RE: Pay to Play – The Future of Steemit
This stems more from HF19 than it does from the bid bot owners. The bid bot owners and operators are just playing the game well as it was handed to them. And while some might be frustrated by the play to play nature that same system is encouraging rich people to buy and hold steem increasing the value.
Millionaires aren't interested in curating fictional stories all day. This way we have their investment and they get a return. There's an option that's been discussed at length to create a higher return storage place for Steem Power that isn't allowed to vote. they get the return and they don't eff with post payouts, but I think Steemit and many of the witnesses see Velocity, Communities, and SMTs as a higher priority.
Another option is to create a separate down voting pool and allow users access to two types of down voting. One with damage to rep and one without. That way there aren't as many long term consequences to a user where there are rewards disagreements.
Ultimately I think the need for HF19 came from the terrible distribution on the platform, which was caused by Ned and Dan trying to act within the rules to avoid the unlisenced securities offereings that a lot of ICOs are going to get their ass kicked by and build up equity in a blockchain legally without the regulatory hassle.
There isn't a will to go back to HF18 and exponential rewards. There isn't a priority to fix curation because the other projects are believed to be higher impact. For now I think the process is wait a bit for the other stuff to be released and make noise closer to 2019 that curation changes should be the next priority.
While I agree that HF19 plays a causal role in a lot of these problems, I feel like making the same point I tried to get across to @trafalgar when discussing his voting habits: The fact that the system creates incentives for people to act a certain way does not somehow magically absolve those people of all moral responsibility for their actions. That the bidbot system is made profitable by the system parameters is an explanation for the behaviour of investors, but it isn't an excuse. This is, of course, of no consequence as very few investors are interested in doing the right thing unless there is a profit involved. This sounds judgemental, but it's also a statement of fact. We aren't going to change things by scolding them sternly, because if that worked, the entire world economy wouldn't look the way it does.
I know investors do buy and hold a lot of steem. But I would love to see a breakdown of where the profits going to those who delegate to bidbots actually go. How much is rolled back in to SP, and how much goes to BTC and fiat?
In any case, 2019 is a long way off. As things stand now, lots of content creators are going to leave. But that doesn't matter, does it? Content creators are a dime a dozen. As long as there are investors with fat wallets willing to prop up the price of steem, and a stream of creatives suffering from the delusion that steemit would be any more profitable than trying to make it as a writer or artist anywhere else, everything will be fine, right?
And even if most content creators find somewhere else, the steem ecosystem can survive purely on investors. Intuitively, I like to think that a system where people make huge returns on their investment in SP by delegating to bots that upvote token shitposts made by smaller investors is ultimately unsustainable. But I know that's because it offends my moral sensibilities more than my financial ones. I'm also aware that me thinking it needs to be sustainable is possibly unwarranted. All that the system needs is that later investors think it is sustainable over a certain time-frame, and that early investors get their money out before the newcomers realise they are bagholders for a token that is never going to underpin the next big social network.
I'd love to be wrong about this. Very little would make me happier than for Steemit to be a place where content creators can get money and/or exposure for their work. But it's not happening now, and I'm not sure it will ever happen.
Very well put. I am in total agreement.
This is the hard truth. Quality of content doesn't matter, so long as it's 'content'. STEEM will rise in price atop that illusion. The pyramid it stands on can be built of dung or steel, so long as they're shaped in bricks. And bidbots and investors give those bricks their form.
Content creators can leave without any substantial consequences to the economy. Steemwhales.com states that 95% of the value on this site are held by 2% of the accounts.
Content creators aren't the big money holders 2%. They're the cannon fodder, the pawns.
Scrooge McDuck has that big money.
The revolving door will continue to turn with or without us. That's just the name of the game until the platform's actual underlying structure is changed.
So pop a beer, sit back and wait and see if Hivemind+Communities can change anything. If not, well, it's been good, Steemit. You'll probably get a choice of different platforms as crypto continues to evolve. EOS will have one, and others will pop up as the crypto bubble continues to expand.
Unfortunately, I think I am inclined to agree with you, which for me is rather unsettling. You see I love to read, I have found many many good stories to read on steemit. I like that, unlike when I buy a book, I can interact with and reward the author's at the same time. I have found older works by Authors that I enjoyed, and after reading commenting, and interacting with them, I have sent SBD's to them because I read their book, and liked it. I realize not all people do that, but a few of us readers do. Stories is one of the reasons, well the Reason, I joined steemit. My wife told me there was lots to read on steemit, and there was, still is, but I am in fear that there will be an exodus of writers, thus I am keeping my eyes open for other sites.
I can tell you that not only readers enjoy that interaction... but writers thrive on it as well! :) Hearing the thrill and excitement of a reader - IN THE MIDST OF THE STORY - is fuel and fodder to a storyteller!
I'm a very stubborn author and I usually stick to my vision throughout the write. But - on Steemit, I actually listened to my readers and added in an element to the story that was not at ALL where I was intending! After adding it in, I had to find a way to still hold true to the main theme of the story without compromising and pandering to my audience. Not only did I do that effectively (well.... I suppose I better wait until the last chapter is completed before I determine its effectiveness), but I think that I changed the storyline into a more believable and enjoyable read for my readers (and myself!)
I know that a lot of people have strong feelings about creating and publishing original stories on Steemit - but I'm already a published author. I prefer THIS type of interaction. What Steemit provides is absolutely priceless, in my opinion. I hope that it doesn't go away. I can easily go back to writing books and releasing them to the public by standard publishing, but it isn't nearly as fulfilling as this platform!
Money is never a motivation for me. Do not misunderstand - It's very nice! It also gives me opportunities to spread it back around in ways that I wouldn't have otherwise! But I have an unusual (and very blessed) situation where I don't need to write for money. I can, and do, write for the enjoyment of writing and for the thrill (hopefully) of my writers.
Hoping that they can fix this issue for those writers who do NOT have the option of under-compensated writing!
It is always a pleasure to meet new Authors, (well new to me), I will be looking over some of your post, as I get time I will try to read some, I currently have room for one more story to be added, I had to start forcing my self to stick to a four story at most read on steemit, it got out of hand for me about 5 months ago, I kept getting "lost" and mixed up in all the stories I was reading, not doing justice to the Authors or to myself being spread so thin.
bwa ha haaaaaaaaaaa.... another victim... er, um.... i mean. READER! hooray!!! :)
well - good news... chapter 15 came out today.
even gooder news. (tee hee) I end all my chapters on a cliffhanger - sorta - but you have 15 chapters to read!!! so you miss out on that awful "what comes neexxxxxxxt" feeling 15 times in a row! :)
bad news. i think i'm only 1/3 of the way through. that feeling will be returning once you hit chapter 15. lol
nice to meet you @bashadow!!!! I totally understand what you mean about reading so many at once. I used to read 4 books at once. Gobbled them all up - but then.... couldn't really appreciate them as much.
If you'd like to read mine at a different time - i wouldn't be the least offended! Being "past its payout" means nothing to me. Just come read when you can :)
I don't post stories on Steemit, I treat it more like a blog, but I can tell you that comments and reviews of my novel thrill me every time. I just got commented about it on FB today and it's still like, "Whee! People like it!!"
So yes, please do keep commenting on your favorite authors. If they are like me, their inner dialogue is something like, "I suck I suck I suck I suck SOMEBODY LIKES IT YAAAAY".
I think that is pretty much everyone inner voice, I know it is mine every time I post anything. The first two, oh heck let's be honest three or four months was hell on steemit. I got to read a lot, and found a lot of authors to read. Life goes on, and I still like to read, and well I've gotten to where I like to comment on post, on stories, on pictures, everyone likes to hear/read that someone thought enough of what I had to say they said something back. You should test post a few pages at a time of one of your stories, on FB, you get no pay, here on steemit, maybe a few pennies per page, but beats the book gathering dust. "Hint: Start with the middle book, and tell people if they like it book one is available on Amazon", don't really do that though, but yeah hook people with a little see if it gathers steem to you, can't hurt.
Preach, brother, preach.
And that's reasonable, @aggroed. In the meanwhile though, Steemit is really taking a hit. It's hemorrhaging evergreen content creators and down--waaaaay down--on new user signup. Some of us might be willing to dig in and wait it out, but we're in the minority.
This certainly isn't an anti-bidbot rant. If so, I would never suggest that content creators work seamlessly with them. You are correct in that everyone is just playing the game that was handed to them. But see, that's exactly what content creators have to do in this particular situation. ECC (evergreen content creators) users have to adapt and change, not get on our high horses and point fingers at everybody else. That's about as productive as mopping a floor with diarrhea. LOL
I'm hoping for a grass roots effort, for larger account holders who think Steemit is a good place to nurture the creative arts like writing, art, and music, to team up with content creators and communities to bring visibility to the content being produced here. I don't think curation on the platform itself needs to be "fixed." I just think we need more active involvement with it from users who can make a difference.
I think that's a market cap of crypto thing. BTC plummeted, steem went back to $1.34 or so. I think as the price rises everyone will come back. We'll see. Only thing that I find that I find that correlates activity on the platform is price. Doesn't mean that's the only thing. It's the only thing I've found so far.
I can tell you definitively that creatives are leaving. Several people in The Writers Block have left Steemit, and many more are contemplating it. We have a meeting scheduled for the weekend to discuss possibilities. They are not leaving because of the crypto. They are leaving because they realize they can't compete in the current ecosystem and are getting no visibility, despite consistently producing quality content. They were doing much better on the platform last year than they are now, even before the price of crypto spiked.
Totalmente deacuerdo contigo mi estimada @rhondak, eso a lo que hace mención es la pura realidad, por tal motivo es importante tomar las acciones correspondientes en equipo.
If they want visibility though this isn't that platform for them at all, most people here want rewards. The fact that someone can start blogging/posting videos and actually start to earn a few bucks per post by joining a community is something that does not exist anywhere else.
Posts on steemit largely don't get many views as more people's folowers are bots.
If they want visibility it is a mistake to only post on steemit, it is also a mistake to not post on steemit. Posting everywhere like Medium/Facebook/Minds/Reddit/Voat/Making your own website/Blogger/ etc, if people want visibility they need to be everywhere.
Through my time on steemit and on the internet in general as a youtuber/blogger, people give up on making videos/blogging because they don't make any money within the first few months. The only reason it takes them longer to give up on steemit is that they were making some money the whole time but it isn't enough. Steemit onnly has less than 1 million total accounts with a lot being bots, it is still very early on this platform.
LikeI said, people who want visibility will figure out how to get it, people who want to only make money will quit making posts.
just my .02
WORST IDEA EVER BTW.
Steem already isn't decentralized enough and you want to double down and give all the whales twice as much power? There will be outrage and mass exodus if this "fix" happens. Flag wars x1000 isn't the answer.
The real answer is wait for SMTs to come out and hope against hope that they deliver. That way someone will make a superior SMT that's actually better than Steem/Steemit and Steem/Steemit will have to incorporate attributes of the new coin to stay relevant.
You want content discovery and price discovery? you need to make it so that a whale doesn't have to give up 25% curation rewards to break up a circle jerk or a bid botted post that's on pure trash.
There are ways to discover content that don't revolve around how much a post is being rewarded. I guess no matter how much I talk about these things I'm the one who's going to end up doing the work.
You didn't address the issue at all. Doubling the power of whales is a good idea? No. At least as it stands now a whale has to pay a little money to smack someone off the trending page. You're basically saying, "Hey let's let them do that for free." Amazing plan.
My thoughts of the subject in a nutshell.
Investors can act in two ways.
Continue selling all of their SP/votes to gain maximum profits for today.
Invest a percentage of SP/votes to quality posts, in doing so maximizing Steems value for tomorrow.
Partnering with bidbot operators could help in two main ways.
It would alleviate some of the distrust among the investors. Investing in the future of Steemit seems better when you know that the other investors will be paying their share as well. If the bidbots factor this into the payouts for SP delegations, everyone who delegated would be investing into Steems value at the same rate.
There would be a clear dividing of Bidbots. Those that refused vs those that choose to invest in Steems future. The free market would work it out from there.