The best of the average
My wife is my moon and the stars.
But I still miss Uranus.
Now as we've finished the funny part of the post, we can get to business.
It's somewhat common for us people to strive for the best. Why to accept average when we can get better? Why want something difficult when we can get it easy? Why strive for something else than the extremes?
On the other hand, some always aim for the average options. Never one of the cheapest or more expensive, but the middle priced. Not the easiest or the hardest, but something between. Not the biggest or the smallest, but medium sized.
Just to make sure you're not exaggerating and you might become happy.
Businesses on the other hand are trying to offer something fitting the majorities. Why offer something extreme, when the fact what is the best varies? If you offer the average option, more and more people will enjoy it at least on some degree. Mostly what we can find are mellowed down average alternatives with very little variation.
We can see this the clearest in clothes and movies. Avoiding any extreme ideas and solutions to make sure you'll fit all audiences. Ultimately blending in the masses of similar products, never making anyone truly excited.
To get the specialties, the best quality, the best anything you'll have to pay more. Sometimes even extreme amounts, but this is what people are ready to pay if they're passionate. If you really love biking, you're ready to pay at least tenfold than the average user is - just to get the best possible experience.
However sometimes trying to be the best and create something unique and wonderful fails miserably. Either it's not good enough or just doesn't interest anyone enough. Why go for the best if we can have good enough?
Cropped off people and things not to be seen
But what is it on Steem?
Most users are completely average. They create nothing interesting, just mediocre posts and have nothing to offer. Is it to please the larger audiences or are they just plain lazy, I don't know. Even most of the "bigger users" are somewhat boring and they will never grow to be anything special based on their content.
Most of those who have themselves grown to be something special are special and they're not creating average, dull content. They'll make you feel things - you might love them or hate them, but at least it's far better than the "meh" we all feel far too often.
I wish "meh" could be defined as an emotion.
I wish I would have the guts to do something truly special.
Indeed going for average option is a... safe route. Safe means stable. Stable income source means... kind of happy life I guess? Well this safety brings us to a problem I also fight with - boring average life.
It requires commitment, risk taking and somewhat tones of energy to get out of the "safe landing". On the other hand that's the only way to make something remarkable, start to have feelings, emotions and try to live a passionate life. How is this difficult to achieve? Very! What changes Steem as a platform for those who do it anyway? Not that much. Many people here thinking about platform as a "place to get rich". They don't understand that it doesn't differ that much from platform like Instagram, where you also drop your content in hope for some crazy opportunities in future that never happens.
Just don't try to be this 'meh' guy, everything rest is a matter of time I believe :)
One more thing. Steem has a one dangerous thing - some people might want to create something just for purpose of having likes there, which is not the point of creation itself.
That's a really long comment and it took me already 4 days to reply, so I'm hoping you just forgot you wrote this and don't notice I didn't respond...
We're trying to push Steemit as some kind of extremely unique platform (which it is) but the human nature doesn't change. The human nature is nothing extremely wonderful and unique on Steemit. Just like it's not anywhere else.
It's meh all the way around.
People do create for the likes also outside of Steem and Steemit. At least I'm assuming they do. It's just more common when money is included in the mess.
It seems to me special is often not intentional. Sometimes the stars align and the magic happens - of course it happens more often for people that are really trying. But even my favourite people here are meh at least 25 percent of the time. The creative process is a little bit mysterious like that. I've definitely been in a meh rut lately.
Well it's a good point that you rarely can be intentionally special. You can try to be different and unique, but it usually doesn't end up too well. However I think quite many people are intentionally trying not to be too special!
Picking up the safer route by avoiding speciality is a good way to be average. And that's rarely the most creative way.
As a famous example, imagine if Banksy stopped doing graffiti because someone might get upset about it? "I'll just paint on a canvas"
I think it could take something off from his uniqueness.
I suppose you are right. I look at a lot of uninteresting posts and I figure they are written by peope that have not fostered any creativity, but obviously this is the place to start fostering it. A meh post written by someone trying to be creative is always better than the run-of-the-mill meh post. Alright, I seem to have taken the adoption of your term "meh" a little too far :)
I'm a lazy replier so I'm sorry as it took a few days. But you're really stuck with the meh, but I can't blame you for that. Most life of quite many people is totally meh, so it's a wonderful feeling to be described and discussed.
We are living the meh.