Finding Balance in Imperfectly Great Steem
While aimlessly scrolling on Instagram, I quite frequently remark, "What did I just see? What's the point? Why would anybody post something like that?"
I do comprehend and respect "freedom of speech" or "freedom to share" anything on social media. But the fact that "content" does affect our thought process either consciously or unconsciously, makes me mindful of what I consume digitally.
Although, I'm not addicted to any social media like some of my friends complain or regret they are. I uninstalled Facebook a couple of years ago, eventually deleting my account. I only use Instagram now and that too for online shopping mainly. Sometimes, I end up watching reels which are only followed by a dozen regrets for wasting time that I could have spent more wisely.
Reels make me ponder that somewhere between creating meaningful content and attention-grabbing content, we got ourselves trapped in the never-ending quest for "views" and "followers".
I was pretty hooked to Facebook in 2008. It was so much more fun back then, connecting with long-distance but close friends, and then suddenly, it was all about "likes" and "number of friends" which made me pack my bags and run.
The same is the case with all social media now. I'm not against "vanity metrics" as it is one of the driving factors in content marketing strategies. However losing meaningful connections with the target audience in the process makes all the efforts void.
We have talked about having "vanity metrics" on Steem too. It would be exciting to see the number of views but I was wondering how would it affect the content. Would it go absurd if we chase views?
Since steem is less graphic and more textual, I am hoping that if we ever have this feature, it would have a positive effect.
We usually criticize the system; it's not that rigid actually; it's the exploitation by us (users) that sets me off. But lately, I have been thinking, maybe we are doing fine. Seeing what's happening on other social media - I think Steemians are doing better or at least nothing worse than what usually happens on social platforms.
We see less keyboard warriors and online bullying. The kind of system we have on steem, quality of content, engagement and sometimes reputation decides the success of content. Where reputation is a debatable factor but I think it gives more credibility to an author (especially if the growth is organic) than the number of followers.
It would be bold of me to write this but I do think, flaws of Steem are a blessing in disguise.
No shorts/reels means no crappy 1-minute videos. Humans are more inclined towards visuals, if we had better media tools then I don't think we would see many creative texts like we do see now.
(Media does add life to the text but I'm sure veteran users would want to preserve the text-supermacy.)
No influencers means no promotional content. Does the Steem decorum even align with paid promotions? It could be a game-changing thing but my conservative self only wants to see "proof-of-heart", not something that lacks genuineness, and is written purely for money when it contrasts with your values or experience.
You must be thinking why would someone oppose all the proposed suggestions that could take steem to the next level? Well... let's just say, "steemit.com" is not advanced enough to compete with traditional social media.
Suggestion...
Before anything else, we need developers to make steem attractive, seamless and viable for influencers or investors. Maybe developing sub-versions or dApps can cater to the needs of different kinds of target audiences.
It's just a vague idea - it would be great to hold onto the current version of steem for writers and maybe have other versions for influencers, brands, and investors. Like "switch-to-investor-mode" option could only show us content that is merely generated for investment returns.
"commercial-mode" could only show brand content where small and big businesses could advertise and influencers could promote. This mode could serve as an online marketplace.
The idea is to categorize steem according to different audience (writers, investors, influencers). We could have a choose-mode option in the post editor so the post would show in the selected mode only. Or all posts could show in the main version but if somebody wants to filter out then they should have the option.
Like if I'm not here for business, but merely for writing then I certainly don't want to see advertising content and the same goes for all.
I am abruptly halting here before I go too far. This was supposed to be a reflective post that transformed into suggestions. Forgive my unorganized thoughts; you are welcome to take things from here and may improve or disapprove my ideas.
Your ideas are very interesting. They can be implemented, for example, with the help of various alternative interfaces. @the-gorilla has already offered, shall we say, reader mode.
I often share different ideas here. Over time, it turns out that most of them are meaningless. But there are also interesting ones. One thing I have learned is that when you want to achieve something, to improve something, an idea alone is not enough. You need to do something. You are a programmer, you can start with something small 😛 😁
I actually see a lot of potential in the Steem blockchain. But we lack leadership and driving force.
I recently came to the same conclusion as you. Steemit has nothing to offer people who scroll through videos endlessly. And that's great, because this type of people is not needed here. Steemit should not be similar to other social networks, on the contrary, it should be more different and unique. That is how it will become interesting for those who are looking for an alternative to social networks.
However, this does not mean that Steemit should stagnate. The platform needs to improve and grow, but in its own way. Is this a blogging platform? Let's improve the blogging experience, add new convenient features, develop applications, etc.
It's great. I am certain he can come up with something even better than my hatchling of an idea.
Why you think I've made peace with posting only blogs and refraining from commenting on the operations of Steem?
Sometimes, it's hard to contain all thoughts. 😛
I've always liked your ideas. It doesn't matter if an idea is meaningless. Mostly, the discussions lead to better ideas. You don't know when your one thought/idea pops another chain of thought into someone else's mind. It goes on and eventually (even if rarely) we achieve something tangible and work on it.
I think that's what this community is about. A brainstorming place.
I second that. We do not want to imitate what's already in the market. We only need to improve what we already have.
I was reading various posts on marketing campaigns by pensiff which got me thinking that first we need more developers to make this space promising, only then influencers and investors will be attracted. There's no shortcut, we have a long way to go.
You are absolutely right. And I appreciate you sharing your ideas here. Experience shows that reading other people's ideas, as well as discussing in the comments, allows you to better understand the platform and current processes and trends. Thanks to this, our next ideas are getting better and better 😀.
Hmm... Where should I start?
Let's discuss this. Essentially, you proposed the development of sub-versions or dApps tailored to different user needs, suggesting modes like "investor-mode" and "commercial-mode" to cater to various audiences. That's indeed an intriguing approach.
As for the implementation...
Well, the curious side of me would likely switch on all the modes. I wouldn't want to miss out on anything interesting, commercial or otherwise.
However, I must agree with your points regarding the platform's emphasis on text over graphics. I appreciate it this way and wouldn't want the decorum of the platform to change or be disrupted.
Interesting. Do you like the current "trending page" with all investor posts? I think for someone who's solely on Steem for writing wouldn't want to see what's going on in the investor or business world, every time they open Steem. They might be interested in checking out from time to time but I think they certainly need an option to filter out.
I have a simple wish - don't want to see it turning into something like Tiktok, if we ever have advanced media tools. 😛
I think you misunderstood me here. I was not talking about the trending posts. Just the commercial side. And as I said, for me - the curious me, would like to switch between the different modes. But your suggestion remains valid. The switching part would need a switch which you have just proposed ;-)))
You've offered some excellent suggestions, and I believe your familiarity with the platform over time lends weight to your ideas. Your desire to preserve it from the mindless scrolling seen on other social apps is heartfelt. I definitely agree with you.
I got it.
Exactly. We deserve an "option to switch".
There is actually no system that does not have their own flaws or let me put it this way something's that they can still worked upon. When it comes to Steem, we utilise the flaws much more and that is great to see