If you've spent a while on Steemit you've probably already learned that there is a continuous battle going on over what type of content should be rewarded. Many are of the mindset that content should be 100% original, unique and it should represent work for which you are being paid. Others like myself are of the mindset that short and easy or even unoriginal content being shared should be just as highly rewarded. I'm not advocating for plagiarism and think shared content should absolutely be attributed. I would like to share a few points and perhaps persuade some of you to my way of thinking about the content being submitted to Steemit and how there is more than enough room for both the long and arduous articles and the quick/easy.

The criteria by which I am weighing which content should be rewarded is Steem's long term success. I consider success for Steem to be a thriving social media platform and economy that is continuously signing up new users who are engaged in content creation in many forms as well as the buying, selling and circulation of Steem and Steem Backed Dollars. Success would see Steem tokens in high demand with healthy price and volume growth. Steem user numbers should be in the millions with sights set on billions.

Long, unique content should definitely have a home on Steem anyone that watches publicly available web traffic stats can point to the massive amounts of search engine traffic Steemit brings in but bringing in the users does not equate to signing up users. If visitors are just bouncing of the site without ever engaging or being monetized by an ad then someone paying for those servers is losing money and it can't continue forever at a loss.

Steem needs to gain mainstream adoption to achieve success as defined above. If a niche audience is sought, growth rates will stagnate quickly as saturation of the niche is achieved. Without new users signing up the demand for the tokens will fall and so will the price. Through attrition the blockchain and site will whither. Let's face it there really aren't that many people out there that have the desire or stamina to be a professional blogger. If they do have the chops Steemit might not even be the most profitable place for them to be blogging. Anecdotally I've helped about a dozen friends or associates setup their own blogs in the past, I even helped them with SEO strategy and set them up with ads. Only one of those people went on to blog for a few years and earn a good chunk of money for it. All the rest dropped out within weeks and couldn't even keep a daily posting pace for that brief a time.

We see this same issue with accounts on Steem now. Steem is a graveyard of real user accounts. There seems to be new posts every day with some user quitting steem. They get frustrated, they spend hours working on posts and don't get paid shit because they have no following. It feels like a job they aren't even getting paid for.

This is a problem that short easy and unoriginal content helps address. Take a look at what billions of users do everyday on social media platforms. They share links, memes, selfies and all kinds of links much of it is shit but hidden in there are some gems. It's easy to do and they can get a quick dopamine hit from seeing those likes roll in right away. The way I like to use Steem is inspired by how Reddit works. Most submissions are just links to somewhere else with a discussion below. I add a comment to each story snippet to help kick off a discussion. While this content may not be completely original it adds value in the same way Reddit submissions add value on their system. If enough people are sharing timely links the site becomes a portal to what is going on around the internet. It becomes people's homepage and becomes part of their daily patterns.

By rewarding this same type of quick and easy content and definitely not flagging it we give exposure to content that a fresh web visitor looking at the site for the first time thinks they too can create. Instead of seeing a part-time job blogging they see a social platform with content they too can create. When they sign up and use the site they aren't investing hours of work they are just making a meme, sharing a link, writing a quick tweet. Any new user probably isn't going to make much to start with but when you are only making a few pennies for sharing a picture of your dinner you aren't as likely to feel jaded as the person investing hours of work for those same pennies.

The users sharing quick and easy content are going to be more likely to stick around, their time investment to payout ratio will be far more acceptable. Their experience will be fun not laborious. These types of users will naturally want to share the experience with their friends. They will convince their friends to join so they can help upvote their photos or links. They will possibly buy Steem and SBD to help grow their followings. Steem can be their new supply of dopamine hits while they share shitty photos of their cat.

Enabling this mainstream audience that loves to consume disposable content will grow the demand for and price of steem. Those writing their long form blog articles will be able to earn more and gain exposure to a bigger audience thanks to this audience and price growth. It will be a win - win for both types of content and will ensure the longevity of the Steem blockchain.

Steem on!

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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