We have 37 Whales and 129,615 Redfish
https://steemit.com/statistics/@arcange/steemit-statistics-20180617-en @arcange's graphic and stats!
Recently, I've decided to try to help set reasonable expectations on SteemIt.com. It is a self appointed task. Done of my own free will and supported by my view of how the platform is growing. All ideas are my opinion and should be weighed against other ideas that you hear. There are many ways to be successful and zero people with authority on Steem. If someone is telling you what you have to do, consider not listening or at least get a second opinion.
If you are a new user who doesn't want to invest money, and are hoping to get whale or dolphin support, you need to understand the situation.
We have:
- 37 Whales
- 260 Orcas
- 1686 Dolphins
- 8243 Minnows
- 129,615 Redfish
This is why we need to build a middle-class. We need people to build their stake and hold it, so they can support end-users. The more people who hold a bit of stake, the more end-users can be supported.
There are just not enough large voters to get to everyone, and most are not combing the site looking for minnows. I think minnows will have to build their own network and build themselves and each other up. This is why I encourage self-voting for minnows. (not 10 a day - define your own reasonable amount) Minnows can also earn by engaging with comments and also with the occasional Dolphin/Whale votes. They may not make much money as they build a following. If they come in expecting it to be difficult they will be more likely to stay.
This is not meant to be discouraging. Those who talk about Poor Retention are missing the fact there are accounts that are no-longer active due to spamming and scamming, and many accounts were made for specific reasons, or to hold Steem. We do not have a million accounts that were created to blog and decided not to.
There are many reasons to create an account. Some were created for testing or speculation and not to blog or vote. Please question people who talk about poor retention. What are they comparing us to as a standard? Why do they think a young crypto social media site would be on par with even Facebook or Twitter (if that is their standard) In my opinion it is a #fakenews problem. Ask some questions and decide for yourself. Someone said it and others started repeating it. We are using the proof of concept site at this point with minimal support, but that is not the long-term plan. That is why what we are doing right now doesn't need to be sustainable or look great on paper.
Another question is who do we want to retain. If a minnow comes in without investment and starts screaming immediately that they are not earning after their first 5 posts, is that someone we want to retain? Speaking only for myself, I am fine if that person moves along to the next get rich project they find.
If someone started an account and wants to grow it from scratch, it is going to be a long haul, but it absolutely can be done. Especially if your content is awesome! I made 95 posts that didn't earn anything. (not in a row) I made hundreds more that earned very little, but there is a point that it starts to grow quickly if one networks. Also, even a small early investment pays off over time. If you are a minnow hoping to make a living from Steem without investing, while I wish you luck, you better be great at both Content Creation and Networking!
We are here early! SteemIt, Inc has struggled with keeping up with Account Creation, and the next hardfork changes that. Don't get frustrated before we even open the gates.
Reset your expectations, buckle up and realize this is a toddler site in a young industry. All of the issues we have are normal and they seem loud because we are decentralized and everyone has a voice. It is bothering me that we have so many people complaining and that many small users are getting started on a negative note. Remember the loudest voices do not necessarily represent the majority or the stakeholders. The complaining is contagious, but is what they are saying true? (You have to decide who to believe and who to follow)
Remember to question everything you read. Ask yourself is this fact or opinion? We have a lot of people who state their opinions as facts and tell other people how to use the site. Question Everything. :)
Act in your own best interest. Try to set some realistic goals for yourself. It can be difficult to not get a lot of feedback on your content when your account is small. So set goals, reset them as you figure out what is reasonable.
In addition, this isn't for everyone. It is fine with for some to decide this isn't their gig. It's a niche, inside of a niche.
Let's start setting realistic goals, celebrating success, owning our own success and create a realistic view. At this time, this is not a get rich quick scheme. Maybe at some point money will rain down on us, but probably not today!
The good news is that many are staying and earning and when we start the next phase they will be coveted by the young platforms looking for users with even a little bit of stake.
This made me laugh. Many people fail at business endeavors. Fail from ignorance or lack of effort. I am not that long here (since Feb) and I have invested not only a little in my own SP, but also in renting some so I can invest in others. Has some of my investment in others been a waste? Yep. probably well over half. But those who aren't self centered and get the long term benefits of a community here are well worth the investment. Every week those I enjoy interacting with grows, and together we grow one anothers account.
You can't come here thinking whales are waiting at the door to reward everyone (especially given most content is not what one would normally pay for). You will not be found, you have to find those who will appreciate your brand. Through those first few, the rest become easier as you will find them in the comment sections of those first few.
I mentioned in another post, where else can you invest a little money and time and make money off of it from engaging with others on topics both of you enjoy. Especially if the other person knows more. That right there is getting paid to learn. This system rocks as far as I am concerned, and if the SMT's ever do hit it, every little sliver will no longer be so little.
haha! You are becoming one of my favorite commenters! I love your attitude and the way you view things. Keep enjoying!
Thank you 😊
I like to find a few minnows with content that i find interesting. I will vote all their post with a 20% upvote and leave a comment or ask a question about their post. If they respond they get a 5% upvote on their comment. Most don't respond so how do they expect people to keep coming back to their posts
Minnows need to realise that they have to engage with people and not just post, never respond but expect to grow. Engaging with people that upvote and comment will make people return, comment and upvote your posts time and again
Hello @dune69! Nice name 😉 lil' plankton over here just trying to grow my fins! Haha 🤣 what kind of content interests you? I am learning how to be a blogger. Writting ulogs, walkwithmes, and sharing stuff about my life at this point. Hoping to figure out how to do dLive meditations & yoga classes. Would love your support! And, most often reply to comments!! .....just putting it out there! 😁✌
Hi had a look at your post and the garden post look interesting. I like gardening so ill happily tag along and see how you go. I see you have rhubarb.. I live near the rhubard triangle and eat lots of it :-)
Right on! Woohooo!! 😁 where is the rhubarb triangle? I have heard of the Bermuda Triangle but never the rhubarb triangle! It's really nice of you to give me a chance!! Thank-you ☘
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb_Triangle
They grow it in large shed in the dark. It called forcing.
It grows fast and tall
Rhubarb Triangle
The Rhubarb Triangle is a 9-square-mile (23 km2) triangle in West Yorkshire, England between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell famous for producing early forced rhubarb. It includes Kirkhamgate, East Ardsley, Stanley, Lofthouse and Carlton. The Rhubarb Triangle was originally much bigger, covering an area between Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield. From the first decade of the 20th century to 1939 the rhubarb industry expanded and at its peak covered an area of about 30 square miles (78 km2).
That sounds wild! I can't imagine it! LOL even with pictures. It grows so abundantly and lush here! It even manages to survive and thrive through our winters. Nice of you to share this unique aspect to your community @dune69 🍓
good point!
Nooooo! I vouch for many good planktons out there! Haha! Or wannabe minnows/ orcas 😉 great article btw. Thank-you for sharing! @taskmaster4450 is trying to get a thing going where all littles like me post 4 times per and vote each other. It will be q huge stretch to get 4 posts out a day but I am willing to give it a try! Happy Steeming!
🤣😁✌
By the way, I read that and I thought it was a great idea by @taskmaster4450
@whatsup I'm getting a little confused about the graduations, apparantly there are many opinions on when you are what...Example.. according to @steemitboard I'm a redfish, and according to @steem-plus I'm a minnow, changed to minnow after reaching 1.000.000 vests..
So please help me, what am I?? And where (how many vests) does it change??
Thanks🙂
Sometimes @steemitboard has a delay in updating. I've just looked though and you definitely have the minnow picture up now.
Just checked now...
It shows minnow on you for me too. Weird.
That is wierd..I'll just give it some more time as @minismallholding suggested🙂 Thanks
Hmmm, I see this. Strange.
Just give it a bit more time I guess.
I have tried to increase my Stake from the word GO. Self-Made Dolphin in 235 Days, for the most part but I did have some fantastic guidance and votes from some wonderful people! I say "Self-Made" because I bought a LOT of my SP. I did not have delegation, and I think I recall 2 big Whale Votes ever. Which was AWESOME! ;) But really, I am now helping the newbs and plankton or w/e you want to call them. I have 2 voting bots that reward their followers, "vote trading community bots" but I could really use more SP DELI. For the Bots, my main account (this one) is fine, I am running the minimum to have a Slider LOL!!!
I pay the DELI-Gators 50%+ of the SBD take on the bots, which of course is low of late. But just the prior 2 week pay period, it was at a new high due to increased activity. So we are Growing despite the Depressed Prices ;) Now I just need to post more so the investors will have something in their wallets. We have a few contests and awards to the very best of the group, and they get bonus votes. If everyone was as invested as I am, Steemit would be a better place, but not everyone can do what I do and I darn sure cannot do all the things that everyone else does either! I am trying to "specialize" in my strong areas. If we all just did that, we'd be better than a top 50 Crypto, more like a Top 20 pretty much. We need RETENTION and I am doing what I know best 😎
I guess I am just a Minnow-Herder LOL
I know a lot of this sounds like self-aggrandizement but it has a Purpose. I do not write the best articles, I am not a bang-up Curator (and most people are not, but that is another Topic!) I just do what I know and I know I can be a lot better at it also. That is a goal of mine, operating at a High Level like my bud @enginewitty, who is heading up The Alliance. Now THERE is a guy who gets stuff DONE! ;)
You honor me my man, it's people like you and comments like this that make it all worth the effort. You are a famtastic Steempeep bro!
Kudos for buying in and kudos again for being a minnow herder! lol.
To me retention mainly matters right now in the terms of Mature people who understand this is a startup and retaining investors.
I've had it with the complainers and those who think we should either rain money on them or have features like facebook.com
Let's retain the people who get on board and help us growth this thing. :)
I don't know much about @enginewitty, but I should learn more.
For Real, I was ecstatic when I first realized Steemit was still in Beta 😁 😂 🤣
...and if he hit those $10 price predictions while in Beta, I really have big expectations. It is most definitely a BUILDING Experience, and if the whiners and complainers cannot figure out a way to Make their Own Way, well, I just say "Don't let the door hit you in the A$$ on the way OUT!" You are 1000% Correct, we don't need that here. Maybe later they can come in and do something when the platform is more "polished" but then it will be the same deal, "unequal rewards, the whales gobble up the rewards pool" yada, yada, yada so on and so forth. Plus the "regulars" need to grow up as well, WE CONTROL the Platform, we just need to get on the same page and decide what it's gonna be. Who is gonna Lead, etc. We need VISION to fill in the gaps that Steemit Inc has left for us to fill. This is not just a platform, this is an online Community that could transcend nations and national boundaries. WE can make a NEW WORLD DISORDER, wehre we can all have it our own way and all Thrive.
😊
@whatsup - I am so new that I am still overwhelmed. I was recruited by @midlet who has helped me manage my expectations about the platform. I am a world wide traveler and educator, and I thought that I might have some interesting content for the community.
There are so many wonderful storytellers, photographers, artists, and financial experts, that it is real easy to get lost as a little fish in a big ocean.
There is a culture among Steemians that must be learned and observed to keep from insulting members. There is the underlying financial platform of curator and author rewards, upvotes and investments, bots, delegating steem power, using other applications - @dlive, @dtube, discord channels, etc.
I am treading water here, trying to stay alive until I learn enough to survive and not get eaten. One day at a time, one interesting post at a time, another fraction of Steem earned in hopes of being on the ground floor when Steem becomes the next Google or Apple or Netflix.
Those are my thoughts about this juncture in time with Steem as I get MAD.
Move - Adapt or Die. ( Evolutionary saying)
Thanks for more clarification @whatsup.
I love MAD I haven't heard it before.
In the nuclear standoff age it meant
Mutually
Assured
Destruction
MAD
😊
Read the white paper
Page 16.
This huge (exponential?) inequality is intentional, the ideology for this is given by "Zipf’s Law".
I can't find the official roadmap of 2018, is there anything that could change this principles?
Good Point
We are kindred spirits on this one.
There is so much to be optimistic about with the STEEM blockchain yet people let their complaints get in the way. I posted something similar to this earlier today.
The entire premise behind a minnow uprising (that includes red fish also) is that there are numbers. With that many accounts, they could easily overwhelm the system with posts. That would be a good thing since 75% goes to authors.
The month of July I am urging all smaller accounts to participate. If they do, I believe they can shift from numbers. Sadly, I have a feeling most will sit on the sidelines only to show up to complain.
But you are right, there are lots of reasons for being here and I am not concerned about retention rate. Those who are leaving now are only passing on a good opportunity.
Booya, that's what I like to see, hopefully this rate keeps up or increases as more people join, because the perception is that the wealth disparity is only increasing as whales vote themselves. I think we need more sitewide emphasis on the changes being made like in this post here. It will motivate people or at least put them at ease
So much here, that makes so much sense. So thank you, for that, @whatsup!
A couple of months back I sat down and asked myself a crucial (I feel) question... and it's one I invite everyone to consider, now:
"In being on Steemit, what is THE single most important thing for me, in deciding how I will approach my participation here?"
Although I have poked at the edges of this answer before (in posts and responses), it would perhaps be surprising to many... as it has little to do with content, following or rewards...
I want to still be blogging here ten years from now (just like I am on Facebook, still, after 1 years), so my choices must support that.
Everything else becomes secondary to the primary motivation, and should support it.
There's no right or wrong answer... if your answer is "make money for my summer vacation" that's groovy-keen, too.
The POINT of that little exercise was to get a true handle on what I am trying to do here, and then support it... rather than flailing around aimlessly like a fish on deck.
Now that I have defined that, my subsequent actions (and hereunder what I support, in service of such things as "retention") are informed by that piece of insight. If I think what someone else is doing supports that objective, they get my vote. If not, I'll most likely ignore them. If they put my objective in jeopardy, I might even flag them.
And maybe that's how we all need to "self-sort" here, whether tiny redfish or whale.
"The POINT of that little exercise was to get a true handle on what I am trying to do here, and then support it... rather than flailing around aimlessly like a fish on deck."
I think I spent a lot of time flopping on the deck. I've never considered myself a writer. I write. I can be funny or reasonable and I write with a conversational tone. :) So, it took a bit to find how to use my voice. I knew I wanted to participate.
Recently, I've decided to use my voice to combat the negativity that is tainting our minnows and not painting an accurate view of the site.
I know it is an overreaction, but I feel like we lost a whole generation of new minnows due to the negativity. I don't know anything that is worth doing that doesn't feel hard some days.
Great point about the retention thing. There are people that don't stay of course but when you realize that people speculate with accounts almost a tad bit like URLs. Then you see things a bit different and process the numbers differently.
I was testing an upcoming search feature for @steempeak interface and was searching a bunch of usernames and most of the results were LVL25 accounts. Not 26... 25. I wonder how many accounts are purely speculative and have never been used or left the lvl25.