SELFISH benevolence
It has been a while since I wrote something so let me just share my thoughts in this post.
I am trying to get past talking about steem or any steem-related issue but to be honest it is turning out to be a difficult task.
So late this evening I went on discord to have a little fun, which is seeming to be an impossible task these days because people aren't interacting that much and when they do it's all about steem! Steem! Steem
when will the price go up
what's wrong with our blockchain and how do we fix it
Yes, valid conversations but I'm really not interested in that and I wish I could mute some accounts I follow really. You know what? I actually forgot such an option existed. I will definitely try it out.
So while exploring discord I decided to visit one of my favorite communities-- the musing community. I think I have said this countless times that I owe my growth on this platform to musing and at some point, I wanted to work for free as a curator for them. However, lately, I have been having some concerns about the platform which I tried to explain to the community. One of which is that I am not getting as much upvote as I once did from their curators and it's not just me. And no, I don't feel entitled to their upvotes but I want it anyways. This was the text I sent:
Well, the whole process of expressing the same thought everyone has but refuse to voice out (@bozz response to my question will serve as proof: https://musing.io/q/nonsowrites/p364j3wsw?r=profile-nonsowrites) earned me some negative responses from other Musers.
I had some people question, well not directly, my motives. And they seemed quite selfless to me. Someone said something about growing the platform, something I still do not understand. How are you growing the platform from earning? How have you promoted the platform? What ideas have you shared regarding the platform to help improve its existing services?
Well, let me state here that I am a very selfish person. I am basically here to earn. However, unlike some people, I want to merit every coin I earn here by putting my best. And my best might not be good enough but be sure of the fact that it is my best. I put my mind and soul into almost everything I do here. I want steem to grow because it will benefit me. I want more people like myself on this platform because it will benefit me, yes me--and steem of course. So as you can see, it's a win-win situation. If I add value to this platform I add value to myself. There is nothing selfless about that. I want more minnows on this platform because I want a future where I do not have to depend on whales or orca or curators from my musing or dtube or any dapp I enjoy using for my earnings. I want people who enjoy the things I say and do to reward me. That's the future I want for myself and I am working towards that.
I know there some very selfless people in this world, but if you ask me, what they do isn't totally selfless because they get their fix in some way. It might be the joy of seeing other people thriving, this has an impact on them, one they cherish so much that they are willing to give up everything.
We are all narcissist to a certain degree. There is a reason for all our actions and most times, if we check, it all comes back to us, whatever we give. Either be it something as intangible as a feeling or material as money, we reward ourselves. And if you try to dismiss this fact or try to work against it you might end up having a lot of difficulties in life and harboring a lot of resentment towards people because you fail to acknowledge this simple principle of life.
Most people don't care about steem but their investment in Steem. In other to protect their investment they have to act in a certain way to protect this platform because as they do so they, in turn, protect their investment. Why do you think you have steem-power? Your steem-power is your interest in this platform. Another interesting way of looking at this is that your steem-power is part of yourself you've given to steem. Therefore if steem dies a part of you dies you. So protecting steem isn't selfless because you are part of steem. Sounds weird right?
Well, my big mouth might get me into trouble someday as I am trying to bite the same hand that feeds me. But if this said privilege will make me become a mindless zombie than I rather starve. And to be frank, what's the worst that can happen, I get shunned. I would simply create an anonymous account and start all over again. I have done it once.
©nonsowrites
Posted using Partiko Android
Fuck altruism. People will do whatever benefits them. A whale using their stake for the “greater good” is doing so because it makes them feel good for not being an asshole. This blockchain can either make you the fakest version of yourself (doing shit for upvotes etc.) Or it can help you become the realest version of.yourself (by choosing to.be authentic even though you could face negative economic consequences).
The current interfaces/blockchain is not conducive towards producing and consuming good content. People talk so much about steem/dtube because the success of it will benefit them. That is why it is such an interesting topic to talk about. However, people are not psychologically primed for good content because it does not benefit them. A funny or interesting video does not benefit individual users as much as being rewarded for your own content or seeing the blockchain evolve.
Posted using Partiko Android
That's why I feel its important to balance things. And one can do so by creating the type of content people want here and as well create content that people can relate with outside the blockchain. If one is pushing traffic to their blog people might start paying them to advertise their services on their blog/vlog, giving them an alternative stream of income.
There were times I was frustrated with this platform and thought to myself I should just create videos and content for the sake of people that are not on this platform. Once you get on this blockchain, you are trying to earn money and all that. If you just get viewers from the outside, they are more likely to appreciate it because they are not thinking about money but read simply for entertainment.
This blockchain has improved a lot since I first joined, so I am glad to see improvements here. There is definitely more we can do here, but at least we have weeded out and called out a lot of the fake people.
Thank you Nonso. I have been saying there is no such thing as altruism and true selflessness for a while now and trying to explain why this is. Most people get it when I do, but it's good to know I'm not the only one to come to this conclusion. There are whales here who try to do good things with their SP to share it around more, but their SP being here is an investment. They don't keep it here at their own loss or expense, they just use it in a way that is helpful to others as well as themselves.
Anyone who thinks everyone else should be totally selfless needs to look at themselves for a moment. Generally they want others to be more selfless so that they can benefit from it. Generous people are generous for their own benefit because they see that helping others can help them too.
When new dapps start they go all out to encourage use of their dapp and I'm starting to wonder if doing it via curation actually ends up being detrimental in the long run. People get too used to it, but as the dapp gets more popular it's hard to reach everyone and sustain that level of curation. I think partiko got it right in the partiko points for activity. These can be redeemed for upvotes at a capped level which they can sustain. They have gone more into the community feel of things and trying to make partiko a useable dapp that people enjoy using. They may not be making their users rich quick, but they aren't giving expectations which will be disappointing later down the line. @crypto.talk seems to know what he's doing.
Posted using Partiko Android
If its worth anything, the said person crying about my selfish entitled behavior was crying for upvotes some months back.
I'm really grateful for what i have earned her. But I was simply just trying to find out if the curators were busy or if they were understaffed so I could help as well.
Posted using Partiko Android
Hey man. This is a very big complement! I will work hard to live up to that!
Posted using Partiko Android
The pressure is on! Lol
Posted using Partiko Android
Genuine thoughts my friend! The great thing about our stakes is that we can do whatever we want with them even take them elsewhere if it doesn’t work out and to be true it will not work for everyone. However, my thought is to gather as much as I can given the potential for the communities and individuals here to create value in a digital and social experiment which could build many engaging activities for members. Today, it may be worth its price but whoever says the potential doesn’t exist is not aware of how the ditigal space has evolved.
Posted using Partiko iOS
Wait, are you saying my answer was negative?
Posted using Partiko Android
Lol no, no....I am saying that you mentioned something vital in your response which is that most people are not willing to talk about these things because they fear curators will blacklist them.
Posted using Partiko Android
Gotcha! That's what I thought but I just wanted to be sure! Like I said, I've seen your commitment and dedication to Musing. Personally, I think if anyone tells you they aren't on Steem for the money they are lying 😁
Posted using Partiko Android
I'm an honest gold digger with no shame. let's add value and earn steem. That's what I am about.
Posted using Partiko Android
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TrufflePigYoure right, many people want steem and dapps to succeed because of their investment; not because such dapps are better than their centralized counterparts. Success in dtube can mean more upvotes or an increase in the steem price. Most people probably dont give a fuck about decentralization overtaking centralization as much as they do earning more money due to investment.
Posted using Partiko Android