an ever growing class disparity dictate the reason for people coming here. The odds will turn to favor innovation and quality because that's where this thing came from, or else it will implode in a fiery ball of crypto-geekery.
Haha god forbid the fiery ball of crypto-geekery. What would I do to feed my Steemit addiction if that happened...
It's not easy as we are all finding but don't give up. Steemit is still pretty new so no doubt there will be some form of changes ahead
Consider joining MinnowsUnite
https://steemit.com/minnowsunite/@cryptohustlin/23ssfz-livechat-minnowsunite-200-steemers-strong
Thanks, I'll look into it!
Good idea! Separating monetary rewards from declaring when you like something could open the doors for a lot of lesser known STEEMITERS to receive accolades.
Exactly. We don't need to banish the current system, just tweak it a bit. Thanks for reading @madillorama
We need to see how many people view our post!
It would be helpful to know if we've written a bad post or if it simply hasn't been seen. At least so we know for when we write the next one if we were off base.
Speaking as a newly minted minnow, great suggestions!
Thanks, they're something to think about anyway
I like this. It would allow people to freely "like" something without worrying about what it's going to do to their voting power.
Part three is the real kicker--a way for great posts to cycle up past the "hype" posts.
That's exactly what I think too. It's nice to see when people enjoy your posts even if either party doesn't gain any monetary benefit
I'm new to Steem, and this is the first thing I've upvoted, because I actually agree with it. Steem has a flawed incentive structure - this creates toxicity in the community.
Firstly, welcome! And secondly, thank you for your first ever up-vote! I feel very privileged :) Hopefully we see some changes in the not too distant future so as not to deter too many people from future posting after having low responses
I love the idea of viewcounts, that would help a lot. I've only been on here a few days and I know my content is high quality, so I hope there are more tools for me/it to succeed in the future.
I hope to see that too! And welcome! I'll check out your blog :)
Thanks! I do a lot of things but I'll be primarily a music writer on here. I see you won one of the photo challenges - I'm jealous, but you totally deserve it hahaha
Thanks, it was a fluke haha. @madillorama and I are hosting the #steemittalentcompetition, if you have some music to show you should enter! https://steemit.com/steemittalentcompetition/@madillorama/steemittalentcompetition-starts-now
Thanks for the heads up, I'll totally enter!
Oh, I see you only want videos and under 1 minute :/
I don't have anything that fits that criteria really, so I guess I'll have to whip something new up! :)
Yeah see what you can come up with! Not much competition at this point haha.
Post views can be attacked. You forget this is blockchain.
Admittedly I don't fully understand how the blockchain works, but a post would only gain traction if the ratio of votes to page views was high. Someone would not only have to manufacture page views, but do this in conjunction with legitimate votes. Otherwise the ratio would be low and the post would be regarded as low quality. From what you say, I can only see that happening if someone wanted to bring someone else's post down?
I'm really interested in (and new to) this so appreciate your feedback