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It's not about building a following or even instant success. That assumes that my interest is in making big piles of fake money.

It isn't.

My interest is in using the platform so that people can find my work that they might be interested in and I can find other people's work that I might be interested in. The probabilistic exchange of multiple types of semi-related currencies? Not really what I'm in for.

What I would consider a success is "a social media platform that actually works to promote being social." But that's not what it does.

It's really about people trying to maximize their scores. Absolutely unrelated to the content, the primary activity on this platform is people trying to game the system in order to get more of the currency to game the system with.

I recognize that's the fact.

But I can't help thinking that a more accessible, individual-focused approach to the problem of having people be happy along the way until they're capable of being participants in the wider game would be a far better solution for everyone involved.

It's not really surprising that new users tend to bounce off of Steemit like flies off a windshield. Expectation setting is wrong from the beginning.

That said, the game in the larger sense is interesting – but it's not particularly useful.

I wish it was.

Publish0x.. 100% better onboarding experience than I could ever have at Steemit. Content gets noticed and read, those readers leave very engaging - conversation provoking - comments. There is no 'timing' BS to worry about, everyone's tip is worth the same (basically) and posts NEVER expire from earnings.. Why is STEEMit so complex for no reason? A basic platform has a much more committed and bonded community, with amazing writers sharing their content everyday.. and not too many people are posting "How to Earn" this or that on the platform because, well, the platform just works..

The only reason I came back here was because Splinterlands became compatible with TRX and I won a free starter pack. Thank gosh STEEM has Splinterlands, sometimes I wonder where the chain would be without them. I absolutely LOVE that game, but really don't feel 'at home' on STEEM(it).. At least not as a beginning creator.

Edit: The only big flaw I see in Publish0x, I admit, is that it is not its own blockchain, and the posts are not tied to the blockchain.. Other than that though, it's beta and WIP..but to me, STEEMit needs more work :x

It works socially for me and the 'fake money' is a nice bonus. It was real enough to buy me a trip to Steemfest and a nice guitar. I'm no big shot. I just play around here and people seem to like what I do. I admit that getting seen initially is hard, but that's the case for most platforms. The planned 'communities' feature may help with that, but you still have to rise above the mass of low quality posts somehow. Steemit is still small. When there are millions then it may be even harder to be seen. It's all a big experiment.

One of my problems with it is that it is "a big experiment" building on mechanisms that we've largely had figured out over the last 5 to 10 years.

I mean that seriously. Things like individual profiles, individual taste weighting, content filtering, integrated search, clear presentation, being able to find things that you actually want – all those reasons that Twitter and Facebook and even Reddit are huge in the social media space.

"Getting seen" is harder than it needs to be and, in theory, the upcoming Communities are going to help simplify that and channelize finding content that you're interested in – but that's a long time from now, even if it is on the roadmap.

"Steemit is still small" but it's large enough to have scams which are taking people for tens of thousands of dollars on a platform which people seem to endlessly reiterate "is still in beta."

I don't really see much purpose in experimenting with systems that already have a perfectly good solution – but I seem to be an unusual member of the community.

What I want to see is a user experience which is good for a new user on day one, and lets them see that they have an immediate effect on their personal experience, as well as it is on day 1000. That's how you get users to come on board and in stay around until day 1000.

As it stands – that doesn't seem to have ever been an interest. And that's disappointing and sad.

What is the use of followers?

Your followers are vital. They are the ones who will see all your posts and are more likely to comment and vote. If you build a relationship with them they will help you out. It takes time, but it's worth it. Whale votes are nice, but they won't follow that many people.