A Churn and Burn Rant

Maybe this is a rant. Maybe. Ready?

Lots of people talk about how many accounts wind up dead, that Steem isn't doing enough to engage them, that they are leaving because they weren't able to become part of the community. Perhaps it is all true but, why?

I don't have the numbers but if you trawl (not troll) @paulag's blog for the last couple of weeks you will find numbers for churn rates and various engagement activities. Have a read.

Today I posted about Steem complexity, which creates various barriers to entry as the place is goddam difficult to get the head around... alone. And this is the real issue with the churn rate isn't it? People have come here expecting to earn yet without the willingness to actually learn the system which generally requires engaging, making friends, joining groups and you know, being social.

Many seem to have come in under the influence of Jerry and friends bullshit from Youtube thinking they are going to have an easy time of it and when they don't, they cry, complain that it is because the system is unfair and leave. Bye!

Others come in on the words of friends yet, how many people are really capable of onboarding and being able to support people to not only learn what is required but also add value to their early days to help them find their feet?

Remember these numbers I posted a few days ago about powering up and building a middle class?

< 100 - = 980776
100-500 = 13026
500-1k = 3442
1-5 = 4275
5-10 = 776
10-20 = 511
20-30 = 191
30-40 = 88
40-50 = 57
50-60 = 58
60-70 = 35
70-80 = 20
80-90 = 19
90-100 = 18
100k+ = 147

So, how many people on the list can offer the informational support a new account needs to work out the complexity? How many can offer some voting value to get them off and running? I know that I have trouble with keeping people engaged and I am offering them the support of my own somewhat knowledgeable experience and my voting value. What about the people onboarded by those accounts < 100 SP?

Is it any wonder that the churn rates are so high when people are pulled in from all over the place with promise of easy riches only to meet perhaps the most complex economic system they have ever had to directly deal with?

A little advice: If you are struggling here, if you don't understand the technology, don't have a significant vote to support and can't help people become part of the community yet you are onboarding, you are probably adding to the churn rates. So many people I have talked to over the months have said they have brought people in only to have them leave again and think it is the other persons fault, not their own. Is it a problem?

Not really I think. At this stage of the ecosystem lifecycle I don't think we are anywhere near ready for mainstreaming and definitely not ready to become a charity organization that hands out value to the needy. It will kill the system.

What is needed isn't just people working to engage new users, we need new users who are proactive enough to engage. There are people who have been here for many months yet are still not on any of the chat platforms, still do not know the basics of the economy and are still spending their time chasing dollars without networking. Churn them, burn them. As it is obvious that the system isn't ready for them and they aren't ready for where the system is now. In time, they might regret it but that is their loss to live with.

I find it incredible that we have created a world where people expect to earn without actually doing anything. Just post what they want and magic money will rain down that they can extract and by their food or a new phone with. This shit is hard work and if you are here for only the money, you better bloody well know what it takes to get it. Especially if you are coming in with nothing but the shirt on your back.

I don't really care what people say, everyone is influenced by the prospect of earning here and even though there are many ways to do so, all of them take some level of work. Even the people who rub the "egos" of whales for votes have to sacrifice something, generally their dignity.

There are something like 60,000 active users out of the million odd accounts on Steem but as the numbers show, 98% of them have less than 100 SP. For the most part, those accounts are not helping much with user retention as they are often the extractors, the ones who never power up and the ones who are unable to add any value to the new users coming in.

It is not that they couldn't help of course but, they generally don't and most of them don't spend time engaging with the new users as the new users can't offer them a vote.

Here is a post from @paulag on human engagement. Give it a good read. take out the bots and the average comments per post could be less than 1. Less than one. 1!

If you are a small user worried about the future of this platform, bloody well start engaging with new users too. As said, look at the small number of larger accounts and tell me how they are not only expected to find all the users and upvote them but comment also? Or is it their duty to work 24/7 to engage users who for the most part don't care enough to know what the acronym SMT even stands for, let alone power up so they can have a bit of a vote to encourage others. They damn well know how to cashout though.

People can't seriously expect everyone else to do all the work, build the communities and power up to support the rest who just want to sit back and do nothing. Yeah, I am more than aware that people have different life positions but if this was my only way to put food on the table, I would be here learning every fucking thing I could about this system and finding every bloody way to make this work. If this is my chance at a ladder out of hell, I would throw everything I have into ensuring I am not just going to get a meal tomorrow, but one next week, next year and in ten years from now.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is possible because of unverified signups but, I would be very interested to see what the churn rates are based on region and a few other demographics. I think it would tell a lot about what is happening on the platform and show where distribution is going and why.

If you aren't willing to do what is necessary to help another, why would anyone help you? A community is built on reciprocity, give and take. Pats of encouragement on the back only go so far and they can't be eaten or used to pay bills or buy medication. What are you giving to this community and what are you looking to take?

Sunday rant over.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]