The bad things of steemit, because I think we need to point them out as well.
Okay, I get it. Everybody is in love with steemit, mostly because of the rewarding system, because let’s be honest, that is the #1 important thing that makes steemit unique, besides the community that we (still) have. I like it as well, and my account is going better than I expected before I started on steemit. One of my last articles got 28 upvotes, and at first, I got pretty excited about that, but later on it didn’t make me happy. Why?
Upvotes without views:
Because it only got three views. Yes, that’s right. Three people actually read the article, including me, my girlfriend and my father. So that leaves how much? Oh right, zero persons. Zero persons I didn’t ask to read my article, actually read my article. And still it got 28 upvotes, 25 excluding me, my father and my girlfriend.
I think that points out the first thing I dislike about steemit. Your curation rewards are the highest when you upvote an article very early, when later on, it reaches a lot of upvotes and high rewards. This causes so many people to just upvote quickly purely based on the title and the thumbnail, without even reading a single word of the article. I really dislike that about steemit.
Now, I am not complaining about the upvotes, off course I just started on steemit, and I appreciate every upvote I get, but it just doesn’t feel right when you get an upvote from a person who didn’t even clicked on, let alone read, the article. Did I even deserve the upvote then? And maybe more importantly, did the person upvoting me deserve the curation rewards? In my opinion, the answer is no.
Even worse, it may cause upvotes on fake articles. If I would have made that article with just the thumbnail, the title and the first sentence it would have had the same amount of upvotes, and that is the last thing we want on steemit. Maybe there should be a system where you have to click on the article first, before you can actually upvote it. It is just an idea, and I would like to hear what you think about it.
The power of whales:
The second thing I dislike about steemit are the whales. Yes, you might think I am writing my steemit death sentence, but I dislike the whales. They have way too much power. Off course, whales are also just people like you and me, and I am completely sure they only mean good when they upvote other accounts, but I think whales have too much power. Just to be clear, I have nothing against whales as in the person that is behind it, I just don’t like the way their account has so much power. They have the power to upvote small accounts, and by doing that, they can make these small accounts bigger and more popular, getting the ‘value’ that the undervalued accounts deserve.
I think this is both a bad thing and a good thing. The good thing is obvious, but the bad thing is that they can never read every small account and decide whether it’s good content or not. This still leaves some undervalued accounts undervalued, creating what I think a lot of jealousy. I experience it myself as well. I know I shouldn’t compare myself with others, and just enjoy every person that reads my articles, but it just happens. You cannot stop the fact that you compare yourself to others, it’s just in our human nature. I think it can even make steemit users discouraged to continue, and that is another thing you really don’t want on steemit. Beginners that lose interest after a few days, because they think they can never get the attention of a whale
The question is however, if this problem will be solved if there wouldn’t be any whales anymore. The answer is no, but I do think the problem will be less great. Maybe every account should have the same amount of voting power. This is also just an idea, and I would like to hear what you think about it.
These are two things I dislike about steemit, and I think the negative things should be pointed out as well, because at the end, those are the things you can improve.
This wasn’t a hate post on steemit. Again, I just think we, as a steemit community, should talk more about the negative parts of steemit, for the sake of improvement.
Please comment what you think about this, and let me know what more you think can or should be improved on this platform. And thanks if you upvoted this, and actually read it as well 😉.
-Awesomebiology
Yes, I actually read and enjoyed this post. I'm reteeming also because I think you make some very valid points. If you get the same upvotes by creating junky articles vs well thought out articles... why bother?
I can answer that - words are precious and should not be wasted. I hope that someday Steemit will be tweaked further to encourage good content and equitable reward for good content. Steem on! @ironshield
Thanks! Resteeming this really helps, because as many people as possible should read and talk about this topic. So thank you for that!
My pleasure. @ironshield
But you cannot really avoid supply and demand. We have to do the best we can with what we have in this world. The problems on Steemit are not new to this world. People are always judging books by covers. On Facebook, YouTube, & in real life, offline, at libraries, at stores, we skim read, we scan, we look at titles. But the upvotes will encourage people to read it all completely later. The money thing is what it is and people come here not to read but to make money.
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But you can Google your articles and my articles are showing up on Google and all over the internet when you search for the keywords. People will find your content sometimes today or next year and that is when they really will read it. Be patient because people do come eventually and randomly too. Sorry that people did not read what you wrote.
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Steemit is better than Facebook in so many ways because people are generally reading a bit more often at deeper levels here on Steemit than they do on Facebook it seems.
I totally understand what you are saying, but I think that because of the whales having this much power, the problem (in this case, for some people) of supply and demand is being enlarged. And that's what I think should be improved.
Thanks for the kind words anyways ;)
But you can become a whale. It takes a lot of time and work. But it is fair because anybody can become a whale. Look at your reputation score at http://Steem.Cool
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Mine is at
http://steem.cool/@joeyarnoldvn
My frustration is that good content does not seem to be appreciated. It seems like most people only vote or comment because they expect that in return from you. I love getting paid for my posts, but I also want a place to share my photos and articles and be appreciated for the content of it. I don't know if that is something that can be fixed.
Yes, I agree. There are so many people just following and upvoting to get the same in return. But I think that is just something that will always exist, and these accounts can never grow big, because they often don't create quality content. Appreciation will come over time I think, when you get followers that actually follow you because they like your content. That just takes time I think.
I look at it like I look at busking.
Sometimes they will pay attention and tip.
Sometimes only tip.
Some just pay attention.
As for the whales...
It's a big Steem and Whales are equally important to the system as minnows.
Just don't get eaten?
Awesome content though.
Thats a nice way of looking at it!
well good thing happened; at the moment i'm writing this (minus you, girlfriend and father 9-/- 3) 6 views and 5 upvotes ...
Haha, indeed!
Very good points, I also found out recently. Especially the thing with the view count vs upvotes is devastating ;) even most valued post are barely actually read, but maybe this is the same on other social networks as well ;)
I strongly agree with you, Steemit should must change its policies to improve this site. Those users who have high steem power can easily earn handsome amount of income but those who are new can not earn much money. Steemit should must check it and improve it.
I believe in capitalism, in freedoms, and I do not want too many regulations and too much centralization of what is supposed to be less centralized. I like a free open market of ideas both good and bad. The better people and ideas rises to the top naturally.
@awesomebiology thank for your time to package this post , adding to what you post in which its i will say you on point. another area i think those behind this community should work on , is some new bad nigga are joining this community right now and their motive toward project like this are always negative, there I'm using this avenue to tell members here , carry out proper research on individual you are dealing with here , and the developers here should please work seriously on any attack here .
I am not really focussing on the steem power, but more the actual 'power' they have on the platform. I think they have to much actual power.
Are users allowed to submit UI design requests? I think if the act of up voting was a little less fluid it would help ensure quality posts are rewarded instead of just a flashy headlines that are clicked in passing
I don't think you can do design requests, but I do like the idea!
Wales started out small too. It just takes a lot of work in the beginning. And if you write blogs that have good info or nice content - it will work for you, patience is a key word i think. Meanwhile (before you will be a whale yourself) focus on the good things: the fun. The writing. The challenges. Just focus on that 😊
With whales, I mostly mean people who have a few million steem, without having posted a single article yet. They decide for a big part what's popular and what isn't. There are a few of these accounts, and I think that's a problem for steemit.
On the rest, I agree with you, and keep up the good work and fun! After all, I do have fun on steemit so I will keep going :)
Aaah good to hear. Following you so we can share some of the good stuff. Steem on!
Thanks, you too!
New Followers get 0.01 SBD$ and on one upvote get an upvote for free!! Just follow and upvote post @aaravm