RE: Warning! This Blog Contains Actual Content!
Something new going on here with the art style. I like it a lot.
Not everyone is cut out for this. People failing and quitting is not a sign of a dysfunctional platform.
Good and important point. I know you're talking more about your experience as a content creator rather than the platform itself, but I'd like to rant on a tangent for a minute. There was someone in #general chat the other day waffling on about how user-unfriendly Steem is, and why that means it will fail.
In a way, he was right about some things; it's rough here. There are problems in the community caused by the software; there are problems in the software caused by the community. Add that to the fact that cryptography is a completely alien concept to most people and it has a bit of a learning curve. No matter how many times you tell a random person off the street what a private key is, they'll give you the blank stare... and jeezus, they really need to fix account creation somehow.
But he was wrong about what's failing. Steem is not failing because he is too lazy or impatient to learn how to use it. That's not how failure works. Where he has failed, others have succeeded. Others like you, like me, like this whole community who have somehow figured it out even though the place is still under heavy construction.
Eventually, it will get easier, and then the "normal folks" will be here. I think it will take some time though. In the meantime, everyone who puts serious work in is accumulating stake... and they're doing so at a rate that we'll someday consider absurd.
Sure, I'm talking about my experience, but I'm also seeing quite a few of the same folks around who were here way back when I started. Our approach is unique to each individual but we all have that similar drive to want to succeed.
It's rough here, sure. Some television remotes had fifty buttons. Some people use every button, others fear majority of the buttons and stick to: power, menu, channel, volume. All of those other buttons make everything confusing and appear difficult, but really, if one takes the time to learn how they function, operating the television becomes a whole lot easier.
Look how difficult Kerbal Space Program is. Nearly every key on the keyboard does something. Some refuse to learn, and rather than blaming themselves, they blame the game. We don't have that same problem here, just some of the same people.
Making it difficult means only the strong survive and honestly, that's a good thing. Learning isn't hard anyway. You can teach a dog to sit.
Your analogies there really resonated with me. The TV remote control and the fear of "complicated" buttons; KSP and blaming the game. Brilliant.
I will probably quote you on those things from time to time when chatting to new Steemians, discouraged folk, and even naysaying outsiders. Better than anything I've ever come up with.
Maybe it's because I really understand what you mean about KSP. From experience. That game is
bullshitreally difficult to master at times and I finallyragequitdecided to take a step back and pursue other, more fulfilling uses of my time.