I’m not a content creator - A late night freewrite
And I never have been.
I’m not here to share my blog and make some money.
I don’t plan out posts or have goals for reaching an audience. Hell I don’t even proof read. When I make a post it’s generally random thoughts or something I feel I need to set the record straight on.. I’m blunt to the core. I am not a content creator.
I believed in Steem due to the potential I saw and how the social aspects were the Trojan horse for crypto.
It’s what’s missing.
So no I’m not on Steem because I’m a content creator, I’m here because I think it could be revolutionary.
I manually curate those content creators, every single day for almost two years, because I think they can add value. I think the right ones can draw an audience.. and we need an audience.
No I am not a content creator, but I see the value in them.
I see the value in the community, I see the value in what this ecosystem can offer...
But I gotta say the lately it’s getting harder and harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I see such potential... but we just can’t seem to get our shit together.
I had a big plan.. how I could try to help, we needed to get our name out there.. we need to show them what STEEM is and what it has to offer. They won’t know about us unless we tell them.
I had a plan.. I was going to show them how Steem was the onboarding tool the crypto world had been dreaming of. The bridge to crypto - How it could onboard the masses. As a place that normies could explore and experiment with crypto in a fun place that also educated them on the whole blockchain space. It could be the bridge.
I am not a content creator.. but I was going to try to be one to show them what is possible.
A podcast, YouTube channel with “blockchain for normies” content.. going to all the conferences to continue the connections and foot in the door I established at the Bitcoin is conference. I had been working twitter, and had good responses.
I had already spent 1000’s promoting Steem on my own, but this time I was going to jump outside of the echo chamber with full force.
I had a whole proposal typed up for a true Steem ambassadors program, to help other community members do the same. One I spoke of to Steemit inc back in April, one I have mentioned repeatedly.. not just a meetup party, a program that would empower and educate our community to showcase Steem in their area.. give them the tools they needed. Help ensure Steem is represented all over the world. Get us known.. make them know we are here. With oversight and accountability to ensure it didn’t end up being just another Steem scam. I had big plans.
I was trying a new technique... speak their language and not just yell “yay Steem”... then they would listen to what I had to say, and it was working.
But then I forgot that Steem is a social platform and I post here .. and sometimes trolls follow me, and people dislike me for what I’ve “done” or what they think I’ve done, or perhaps because the tone of my text is apparently triggering .. and people who I bring here have to see all that too.
I could ignore it for a bit, but at some point it makes a person not really want to showcase a place where that is what is seen. And I found myself deleting my links from my social profiles.. and speaking Of Steem less. Perhaps that’s my fault... if I just smiled and nodded, I probably wouldn’t have any trolls in the first place. Damnit why can’t I just learn to smile and nod.
How do I sell them Steem when I’m embarrassed of what I see here lately.
So here I am, not a content creator, and now I don’t even know how to showcase this place I believed in so much. Now, clearly this is all based on the choices and actions I’ve made.. and that’s fair, as clearly based on some comments I’ve read lately - I’ve left not the best impression.
I’ve been thinking about leadership a lot lately (probably the post I should be making instead of this shit I can’t even believe I’m going to post) .. and just racking my brain how to make this place seen.. and now I’m wondering if this place is even a place we want seen lately.
When twitter is more fun than Steem, we aren’t doing it right.
I don’t know how to make it fun, I’ve never been the fun person.. I’m just the do random stuff in the background no one knows about and talk too much and be too bluntly honest where you piss everyone off person.
We need to make it fun. This is growth spurt (a painful one perhaps), but we need to have fun again.
So I’m not a content creator, I never have been.. my role here was always to work behind the scenes to make the valuable content creators seen... and try to make this place be seen by those not here yet.
As while fighting with each other fills the days I guess, I think we need to focus outside of our echo chamber if we ever want to see the price go up.. and therefore see this platform reach its full potential.
No matter how great your project is, if no one hears about it, it won’t be successful.
#Marketing matters... “build it and they will come” does not work in the tech world.
Paid shills who sound like idiots aren’t the answer either...
Random tweet shows what’s been on my mind a lot I guess.
I’m not a content creator.. but I really believe in those of you who are. And I’d like for others outside of our own walls to know you are here.
I guess I’m just not sure how to do that anymore.
Maybe I’ll figure it out in the morning over coffee...
Night.
Hi @Justineh It seems to me that every Steem user should do his part if he really cares about this platform.
They could do for example:
It is important that people educate themselves first about this new technology and that they are simultaneously on the platform.
I've invited other creators, young guys who are tech-savvy as well as middle-aged women like me, and only one of them stayed - but, wow, did she ever catch on to Steemit and make a big splash! (@rhondak). Now thanks to Steemfest she has met her soul mate ... and her life today is so much better than she would have imagined possible, in her pre-Steemit days. For all the bad stuff that happens, GOOD things happen too. I continue to encourage people to join Steemit (hello @mvkean!) - but recruiting and persuading just doesn't seem to be my strong point. Thanks to all of you who are good at that!
I don't like the thought that if I care for something I should actively promote it.
I love a particular small coffee roaster, but I don't spend my own money buying them ads or writing content to help them get more business.
Then there is the idea that you can love the platform, but not the users. I try to enjoy Steem, but then I leave because it seems the great content I'm interested in is very hard to find.
When I was a very wary twitter adopter there was no group saying all use users need to promote the platform. It was just a fun corner of the web that I could mingle with cool people.
Yes of course, there is freedom to do what everyone wants.
💛
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u are behind scenes master of puppets :)
I think that like you, there are MANY silent supporters of STEEM and its revolutionary potential. I am glad that this is place for you to vent out your thoughts. Content intentionally or not, it is good writing.
See you around.
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Yes you are! Ignore and filter out the noise, focus on what matters most. Don’t waste your time on trolls. Bring back your vlogs. And stop working behind the scenes for free. :)
P.S. Really, ignore the trolls. Your strength is at marketing, explaining complex in simplest terms. If you cross-post vlogs on steem and youtube, I see great benefit for Steem. But do what what matters most for you.
I thought a lot about this lately, and I think one of the easiest ways to make it more fun it to disable the visibility of downvotes.
I don't think it should be necessary for Steemit and the other frontends to show the downvotes a user received. Since most users on this platform actually don't understands why downvotes are important (and they are essential to balance the reward pool) we should simply not show the regular joe that he got any downvotes. Just show who upvoted you and how much money your post is currently making.
I would argue that we should remove how much an article made, the number of likes/dislikes etc.
These are some of the social proof "tactics" that don't really add much to the platform but do add to the anxiety.
Make it simple, allow anyone to upvote/downvote but only showing them to the author. Currently when someone stars downvoting everyone starts.
I agree, the value should be a less central aspect of the post (maybe it could be hidden for the normal user). And who up/downvoted a certain content should not be displayed on the frontend at all.
take a breather, justine and realize that you've done like.... idonno, like a kansas-sized worth of stuff more than most people on this platform
(im not sure if kansas is a big state or not since my american knowledge is wazoo :D)
but anyway, you're great, you're not perfect, but you're damn great
also twitter is more fun than steemit, a-yup ¯\.(ツ)./¯
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the ones who know you and what you do......... know that you try very hard <3 and even in your imperfections and even despite all of your flaws, and all of your stumbles and your snarky moments, you're still goddamn awesome <3
Ditto that - only TEXAS is the state known for BIG, just fyi. :)
Kansas is where Dorothy wanted to go home to. And thank you @veryspider for all your @curie time, and all else that you do. Typically anyone who does a lot for one project is also doing lots for other projects.
@justineh, others have already assured you that you ARE a creator, not just a behind-the-scenes supporter and promoter. I'm all too aware of how toxic, demoralizing, and mentally draining the negative feedback (troll attack) or LACK of feedback (being overlooked) and all the politicking can be. So I've just hunkered down and made it a policy to do less, to volunteer less, though I still manage to spend a ludicrous amount of my time at Steemit.
You really nail it, every paragraph, so I'll pick just one to highlight:
I've persuaded some fellow authors to try Steemit, and they all left. Already published authors don't have time for all this - they're busy writing. In solitude.
THANK YOU for all you do here and take heart - all the comments on this post should be a sign you've been doing better than you think! Time to shift the narrative and tell yourself you're doing great, and anyone who disagrees can go find someone else to criticize.
We need folks like you who aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said, especially if nobody will say it. Sure it would be great if we can have a real discussion about the issues in an intelligent manner, but it seems too many people out there don’t know what that means, so they resort to the negativity we too often see. I once called the anonymity of the web the source of feeling key-bold: people feel bolder behind the keyboard.
Keep doing what you are doing. I fear the trolls will always be there, but so will the good that is still the greater part of Steem!
I think we'll start seeing traction as soon as we start creating national based communities. Most of people who i talk to have problem starting due to a bad English and unfortunately there is not much i/we can do about it.
And yeah, the social aspect is undermined sine there is financial incentive for doing something. Nevertheless I'm still firmly convinced that eventually people will start coming and more importantly stay around.