_{Since the beginning, I've noticed many people here complaining about content.} ^{They don't seem to know what they're talking about, yet they say it anyway.}

^{Never Said It Was the Best}

See this image above?

^{Exclusive to this blog.  Nobody has ever seen it before, other than me.}

I could easily post that image here and say absolutely nothing about it.  Some would see my post and think:

"This is a shitpost, there's no effort here.  Why is this guy earning money?  This doesn't make sense."

I don't know how long this post I'm writing now will take but I'm certain that image took longer to produce than the words you're now reading.  I can type fast and more often than not I've written the final draft on the first try.

Coming to my art post, or any of the other thousands of posts centered around the imagery one has produced then decided to share here, so you can knock it down and insult the artist or photographer, is much like walking into an art gallery downtown with blinders on to say, "There's nothing here; this shop is a waste of space."

Does that happen in the real world?

^No.

People enter shops because what's inside is something they might be interested in.  The other shops are there for someone else.  Nobody says we should tear down half of a city simply because only half satisfies their own personal standards, unless they've forgotten to take their medication.

In the real world,

^{it's never about the content, it's about the people producing the content.}

Some folks here seem to frown upon popularity.

That blogger produces things I don't like and only gets paid because they are popular.  This is an outrage!  Where are my pills?

Welcome to the arts and entertainment industry.

^{Did you forget to read the fine print?}

I use the term arts and entertainment loosely.  You're all included, no matter what sort of content you're producing.  What do the first three letters of 'article' spell?  You see?

Whatever you're doing, that is your art form, and it has the potential to entertain someone by grabbing their attention.  People have been doing this for thousands of years.  A stick was the first pen and a line in the sand was the first letter.

I enjoy consuming content online.

I do not like everything the internet has to offer even when it fits into the categories I prefer most.

I'm sure someone out there would think something like a moto-vlog is a waste of space.  I just so happen to enjoy moto-vlogs.

A moto-vlog is when someone straps a camera onto their motorcycle or helmet, then drives around to offer us a glimpse of the scenery while talking about the things they wish to say.

If the individual behind the camera is not what I'd consider to be an interesting personality, I will not be interested in their moto-vlog even though I enjoy moto-vlogs.  It all boils down to the people, not the content they produce, every time.

Some people like rap music.

^{Does that mean they like all rappers?}

No.  There are probably more rappers out there who they do not like than rappers they enjoy.  Change that to your favorite genre of music and you'll see what I mean.

The same thing happens in comedy.  I love comedy but I don't like every single comedian on the planet.

The same thing does, and will happen, here, with our content.

And when it comes to popularity in this industry; nobody on this platform or even the entire planet, no matter how successful they are now, woke up one day and reached the height of their popularity without doing anything to earn it.  They started out at the bottom with nothing but confidence in their work and a vision to succeed; clawed their way up.

If you don't like someone now because they are popular, you're setting yourself up to be angry at the world forever because the one you hate will most likely become even more popular.  They are not being popular on purpose just to piss you off.  They have no control over how people react to their work.  It just happens, naturally; there's nothing you can do or say to stop it.

The highschool hallway mentality.

^{The cool kids.}

Many bring that mentality with them to this platform.  Popularity in the arts and entertainment industry and popularity in the highschool are not the same thing.

Maybe you hated that kid in highschool but there's no reason to hate on someone for working and striving for the same things you want here.  Besides, that kid wasn't popular.  Only about ten other kids actually liked him.  The rest hated him.  His popularity was all an illusion you created within your own mind to set yourself up to live in a reality that made you uncomfortable with the way of the world.

There are, and always will be, people here who are more popular than me.

^{I don't have a problem with that.}

If I see people succeeding, that tells me this is a worthwhile venue, and I can feel comfortable sharing my efforts here.  Cheers to success.

If I only see people failing, it's time to move on.  Why make the same mistakes as everyone else and expect a different outcome?

If I allow jealousy or the highschool hallway mentality to distort reality, then I will never truly know if this place is worth it or not.

If my mind only allowed me to see junk; if success and popularity in my mind was a sign of foul play; then if I was of sound mind, I would leave.  Hint hint.  If you don't like it here, the door works the other way as well, and you're free to leave at any time.  Nobody will take your departure personally, like we do when you tell us our contributions are garbage.

Thank you.

Have a nice day.

_{Update: This post was originally published and presented to the STEEM community on 10/15/2018. With new developments like Palnet and the potential hardfork on the horizon, that could potentially bring the curators back out of the woodwork and plenty of new faces to the blockchain, I feel this message will again help open some eyes and provide some clarity on what to expect around here and there when things start getting nuts again. I won't be able to respond to comments right away today but I'll get back to you as soon as I can, if you were here with something to say. As for the new downvote system: If you're downvoting genuine popularity or simply because you don't like something, you're doing it wrong. That needed to be said.}

Credits: _{All art and images seen here were produced digitally, by me. "If my shirt said 'cool kid' and I paid people to be my friend, would I popular?"}

^{© 2019 @NoNamesLeftToUse.  All rights reserved.}