Crash Test Dummies
For a very long time now I have mentioned that Steem isn't currently a place for everyone but of course, anyone can come in and do because there is a chance to earn here. I am not even going to use the "still in Beta" excuse, it just isn't ready but, it is getting there, albeit slowly. Essentially all of us here are crash test dummies and those of us who survive might make it onto product release. Remember that we are now in the world of live testing where the public reports bug reports, they are gathered and eventually, a patch is released.
People are looking for this to be a social media platform. It is not. As soon as everyone had control and access to the economic model at its core it became an economy and as such, behaves in a vastly different manner than any of the centralized platforms will. And, the social media aspect is only a small piece of what the capabilities of this platform are.
As I see it, one of the largest aspects of this entire project is the ability to transfer financial value freely in 3 seconds anywhere in the world. The ability to fund and get return on projects without requiring a centralized currency is another factor that is going to revolutionize various processes that are currently suffering middleman problems. But, it isn't ready.
People are still concerned with new accounts not having enough RCs for bandwidth to interact even though the solution is in development now and that solution will empower new signups for FREE. But, people want it all now. Whatever their passion area is they want the platform to cater directly for it. It isn't ready. In its current form, it really, really isn't ready for people who are unable to come in and drop a few dollars on Steem for bandwidth but, IT WILL BE soon.
When is soon? Dunno.
This isn't, never was and never will be "Get paid for Facebook", there is much more to this than that and it is going to be a work in progress for a very long time. This is made all the more difficult by the fact that it is a decentralized system and there are people with influence who have competing desires and incentives. A centralized system doesn't suffer from internal competition in the same was, they make a decision and pay people to fulfill it, if those people don't do their job, they fire them and pay someone who will. Is this what people want to replicate here?
At the moment a new account that comes in without knowing anyone or anything is going to be sorely disappointed by the shills on Youtube. A person who is invited in by someone saying this place is awesome and then finds they can't do anything because they have no RCs is going to be sorely disappointed. I said this about a year ago I would say, If you do not have sufficient Steem Power to support the start up of an onboard, think very seriously about inviting them.
But, with RCs and the ability they will give Dapps and Communities to onboard and support new users, no one will need to delegate Steem Power to them so they can act here, it will be FREE. Totally free for signups and they will have bandwidth allocated to them for FREE also. They just won't have voting value unless someone delegates Steem Power to them or they buy-in. They will still be able to use the system and earn and perhaps after a while, they might even choose to invest a little themselves.
People wanted Spam gone from the platform, RCs can obviously effectively stop Spam but in its current form it is a blanket fix which harms small accounts so they introduced the 10x to ease that issue. Do not be surprised if in the future the 10x is reduced by Steemit Inc and then it will be up to the community to decide who will have access. Steemit can give a 'bare minimum' discount on some actions and it will then be the Dapps, interfaces and community groups who will decide which accounts they will subsidize with Resource Credits and at what level. This process will vet users at a basic level and make it possible to disempower users who break agreements and warnings like do not spam. It will also empower communities to build all kinds of real social media types of platforms.
But, we are not there yet are we? Not by a long shot.
The platform isn't ready for people to live off even though I am glad that some can. It isn't ready to be a charity service but I am glad that it is able support people in need. It isn't ready for many things it is currently being used for but it doesn't stop anyone from trying these things out and if anything, it encourages it. There are no guarantees they are going to work here though because there is a timeline that requires certain infrastructures, processes and behaviors to have developed before it can do what everyone wants it to do.
It isn't ready for it to be everything yet but it is crawling into position. What this means is that everyone who chooses to be here (it is always a choice remember) has to accept that to some degree, it is what it is and there are stages of development that need to take place for it to be able to service a large number of people in ways that those people want it to work.
This seems like such an unsatisfactory view of it all as if it is uncaring and without compassion for all of the small accounts currently here but, to align resources, infrastructure, incentives and users adequately takes time and on the path toward that point, there is going to be various periods of disjointed parts that don't mesh with what is currently available.
This current situation is not sustainable, just as it wasn't sustainable under HF19 but, it is leading toward sustainability, albeit slowly with the introduction of the RC system. Luckily, what RCs allow for now will lead to a much more sustainable ecosystem so that then the more socially friendly apps will be able to be sustainable too.
I get the frustration but at the same time, it is shortsighted considering it is pretty obvious that we aren't stopping at this station for very long and when the new tools are made available, the train will be able to move much faster to the next. The problem is that people hold expectations about what this place is and how it should work without considering what it is and how it does work. It is kind of like some people are prepared to play tennis but are running onto a rugby field mid-game.
It isn't for everyone. There is extreme volatility. Extreme uncertainty. Large changes. Technical instability. Poor behaviors. Lying. Cheating. Stealing. Broken this and that. But, there are also a lot of people working toward repairing, mitigating and improving it everyday in the ways that they can. Some do it from a developmental perspective and some from a social perspective but, there are people here who work with the current system to improve it and get it to a point that an increasing number of people are able to use and enjoy it.
I stopped onboarding people a long time ago because I learned that it just isn't ready for those who aren't ready for this kind of environment. There is a great deal of possibility and potential here but if one comes in expecting rewards for Facebook-like activity, they are going to be disappointed. If someone isn't the type who can put up with all of the bullshit and uncertainty, they aren't likely to last no matter how often they are able to comment or post. This place has had retention issues much longer than the last two weeks but the latest change should improve that massively when it is joined by the infrastructure and possibilities that can now be built up on it. The RC system had to come before the next layer is implemented.
It is all inconvenient isn't it? Which is the problem with much of this world. We can't stop burning fossil fuels because no one wants the jobs in those industries to be lost. We can't end poverty or hunger because no one wants to go without luxuries. We can't end the threat of war because we support centralized authorities who benefit from it. We have our desires and priorities misaligned and too often put the cart before the horse.
As I understand it, the latest RC implementation is the biggest step Steem has made to being able to align functions and provide incentives at multiple levels to have a chance for a multitude of future users to enjoy and benefit a great deal. Those that are here now are going to have to hack their way through the jungle so that those who come after have a much clearer path.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
I know it’s got nothing to do with your post but the crash test dummies did some great songs. Cheers mike
I think anything can be posted here even if it is facebook like, it just depends on the connections and steem power you have. Basically the relationship you have built on this platform.
Relationships built on Steem aren't like friends and family through Facebook, they take energy, effort and tie to build and maintain. The content isn't the issue here, it is the network.
Yah, agreed.
A fine piece.
The puzzle isn't complete but we can enjoy and earn whilst working out what will go where.
There is a lot of uncertainty but I do think that we will work it out as time goes on or like me, 'die trying'. There are naysayers who do and naysayers who don't. If the critical thinkers actually do something this place will be much better in the long run but there are too many complaining just for the support of other complainers it seems.
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They need to be very careful about this.
All communities have people leaving them - nations have people dying or emigrating, businesses have staff leaving, clubs have people leaving because they have other things to do or because they've gotten bored, places like Facebook have people leaving simply because it's no longer fashionable.
This is the normal state of things, and you always have to offset it by new blood. So nations have babies being born and immigrants coming in, businesses hire new staff to replace those who have left, clubs recruit new members, facebook tries to get new sign-us through advertising etc.
If you take the stance of discouraging or not permitting new people to join, but existing members leave at the same rate (because they're bored, or have family or work commitments, or because they've found a better site for their work), then what happens is your community shrinks and then dies. The last few members can try valiantly to make up for the shrinkage by increasing activity, but even they eventually get tired.
The danger for steemit is that if it starts to shrink in that way (or worse get replaced with a better community and coin), then the price goes down too. So the insiders who worked to hard to freeze out new blood are the ones who lose.
I think the idea is that the communities will be able to pool their resources and onboard at a much higher rate and at a much more personal level than currently. I see communities with a lot more friends and families etc being built this way rather than people coming in largely blind and having to stumble through a 'one-size-fits- all' mould.
Yes, spot on T. Steem is a budding economy and as with any economy you need to be entrepreneurial and invest time, labour and capital if you want to prosper.
I was disappointed when they lowered the transaction costs. I believe Steemians and future Steemians will value this economy more, if they value their Steem Power more. I see way too many plankton powering down. I would rather be helping people who are trying to grow their personal Steem wealth and the value of our economy.
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Me too but I do understand it. In time if those who haven't learnt yet don't power up something, they will find themselves trapped later. Th new onboards will be fine. The ones who are powering down are likely to wish they had the available RCs to delegate later as they will have a value on them.
If it all falls in a heap they might laugh but I am playing the long game.
A fund manger once told me that they always charge for seminar attendence, despite many of their competitors running free seminars. And the reasoning has remained with me.
If you charge, the attendee values the event, will attend and will be engaged. If you do not charge, attendees do not value the event, have a tendency to be absent on the day and appear far less engaged.
I have noticed this behaviour throughout my career too.
If the Steemit powers had of left it at the oringinal RC rates, those who value this platform would have found a way to boost their Steem Power, so no need to cave in imo.
Not complaining - just saying.
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Someone asked me the other day if my students learn from me and the answer is, "yes, they pay to."
When there is money/time/effort/emotion invested there is a much higher rate of engagement which is why as people power up, they feel more attached to the platform and, care more about what happens here.
I agree but, they have other issues to concern themselves with than the contant barrage of complaints. This way it is a short-lived compromise I'd say. soon it will be left entirely to the community and we will see who is here long-term and, who actually gives a damn.
If you power up you're a fool as anyone can come and turn your investment into nothing, for the most malicious reasoning. The long game has no prospective protocols to deal with the abuse that has turned DROVES of popular people away. They were fools for not sticking it out without any relief in sight, right?
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Who has left? Jerry did but this was before the hardfork and he does crypto for a living - so needs to move around.
Even Ned has stopped powering down now and we have had some pretty big money power up in recent weeks.
Anyone can come and turn any investment into nothing - this is investing.
You seem to assume that because you sit in liquid steem you can beat the exchanges to the door. I doubt it that I could. So I might as well be powered up and earning a return.
SK.
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A budding thumbs up for a shill comment to a shill post by the Mr. "Gimme any buzzword that shines the light from what this place is, or content creation incentivized".
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I think you have a point you are trying to make here baah, I am just unsure what that is.
If you wish to explain in simple terms I am happy to read and reply.
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Meeeeh, is that better?
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Success is measured in two ways for me. Where one has been and the where one is going. I think that the Steem ecosystem has both elements as for starters it is surviving. Despite the price crunch across alll blockchains, their is an active and growing community creating and consuming content which is was has given the ecosystem a nearly $300 million value. Attention is value these days and I have been providing a lot of effort and see others doing the same. This will support the ecosystem going forward as now the changes made will balance the utilization of resources to ensure that efforts are aligned with costs. I feel that the data being generated could be leveraged to improve the dynamicsnof value creation going forward.
The entire community has data, skills, talent, art, content, direct purchasing power etc. It is all leveragable and can be used to attract and support. It is pretty cool really.
Folks should consider helping out plankton on their follow list, during this period, with delegations to help retain users and protect your stake.
Yeah, I delegate to about 40 at different levels and some so they can also get the Steem-ua support.
Wonderful! ✌💛
¡Amen to that brother! 👍
Superb post my friend. Another great one to resteem and include in my own wall to honor my handful of followers with quality content.
Cheers!! :)
Thanks mate :)
Why don't the people who have the most SP (whales, orcas, dolhpins) pool some resources into a bot that gives a high value upvote to every #introduceyourself post (yes, people will probably try to game this so program this bot to only upvote users who have joined within the last 4 days and have no #introduceyourself posts and also see that the post has a minimum content). This is better than delegating because it is not finite and the newbies will know that they are wanted and that they really can make money on Steemit. Just the curation received could make this bot sustainable after a few days.Sure as hell beats upvoting every post that says HF20 was a success.
It will be abused like every other time something like that has been tried. Part of the problem with rewarding heavily at the beginning has been that it becomes an expectation. When curie does it, people started to rely on getting curie votes and then when they stop voting, the people leave anyway. The expectation should really be could earn not will earn.
Yes, you are right some people will abuse, but still a move like this would have these newbies having a lot more RC or mana or whatever and will allow them to interact with the platform at a much better level than they can after HF20. Abuse will always happen, if a lot of people join some of them will be spammers and worse some will be scammers but that is something that can't be avoided, so at least trying to keep the good ones in by giving them some rewards should not be a bad idea, Putting some constraints on this #introduceyourself vote like the length of it should at least assure only the people who are willing to put in some effort receive this vote.
It will only help them if they power it up which most will not as history generally repeats. What will help is later them having RCs delegated to them from the communities that invite them in from their own social networks. For now, communities could trawl through the stream of nonsense that is that tag most of the time and try to work out which are alts, which are real and which are worth spending their time on.