I have been offered 1 BTC to write a post about a coin that may or may not be doing a crowsdale, from a person I may or may not have met at one of the blockchain related conferences.
The problem that the technology in question is trying to solve is a problem I have thought about 2 years ago while on a hike somewhere in the ice cold Canada (long walks are an awesome form of meditation, as well as the only way for me to get some headspace to think about things). The project in question is very ambitious, so naturally, my excitement spiked.
I've looked into the whitepaper, and the code on Github, and I have faith that at least one member of the team is legit. So I've negotiated a deal to write a post about the project for 1 BTC ($2,500 at this time).
But now...I've decided against it.
I have no objective reason for declining this offer, for it is a good one. It just feels wrong.
Perhaps I can't handle the discomforting feeling of selling out. Maybe I don't want the responsibility of being wrong, and potentially leading people astray. Or perhaps its the joy that comes with realization that I have the capacity to walk away from a good offer, and feel content about it.
Good decision - don't do politics - it's not our business - :)
Although it may not be our business, I think that there are a LOT of politics going on behind the scenes right now, ESPECIALLY with Bitcoin, talking about an increased block size HF AND potential SegWit activation. But I also agree with @furion, trust your gut. It's often correct. (I also like how you go on hikes thinking about bitcoin.) upvoted and followed @furion and @summon. Keep it up!
How do you get 340 votes in 1 hour? That's amazing! What if you were offered the same amount to write about Steem?
lol he is already earning frequently 1 BTC equivalents for many posts
Yeah, that's true. I just realized that after reading your reply. @summon
Have to agree with @summon here! good call man!
Yes nice thought about politics :D
Wow, great post, @furion. Thanks for sharing this with us. I struggle with things like this on a much simpler level when someone just wants a coin recommendation from me. Most of the time I'm like, "Heck man, I don't even know and can barely convince myself sometimes so how could I convince you of what to get involved in?"
If the project is legit and you want to support it, go for it. If they want to reward you, cool. Finding the balance is tricky but I like how you're exploring it openly.
Vote for me please
Why?
Vote begging is hugely frowned upon here.
Nietzsche said the best ideas come when walking.
Maybe another walk will help?
Respect to you!
I've had similar offers recently and told them that I won't be doing promotions except the ones I myself stumbled upon and Judge without interference and buyouts. I've been a bit active on @cryptochannel where I invest Into currencies but selling out for that feels sketchy from the get-go in my opinion.
A big reason I wanted to be as open about my trades and holdings is also because I know how the anonymous nature of trades makes it easy for influencers to dump on their audience.
I hope more people will start being more 'open-source' about this stuff in the future. Greed knows no boundaries.
I run a blog. I never take payments for posts as I think it would damage my credibility and do my readers a dis-service. However, if someone comes along to me with a great idea, I say if they write up a story with the background to the idea, their future plans and answers to criticial questions I have, then I can post it on their behalf. I make it clear that it is a guest post from them.
This way your readers (in this case your steemit followers) will have interesting content, you will have built a little more reputation and your friend will have spread their message. No payments but everyone wins.
In these cases their content has to be great, critical, free of marketing speel and obviously interesting. I've probably agreed to this around 5 times, and only ended up posting 3 of the pieces.
Who said saying "no" is a bad thing? Sometimes, the best decision is to walk away no matter how tempting the opportunity is.
Go with your gut as it's usually the right direction.
If you carry a name for yourself in the world of crypto, best to keep your reputation intact.
Congrats you can command 1 btc for a review.
If you have the freedom to write what you really think, an honest review type/situation, then I don't see anything wrong with it. You've got a hunch, if you have time, maybe you can follow up on it. Dig a little deeper and if you end up uncovering something then you're a public service. And of course they've got to pay you up front. :) haha
If you can take that approach I can't see any wrong in it.
lol - in fact some other do it.... I saw over years so many things & finally the last ICO scams going on. People simple want to get ripped off :)
Nice to be that secure in your financial situation! But, if it was EOS, you wouldn't be wrong, I have a feeling.
Its not EOS.
That's gotta take a really strong moral compass..impressive! You got my vote for witness!
Good good.
I respect you for taking a decision based on your gut feeling, but If somebody offered me 1 BTC I might take it, but of course it depends on what I had to do for it o_o
What
You may or may not chose to lead the people, but your opinion / thoughts on the ICO would still be very much appreciated!
VOTED even though you declined the payment. Yes, monetary incentive is not the only thing we consider.
dats Gang
Follow @ifzgotdatpiff
!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doing the right thing is not always easy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't understand what feels wrong about, since tou thought yourself that would be a good idea couple hears ago?
I'll do it for $5 dollars.
Are we bidding now? Ok, I'll go $4.50 ;)
1 cent.
That was fast huh?
Damn... you don't play around, do you?
I'm thinking about it...but...well, nah, you can take it.
My days of working for fractions of a penny are over...hopefully :)
Here take 4.
A wise decision, Thank you for that!
Cheers to furion :)
I'm sure many of us would not have been able to resist the temptation. Thanks for the post.
That's an ethical question that sometimes you need to ask. Is this worth the risk? Thank you for taking our interests into consideration. Very admirable.
Here you go. You reach a high level of self-mastery!
why is there a scratch line over the post earning amount?
He declined payout. Basicly no matter the votes he won't earn a dime from this post.
oh wow. I didnt know you could do that. so nobody gets it?
Don't do anything just for the sake of making quick money and without 100% convincing yourself first about the project.. Glad you have made the right choice...
I understand and respect the decision but if it's something you believe in I see no reason to turn down the offer just be honest like you've already been. Much respect either way
Did the deal involve full disclosure? Because taking money to promote something without full disclosure would certainly have been unethical.
there you go.. feel free to recommend me instead ! I enjoy writing about coins ;)
If it feels wrong don't do it, trust your instinc, they don't seem to have failed you yet.
I think it is the right way to follow your intuition, your feeling.
This - however - just works when you know who you are and stay inside yourself
It wise decision. With positive post on non usefull coin you will lose your reputation (and your fans).
You did the right thing by choosing people's concern over a good personal deal.
I wish I was good like that - on a contrary, I can be quite selfish and stuck in scarcity mindset at times.
But you resisted and that is good. Keep being honest.
So proud of you for not selling out. If you feel the project has merit, write up a summary, no need to get a bribe.
Paid advertorials goes against the very nature of steemit and most decentralisation. You made the right decision.
I have the utmost respect for your decision @furion.
Nothing wrong with not wanting to "sell out".
Keep staying true to yourself, it works best in the long run
:)
True peace of mind is worth more than 1 BTC that's for sure.
Don't understand the confusion,you had the idea,it gets you excited so whats wrong with sharing that with everyone .Let us make our own decision whether to participate or not.
Great post. I agree with @summon. Don't do politics. It is too complicated. And I also agree with @furion to trust your guts. Glad to read this article and gaining the insight. :)
The principle of not selling principles is extremely challenging to someone who has no principles. You are clearly not one.
I know almost nothing about blockchains and the like, but I could really use that $2500 to fix our only vehicle that will likely be our home in the next year. (Times are really, really hard and have been for several years. I don't see it getting any better anytime soon.)
Send them my way? :P
But seriously, good for you. Integrity is important.
I would not have an issue doing a video or post about a coin. What I would not do is compromise my analysis, and I would also probably indicate I was paid to write it. And if my analysis were bad for them, I would hope they could still pay me... lol
Just live your life man and follow me back lol!
New to steemit..... Can someone explain why his payout has a line through it? Good for you man, selling out is the work of the devil
This is something a coworker and I have spoken about recently.
After a while you start getting this in explainable feeling about certain decisions and it helps inform you whether to go for it or against it.
It's not like it's something that you can grow and improve on but it has more to do with paying attention to your inner compass along with other sources of data.
I was thinking about being put in the same kind of situation this week. I too felt like I would refuse pretty much any offer. For my part I feel like the most important thing for me is to be me. I think this is what it comes down to.
I don't mind anyone getting paid to be an advocate for something as long as they disclose it. Not a problem to me.