RE: Adding "Value:" How Your Actions and Contributions Today... Represent the Steemit of Tomorrow
I honestly cannot envision steemit being much of a healthy community rooted in anything but marketability in the future. But it is much more than that right now and perhaps I can do a little to keep it that way for a little longer, or maybe even change the tides and build a greater sense of consensus about how to protect such community. At the very least, I want to make sure I don't waste this opportunity to connect with others who are capable of seeing things in a similar fashion and sharing ideas with them. I sure hope I can make some personal gain but I also believe I need to "be the change". I don't use PAL and randowhale even though it kind of sucks to get $1 for a post I spent hours on. I try to stay just as excited by comments and engagement as I do with payout. I haven't done any sbd giving contests even though I have ideas for them because I don't want money to be a main motivation in my pursuits so why should I make it a motivation for others. Etc. etc. etc.
Keep doing what you do and you will be a star. :)
Haha thanks, I just want to have the time and resources to do what I'm doing but with a little more ease and comfort :-)
@whatamidoing, you raise enough valid points here that I almost want to respond in a separate post... but I'll refrain... for now!
I agree... to a certain extent. Where we get some flexibility is in shaping a "marketable" site that is about individuals rather than "corporate" in its approach.
In the earlier days of eBay-- and eBay was already HUGE-- it was this really cool peer-to-peer marketplace where lots of individuals traded all manners of things under the sun. It was brilliant for collectibles, hobbyists, artists, antique dealers, rock hounds and goodness knows what else. Even with 20+ million users... there was a sense of "community" there-- forums, user groups and other things. Then "corporate" approaches took over... and the whole "being a cool venue" (and a very profitable one, I might add!) gave way to "maximizing the bottom line at any cost." And it became "just another online mega store" with corporate sellers all but replacing the individuals who largely BUILT the site.
On Steemit, we have a decentralized structure. We get to vote for the witnesses who express support (or objections) to changes and hardforks that represent a consensus of the community. UNlike eBay, we get to have a say in what we want this to become. What's ALSO different here is that we have the "investment" (the Steem token) as potentially separate from the cornerstone app... the Steemit social content platform. So our task-- as Steemit citizens-- is to take the actions and vote for the structural changes that make the platform attractive to investors... but without losing character. BE an "alternative." WalMart doesn't NEED a Steemit account... but maybe a local organic farmer DOES. We can continue to support a structure that values what we value... and that makes it unprofitable (the only language "corporate" understand) for certain elements to set up shop here.
Steemit (and attendant apps) are definitely "a new frontier" in doing things... and the onus is on US-- the users-- to protect that, rather than cave in to the idea that "the only way forward" is by becoming "just like THEM," whoever "them" may be.
Yes, "BE the change." Because I pretty much arrived here with zero faith in ANY "content site with rewards," I had no expectations of getting squat from my contributions... and when I did get some rewards and saw others getting rewards... I immediately "set up shop" with a long term intent. It doesn't matter what "this post" or "that comment" might earn... what can I (and what can WE) do today to make sure that there still IS a Steemit, in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years from now.
So that's what many of my "rants" are about. I am supremely tired of watching "short term greed" kill the proverbial goose that lays golden eggs... as I have witnessed across some 50-odd sites, for two decades. Well, with decentralization, at least we have a SAY...
I get really discouraged talking to most whales and dolphins about this. They seem to have two attitudes. The first is "who cares, your steem will be worth 100x what it is now." Or they believe that since hard work and perserverence paid off for them, as a rule,it will for everyone else in the future.
For me it probably will pay off. But we are still in the early stages of the sites development....I don't think someone like me will have a shot in hell two years from now if we don't fix the wealth inequality here SOON and have HFs that make it more sustainable. I wrote about it in a comment to a post by @benjojo . He is one of the few steemains with mich sway here that makes me feel like perhaps I'm not foolish for being too idealistic and that I should keep pushing for steemit to remain more than just another way to make a buck. You also make me feel that way. I think we should all find a way to collaborate on getting this ideas across to @ned and the witnesses. Or finding potential witnesses who understand our concerns.
The post I mentioned:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@benjojo/questions-for-steemit-inc-the-answers-to-which-might-be-of-interest-to-all-steemians#@benjojo/re-ned-re-benjojo-re-ned-re-benjojo-re-emble-re-benjojo-questions-for-steemit-inc-the-answers-to-which-might-be-of-interest-to-all-steemians-20170809t174627905z