What most people are experiencing on steemit recently
Many are ready to quit, and even more people are spending less and less time on steemit as time goes on...
Well I am not bold enough to speak for everyone. But a lot of people I talk to on chats and what I see on posts certainly makes me think that there are a few things that people are not happy with. And by people I mean the majority of steemians here which are minnows...
Posts getting low readings. People with low following getting less than 10 views. People with substantial following also getting minimal views. Even @aggroed expressed to me that people are not reading. I suspect a lot of people ignore their feeds. Many are so focussed on TRYING TO MAKE MONEY ON UPVOTES which I understand is the underlying theme, but it is not working out for a lot of people.
There is also a perception that a handful of writers like @jerrybanfield who I think is a true legend on steemit and deserves the attention and earnings he gets from his contributions are getting most of the reward pool. A lot of people who write excellent articles on a wide range of topics speak about how 90% of the upvotes go to cryptocurrency posts and 5% go to steemit based posts, while minimal goes to other content. This has lead to a lot less posting. I see why that is, the whole platform is made by investors and contributors that are crypto inclined. It is what it is, but will this lead to a failure of this experiment?
The focus of so many that I have witnessed (especially individuals who have several hundred in their followings who spend substantial time producing good content are getting less than 20 views getting about 10 upvotes and making less than $1.
I won't list everything they say as I do not wish for this post to be a negative one. Yet this is what I am observing.
Is there anyone who share can relate to this according to their experience at the moment?
Can anyone provide possible explanations, or opinions as to why this is, or if there is a remedy?
Are there experts that MAY see this post that can offer advice to the 90% of the steemians that are disheartened?
I would love to hear from you in the comments section.
Please resteem this to get this conversation to more people as it does not have long before it dies. And help me help others as I am all out of answers right at this moment. I want this place to be great, I want this more people to see it through as it is very special to me. This may be a vehicle that takes many of us out of the rat race if enough of us see this through.
Stay positive, stay safe, and steem on ;)
I am Proud member and supporter of the minnow support project - brought to you by @aggroed, @ausbitbank, @teamsteem, and @canadian-coconut.
Regards
Yoda
People have been complaining about this since the platform began and will most likely be complaining about it well into the future until the blockchain is replaced by another technology. I've been writing consistently for a year now and have over a thousand followers and occasionally still have posts that only get between 10 and 20 views. Why is that? Either the market isn't interested in these posts, or I haven't worked hard enough to promote them. Many of the people who do really well on Steemit spend a lot of time on Steemit. Not just that, they spend their time well. Success isn't haphazard. I could vote more, comment more, spend more time in the chats, etc, but I like to spend my time writing. I've written more in the past year using Steemit then I have in all my life. That's been the greatest gift of this platform for me.
I think everyone needs to figure out what works for them. Why are they here? How can they best spend their time? What can they do more of to achieve their goals. Steemit isn't a magic place that makes your dreams come true just by uploading a picture or an article. It's an extension of the real world, only with a lot less competition.
My advice for beginners is to make some friends and here and help them out. Start a serial blog that you can write about well into the future. Release it in small, interesting pieces. Promote it. Build interest. Link to other social media. Buckle up and settle in for the slow ride.
I'm right with you @bluecarbox! I've only been at it for a 1 1/2 months, which is nothing. I think so many new people compare themselves to others who have paid their dues, either in sweat equity or investing in SP (which is still sweat equity in my opinion because they earned it earlier somehow).
I think it was Bill Gates who said, and I'm paraphrasing... most people underestimate what they can do in a year and over estimate what they can do in a month. Freedom with this platform isn't something that will drop in our laps without us working it. For many of us, it's having to learn a whole new industry, crypto, blockchain, how to blog, etc. I truly believe if we all just stay focused on encouraging others and remember what we're fighting for, this platform will go down in history books as one to study.
I like that. And I think you're right. Courtesy and consistency go along way. Not expecting handouts, but being grateful for any votes, comments, and rewards we get is important. Steemit isn't a magical place of equity where everything is fair. It's an extension of the real world.
I think one thing a lot of minnows don't know is that the payout window used to be 24 hours. That means you only had one day to promote your post and get rewarded before your post was a back entry on your blog. Now, beginners have one whole week. If I were just starting out, I would consider writing only one or two posts a week and promoting the hell out of myself in subtle and not-so-subtle ways through comments and chat. A lot of people focus on productivity and limit it to producing content. They don't seem to realize all the different ways they could be using their time more effectively.
Wow! Thank goodness we get 7 days. And you're right. It's important to network with the purpose of connecting and discovering your bridges of influence without our own agendas flairing up. Fine line to walk. Just like in real life. I emphasize this in a networking group for entrepreneurs and small businesses that I lead on Tues morning. Sales people often come and pitch before creating a relationship and those are the ones that come once, collect business cards and disappear....as the rest of us show up consistently to help each other grow our businesses together.
Yeah, call it good or bad, but I'm much more likely to engage with, comment on, and upvote people and content that I've had meaningful interactions with. Building relationships and getting to know people is very important.
Your networking group sounds interesting. If you haven't already, maybe you can turn the topics and content from those meetings into Steemit posts.
Yes. I had a meeting today with a couple people from my business networking groups and got them all fired up about Blockchain technology, Crypto and Steemit. We're going to put Houston on the map! I have room for 9 people to work on laptops in my conference room. I hope to grow it so big that we need to move to another room. And, yes. I have often thought about the parallels of in person networking and online networking.... relationship building. Thanks for giving me a nudge in that direction. :) Really appreciate you!!!
If you don't know about the Viva coin/VIVAconomy, and TradeQwik, the exchange that it is all built around, this article will get you started.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_598cdcc6e4b0caa1687a5ed7
Since you work with entrepreneurs, this could really be something for you and your group, though, admittedly, there may be some hurdles for US citizens to jump over.
This is awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing. I love knowing about new things. I watched several videos on Viva. Very interesting to see how it evolves! For the new people I'm helping onboard, I have to stick to really basic info on how to get started... Minnow orientation. 😀
I agree with what you said (also on the post itself). I have been here for about 3 weeks. Only one of my posts flared up suddenly, but I think it got some votes from the whales. Because as mentioned earlier, sometimes I see posts with more than 100 voters but the money they made is barely 5 or 10 SBD. That post was not different in quality than others, because I wrote all of them in my personal blog and then just copied them here. It is amazing how much some people make (around 100K). I was thinking to start upvoting my followers periodically to help them and get their help, but my voting power is very weak (0.01)and it gets weaker the more I vote (which means my vote is useless). That is another problem with steemit settings and politics. Finally, I find that some people are now starting to make money by giving resteeming services (smart people), but even that doesn't really help our resteemed posts much. How about we ask the veterans to adopt few new comers and vote or resteem them periodically. This will help everyone to get more money and more motivation (since they merited to be chosen for their good posts for example). Let me know what you think
Asking for a resteem and networking is very much apart of the game. The people who are at the time have either put in the money, put in the time, know the right people, got in early, are good at what they do, are working hard in the background as a developer, or all of the above. It's not a fixed game, but it's a stake weighted game, so if you want more influence, you've got to have a stake.
If you're a beginner and you don't want to invest, you should power up all your posts for as long as it takes to get 10,000 SP. you should get yourself in with a crowd of people that can help you reach your goals. And, most importantly, you should be courteous and help people as much as you can along the way down your own path. It's no different than life.
As you are right, still the fact excist that whales upvote eachother a lot. They keep making more and more. For example. I have an article that someone upvoted. I had 7 upvotes in total with a total expected earnings of 0,19. 1 of this voters upvoted my article wrote: 'nice shot' and upvoted his own comment. He will get 1.42 sbd. So he upvotes me and 6 others but my earnings are 0,19 sbd. How is that even possible??? It is not all about hard work either. I see many post which have no valuable content or hard work in it earning much more then quality content of others. Eitherhow I like steem, but when someone comes with a better system steem will go down bcs of its unfair politics.
Thank you very much for your reply :)
Any time.
Nice post it's one i understand and as yourself i have never written so much in my life either and weather you get or don't get upvotes or dollars i am finding it interesting and it's keeping my mind awake and alert better then been in a nursing home. Am following you now. Cheers.
I agree with you there, aside from the money and reputation. Steemit has been really good for my mind. I have learned a lot and adopted some great habits. May I ask for a favour of a resteem to get this out there a little bit more. That would be awesome :)
Thanks for the follow. I followed you back. It looks like you've got some great posts about Thailand!
Thanks ...yeah am living in Thailand so you will see lots of interesting posts about Thailand. Cheers.
Looking forward to it.
I totally get what you say. I can spend more time networking and promoting my own posts, but I actually love writing more than that. And yes it does take hard work and a certain type of attitude. Hey May I ask for a faour and get a resteem? Would much appreciate that :)
Sure. Resteemed.
Yeah, it's hard to balance the blogging and the actual social network side of things. They both take a lot of time. Sometimes I go through phases where I focus more on one than the other.
Really good tips, for those willing to invest the time. Followed
I think you are right, people spending to spend a lot of time on this and working smart will be rewarded by default :) May I have a resteem btw? I would love for this to get out there more while it still can :)
Exactly!
I already resteemed this post yesterday c;
Time is a big part of this. And up until now, I think, timing was also a factor, but mostly putting in the time. The more you are online commenting, networking, posting, the more you will be known and voted for.
If you produce good content, that will help too, of course. Thanks for following me.
I didn't realize it until I read your comment. This is the first time I can remember actually wanting to write. Whether it's been comments or replies or posts, this is the first time I can remember not feeling like I was being forced to write, like it was some kind of assignment.
This has all been because I wanted to do it.
I think for some people, this platform really works. It's strangely motivating. But I can also see how it isn't for everyone.
Well give up on MAKING MONEY and get into the great people on here and fascinating conversations you can have. Think about and imagine a GIFT economy and then go out there and start conversations with PEOPLE are fascinating. That's what I do. Look at what you actually are getting from STeemit - not just MONEY. I developed a whole new way to make my art in a year on steemit - I got the confidence from my followers and friends I made on steemit and talked to and still talk to - and then I walked out the door and did it LIVE. I don't have that kind of support of intellectual smart and empathetic people where I live...yes I am disappointed by my ratings - but it makes me work harder. In the end I am sitting here BY MYSELF anyway - it is helping me get over my need for validation in people liking me or not - I have benefited SO MUCH from Steemit - I am not giving up yet.
I am of the same opinion. Don't look for monetary return, make new friends and enjoy writing and sharing and give your opinion if you feel it is relevant. As you can see from my blog, I do not follow a lot of people like some does and I do not have thousands of followers. I am happy to be able to read what's on Steemit and learn about other things around the world. So yes just be Contented and be Happy....keep up your writing.
I will follow you and upvoted you (not much value as small but you are not bother about it, right!!)
Thanks
@jackpot
Absolutely! I am glad to have you. More people who think this way can IMAGINE a gift economy in which we get out of this rediculous PONZI fiat scheme and start to just take care of one another...
I'm new here, but you said what I was thinking. The people that are just here to make money have a mindset that is not conducive to building a community, making lasting relationships or learning how to become a better person that is able to contribute to society in a positive way. Since I became active I have noticed that a lot of what I see in posts is self promoting, begging and panhandling, I'm not interested in that. I want to explore the thoughts and perceptions of other people who have different backgrounds and experiences than me. I want to be wowed by your talents, your gifts and how you are using them, and your knowledge that I can glean and learn from. If the only point of Steemit is to make money then my time here will probably be short, but if it is to interact with others who have the mind set to give of themselves for the benefit of all, then I'm all in. I think that it is cool that we have the ability to do that and also receive a tangible reward for our time and investment of self, but the tangible gain can not be the greatest reward for being here if this project is to last. Our greatest reward for being here should be found in the intangible, the expansion of our minds into new thoughts and the transforming of our spirit through the revelations of the beauty of life as experienced by others. Purity of motives and a heart for seeking wisdom and understanding are the keys to true and lasting rewards, success and happiness in life.
well I think WE are the ones who can decide that - the REAL money makers will continue to make money. The beggars and pan handlers will leave soon. And we can keep on exchanging good information.
I'm for that!
UPVOTED.
very good.
I would be happy if you like to follow me and give your opinion about my posts.
Thanks.
I think the biggest problem is the way Steemit is set up - that whales have so much more power than minnows - really it should be possible to get a lot of traction on posts even if only minnows vote on you - it shouldn't have to be the rich and powerful who have the power.
I think each vote on steemit should be worth more irrespective of SteemPower and then a bit extra based on SteemPower - if you get what I am saying!
;-)
yes, i have seen post, with 61 upvotes and it made 0,6$ pretty sad
I was also thinking about this the other day and was wondering if it is affecting all. Quiting?? Nope , Not in my vocabulary - I just put the rewards(which is nice) out of my head and steem on for the fun of it and believe if you Steem the rewards will come :)
We are on the same page brother :)
I am a girl - short hair like a boy but definately a girl hahaha
Oh dear... I apologise :( The pictures are so tiny
Hahhaha that is fine - I have been called sir many times before - not because I look like a man but I sit in a car and they just see the short hair - I have a thick skin so believe me it does not bother me . So relax yoda and lift up those ears:)
And in any case I am not a girly girl - I will rather wear shorts and tshirts and work on a car than do needlework. Gosh save us all from the blood that will be spilled if you left me alone with a needle
I have very short hair as well (shorter than many boys). I decided to cut it after it was very long (almost to the end of my back). I must say it was quite the experience for me. Especially at the beginning, I would feel very self conscious that I am missing an identification of some sort. Yet, I kept telling myself it doesn't matter. Some of my "Girly" friends told me that I am not a "girly" girl even when I had long hair. Now I am proud of myself for being the girl I want to be "girly or not, I don't give a F@#K". I admire your thick skin. I am working on mine. Keep up the good spirit :D
Yeah, it has felt strange to hit the 1,000 follower mark and still only make a few cents per post. My own upvotes and commenting is what keeps me going and knowing that I pulled out my Steempower during the last big dip and regret it. Not planning on doing that again.
Wow a thousand followers and still getting a few cents, that is a little more serious than I have experienced. Hey may I ask for a favour of a resteem to try and get a few more views on this?
Resteemed. Well, I am not exactly putting out killer content either. Partly because I don't want to put a ton of work into it and still get the same result.
So be it, the faithful will be rewarded and continue the legacy.
i am feed up with low payouts... but liking my own content still counts for something since i bought steel
Low payments is no fault of anyone I believe. The whole financial environment out there is winter right now, this too shall pass my friend. I am glad you are steeming on :)
I hear you!!!!! I have upvoted and resteemed this and am following you now. I hear youSO loud and clear. I appreciate @jerrybanfield VERY much but imo nobody should be able to make $20-30 thousand a month here, while the rest of us are getting .06 cents. Jerry Banfield could post a video brushing his teeth and get $200 for it. Something be wayyy out of whack. Here is a copy of my rant from yesterday on @timcliff post about restructuring Steemit so it can go more mainstream. Here is my rant....
I would say if Steemit is to go "mainstreem" like Facebook,Instagram etc, there needs to be some work done on leveling the playing field... a LOT. As a new user with a 3 month old account I have put up various post on different subjects, and spent considerable time attempting to create posts with creative interesting content, only to see them be consistently ignored by the community. Still I have been able to acheive some "mild" successes thanks to a few friendly "whales" that have perhaps taken mercy on me and hit my posts. I feel if I am struggling to keep above water here, how can I convince my 800 Facebook friends to join? Just to be ignored? The changes I would suggest to start would be capping certain accounts - I am not sure where, but what Steemit is now is an environment where 95% of the users are flopping while 5 percent are totally killing it. There are a few Kobe Bryants (not naming any names) on here making $20-30 thousand bucks a month. OK they provide great content, sure and they have brought their existing clientele over from their other very successful ventures on YouTube or wherever - so now they are making bank on YouTube and doubling it here at Steemit. Users have learned to survive you should only "upvote" these Kobe Bryants (earlier the better), and not touch anyone else, lest you should lose money with your upvote. So people are sitting on the New posts section waiting for posts from these Whale, Kobe Byrant whatever users and trying to use Max SteemPower and jump on a post early - so it is almost like daytrading. Anyway, after seeing this for a few months I have vowed to not PowerDown as I am tempted to do when my posts I spent 2 hours on sit for 3 days at .16 cents, but figure out what everyone else who is succeeding here is doing and adapt to that model. But this type of lopsided model will never bring in mainstream users, people come over , try a few things, get disapointed and go back to facebook or wherever. So I would suggest Steemit somehow restructure itself to be somehow more fair and easier for new users if it expects or hopes to become a mainstream Social Media platform. For now it is a slightly addictive puzzle for myself and the other 95% of users like me, to figure how to gain more value than you are giving away, and at the same time have fun and provide great content. IDK my apologies if I am rambling, but I have tried getting some of my "non-crypto" friends (pretty much everybody I know) to come over. A few have tried but have already bailed. I have vowed to stay the course and be patient, lower my expectations and give it 6 months to a year. Rome wasn't built in a day.. but if you want mainstream to come over, there need to be some major changes to the distribution of wealth, or changes to the definition of "success" - nobody likes being ignored. Sorry that was so long but that is how I see the current environment here and ain't no way this thing is going mainstream as it is. Believe me I REALLY want to see Steemit succeed, I love it here, but nobody should be able to make $20 thousand or $30 thousand a month here while everyone else is raking in the .06 cents. Peace and always remember my Steemit friends....
and here is @timcliff original post
https://steemit.com/condenser/@timcliff/calling-community-developers-let-s-polish-the-steemit-com-mothership#@cryptoted/re-timcliff-re-cryptoted-re-timcliff-re-cryptoted-re-timcliff-calling-community-developers-let-s-polish-the-steemit-com-mothership-20170810t054924354z
I believe that @jerrybanfield had to work long and hard with unbelievable effort, plus working at a much higher level to achieve what he has achieved. And I think he is doing it full time. So I reckon his days are long. I aspire to that, but it will take more than will to do so. I have much to learn, experience, fail, persevere, etc. Not to mention the risk he is willing to take by investing in steem.
Thank you for such an in depth reply too. May I ask for a favour of a resteem while this is still here? Much appreciated.
I think I get fairly rewarded for the content I put up, a reward I would not get on Reddit. Im not part of the '90%' obviously, but I have to ask, is it really that bad?
If I am answering for myself, I say no... Things are what they are. And I try not to concern myself with $$$. I have accepted that it is a long term commitment, and it has to be a balanced approach. I can't sit here and let the house turn into and pig sty and not shower trying to get upvotes lol.
But there is a huge amount of people that are upset with a lot of effort getting them $0.11 I don't try and be an oracle and way anything. But a simple search will show you how many people are not happy.
I am not agreeing with the negativity, but the volume of people like this may ot be good for us as a community.
Let me know your thoughts :)
So perhaps they were attracted under false pretences? Join steemit and become a millionaire through blogging, its just not going to be that easy.
I think its just growing pains, I hear the exact same groaning from newbies on every crypto-currency project I have been involved with 'its so unfair the whales got in early and now we can never catch up', yeah but the whales took bigger risks, with their own time and funds on an unproven platform.
Id forgotten, I even posted about it a while back https://steemit.com/steemit/@scalextrix/what-did-you-do-for-steemit-today
You are not wrong there. I have seem all these ads with pretty girls in them talking about how you can get paid for bloggin etc ....
You don't have to ask. Go to any minnow or dolphin page and you can look at the payouts. I even got 4 votes on one of my posts and got no money for it.
I try not to focus on that, I have has plenty of $20 upvotes and even a $190 upvote in the recent past. Lately it has been very low. And as hard as it is I try not to focus on that. I am still passionate about building this over time. And I am forever trying to deepen my understanding to widen the contributions I can make :)
If you go back before HF, it was so much harder to earn votes, look at this one 132 votes for 40 cents! https://steemit.com/gridcoin/@sc-steemit/gridcoin-a-currency-that-benefits-us-all
So things are better now? SOrry I was not around before then
Yeah, before that HF my upvote was worth $0.01, immediately after it was worth $0.33! Basically the value of minnow votes was rebalanced and so they became worth a lot more (at the expense of whale votes), so now its much easier to earn off of a bunch of minnow votes than it was prior to the HF.
Mine is not better really. Maybe it depends on the SP?