The Truth
I haven't been comfortable being myself lately.
First I'd just like to say thanks to all of you out there who have taken a shining to what I do and how I do it. I've been able to have a lot of fun here, because of you people. Thanks for your loyalty over the many months and years. The art is nothing without your eyes and if I'm writing jokes, those are nothing without your laughs.
The Challenge
Working here is tough.
The environment is constantly changing. There's no such thing as a comfort zone if you're truly trying to be the best at what you do. One must constantly adapt, go with the flow, try to make it work, hope for the best, and forget about swimming upstream because that's how you drown.
Sink or swim. The choice is yours.
I came back in May of this year after a lengthy hiatus. From there I quickly realized change was on the horizon. There were plenty of debates, a lot of confusion and misinformation, along with some truth thrown in the mix. From then until the hardforks, it was a tough time to be a content producer here but I had decided to stick around and carry on, business as usual, so I could see where this was all going.
I've been a part of this experiment since a few months shy of the beginning and plan to stick around to be a lab rat for as long as my mind allows. A little hardfork wouldn't be enough to scare me away plus I expected some members to panic and become increasingly paranoid, since that's what happened every time something changed, so it was easy to take it all with a grain of salt.
Here's a quote from my post a few hours before the hardfork(s):
Some changes coming up soon here on the chain. I hope I'm not alone when I say, I hope to see good things in the future, here.
For me, of course, because it's healthy to look out for number one. And for everyone else who still gives a crap and wants to see the place thrive as well.
I certainly don't expect to see drastic improvements within the first few hours. Hopefully I'm not the only one around with the ability to remain calm and be patient.
Of course, in typical @NoNamesLeftToUse fashion, I also included some subliminal messages within the artwork included in that post. Do you pay attention to the signs?
It all happened so fast.
I wasn't expecting this:
_LI.jpg)
That nice and straight blue line indicates when the changes went into effect.
I had explained how I wasn't expecting to see much change within hours but in under twenty-four hours I was already feeling it.
I looked around and saw many others actually experiencing what it's like to have actual curators around again. Since then I've noticed many, many more are feeling the impact, in a good way.
Some are still stuck in the past.
Some have demonstrated how poorly they handle stress and change.
I'm not shocked at all to see people suddenly lose interest in being a "content producer" the moment they could no longer use and abuse paid votes for profit.
They never cared about growing a genuine following and producing content people actually enjoy. The "content" was filler and only existed so they could scrape pennies off the floor then cash out. They didn't give a crap. This place was a slot machine to them and they were gambling addicts, not artists, writers, photographers, or actual content producers in general.
Calling it "promotion" was a trick and many of them quickly realized, once they were on their own, those paid votes marketed as "the easy way to grow a following," did not earn them a genuine and loyal following who would be there to support "content" not many even knew existed. Paying people to look away means nobody was looking.
I guess they forgot to read the fine print.
Many quickly discovered they were on their own and would have to actually grind away, put in the time, work to earn their keep.
So, some of the spoiled brats freaked out and quit. A small handful of disgruntled leeches. Some had the nerve to say the death of the platform is near, because they were inconvenienced.
A few of these people powering down and leaving now will never compare to the thousands who were forced to leave during the two years paid votes took control of the reward pool.
Did these paid vote addicted nobodies care about all those people they drove away, over the span of two years? Nope.
Them throwing hissy fits now and leaving is part of the healing process. This place was sick for two years. Now it's slowly starting to heal. A few germs are lingering around to say they quit, every hour, daily, and they'll probably do that for a few months before they actually quit. Whatever.
Am I being harsh?
Compared to how they talk...
No. That isn't harsh at all. Some of those folks have shown their true psychopathic colors now and have proven they never cared about this place or the people, after spending two years stomping on all genuine members who did care, forcing many to leave.
Some of these disgruntled abusive types now write the end is near posts and a metric shit-ton of other bogus and nonsensical garbage preaching hate. Some treat those who'd prefer to see this place thrive, like complete trash. They'll claim a downvote after purchasing an exploit is toxic and insulting rather than realizing there's no need to purchase something that — without interference from a third party — is designed to be free. Rather than presenting a rational and honest side to an argument, they become toxic and start insulting anyone who sees things a bit differently.
So like most things that don't make sense to me,
I don't pay much attention to it.
That negative nonsense is contagious and there's no point in arguing with people like that. I know it's there. I know it exists. It even shows up on my doorstep sometimes but that's rare and my comment section is usually about people having fun and acting civil, which is something I've always enjoyed.
Thanks for your support.
This all happened so fast.
With the added support comes the added responsibility and pressure to perform.
Some of you who've followed me for a long while may have noticed I've been doing more writing, producing less art, and I'm not posting as much as I used to.
Many of my posts in the past centered around my artwork were short and sweet. Many of those posts would come equipped with some mindless ramblings and for the most part, they were meant to be entertaining.
That's been part of my style here, for years. It's supposed to be fun for those viewing/reading.
I like to have fun, too.
Enjoying what I do makes it easier to do what I do.
It's not unusual for me to spend more than twelve hours working on a post. Many new to my world only see the writing, somehow, even though plenty of hours were spent producing new images from scratch and those are typically located directly under their noses.
With the sudden and unexpected increase in support and visibility, I've been reluctant to spend several hours working on art to go along with a short post or ridiculous write-up, because for some stupid reason I was thinking people would come along to call it a shit post.
I felt tremendous pressure to do my best and attempt to impress, everyone. Add that in with my knowledge of what typically happens to those who find success here. In the past, more often than not, haters would crawl out of the woodwork to bash people left, right, and center. Some of you may have read my rants about how you're damned if you do and damned if you don't around here.
Fear tried to take over.
So I took a week off to gather my thoughts.
Threw caution to the wind. I work for me, not the haters.
My previous post was a test. That went better than I thought it would.
Only one hater showed up to combine a downvote with some stupid comment about my work being the end of Steem.
Having fun will not be the end of Steem.
People having fun is a damn good sign.
Anyway.
I guess now would be a good time to start today's post.
Look what I made!
Have a nice day.
DOOM!!! DOOM!!!!
The end is nigh!!
It does get a bit monotonous. I love the vote buyers freaking out that they aren't really allowed to buy cheap Steem anymore. They throw the promotion card around until you say that they can set the beneficiary to null or the DAO then they go nuts because it was never about promotion... It was about ripping the arse out of the place for cheap Steem!!
They are all in constant powerdown ffs!!
The arguments are so repetitive. But I genuinely believe this is really having a profound impact on Steemit and we are at the start of something great again.
A couple of exchanges dropped the token recently. Probably due to lack of volume. I wonder why? Was it because these leeches were using the reward pool to purchase cheap Steem? For two goddamn years.... Most likely that contributed to these issues we face today. At least now some of the original incentives to purchase and hold the token are back in place, since those helped put this token on the map to begin with.
Yeah, those things can't have helped the price any. That's the thing I stone cold hate about the bot users, they just don't care that they kill of the platform as long as they can make their quick buck
I'm really hoping the average content consumer type crowd picks up on this concept. So many yet to realize what demand and buy pressure does to the value of those seemingly mediocre curation rewards they get today with low SP accounts. Nothing wrong with earning .09 STEEM when the value is high! And all you did was the same damn thing people do everywhere else, for free or after purchasing a membership of sorts... Ugh. Unrealized potential drives me batshit crazy man!
Meesterdoom
Oh, I like that!! I might change my name!!
Change my name, change my name,
There is no one around here
Say baby I scam you
I'm always runnin' games
Change my name, Change my name
I'm actin' kinda shady
Stop callin' discord baby
Why the hardfork change?
Change my name, Change my name
An undiscovered talent!! Get reading and start putting the videos out!! :0D
:D
Cool! Weird Al was here!
He was. But since he could no longer buy votes without getting downvoted, he left.
People saw him mowin'... I guess.
Are we doomed again? Oh you're the one dooming us tihs time? That's new. And I can think of much worse dooms than being subjected to your art XD On the one hand I don't understand how people can miss the art among the words because they're RIGHT THERE. On the other hand I have noticed that sometimes Partiko and eSteem load the images super slowly so it's entirely possible people reading your posts don't even get to see anything other than large gaps where they haven't loaded in yet and skip over said large gaps to keep reading. I suppose they could just be ignoring it as well but eh their loss.
My last few posts got some big upvotes too. It was pretty startling as I'm used to getting roughly 1stu per post give or take x_x But it means I'll be able to power up faster and who knows if this keeps up one day I'll be able to adjust my magic number back out to 100 XD I don't think there's anything wrong with feeling pressure to do your best and come out the other end knowing that no matter what you did your best. Feel free to kerbstomp that need to impress everyone though :)
You already know most the people you're talking about generally don't understand the amount of time and effort it takes to get to where you are, or are just lazy arses who want all the reward without doing any of the work.
It has come up a few times where someone new strolls in, sees a few words, and thinks the post took all of five minutes to produce. Some folks simply don't realize how much time and effort goes into producing artwork. My process is time consuming. Zoom in... those details didn't put themselves there.
Yes, some of these files are massive and might take awhile to load. Wouldn't the line about "all art and images seen here" make someone think they're missing something though?
It's rare, but it happens. When I write humor, some people think I'm serious. I can't fix these things.
I can't impress everyone no matter how hard I try. I've known that for years, but I'll keep working. I enjoy putting on a good show. I bomb sometimes. That's life.
I know!
"I looked around and saw many others actually experiencing what it's like to have actual curators around again."
I have noticed things getting better too but I was on my break and I didn't realize it changed that quickly.
"Them throwing hissy fits now and leaving is part of the healing process. This place was sick for two years."
Truth. I started when it seemed like the only way to get ahead was to buy votes and look out only for oneself. Some people did well under that system but most suffered. If they are upset by how things are now, we must be doing something right.
One problem that still needs work is the simple fact we still have a severe shortage of potential curators. Content producers seem to outnumber those who focus on sitting back and enjoying stuff. That needs to change but these people writing their pouting posts about not being able to lazy anymore certainly won't appeal to too many people. Again, those types aren't helping much, at all.
Most did suffer under that system. Even the ones who produced good stuff but got duped and lured into that trap ended up earning fuck all nothing while those selling the votes to them earned 90% or more of what their work could have been earning. It turned into a trap for sure. The vote sellers created a serious problem and then thought people would actually pay them to get out of that problem. People would purchase $50, put that beside their post, hundreds of them did it, making that $50 the new ZERO, they all blended in with the crowd, stole the visibility from those interested in producing real content and building real followings. Thousands were forced to leave. Damn right we're doing something right if the small handful of people who caused that mess go away.
"Content producers seem to outnumber those who focus on sitting back and enjoying stuff. That needs to change..."
Agreed. I feel like we can do both but that is not enough. I want an audiance of among the general population of content consumers. The trick is drawing them to this site.
"they all blended in with the crowd, stole the visibility from those interested in producing real content and building real followings."
I remember. I started when it was at its worst, I think. It all seemed pretty scammy around here and I totally understood why people didn't see a future. It's nice to see things changing.
"Damn right we're doing something right if the small handful of people who caused that mess go away."
I'll melt the tar, you get the feathers. Lol
The trick is having a solid core and a variety of forms of entertainment (I use the term loosely, even an essay about black holes is entertainment to someone) that we, as the foundation, build up, in order to attract a broad consumer base who came here after they learned they could get paid to be entertained, but not get rich, just earn as they go and treat themselves every now and again. They can't have that anywhere else and they'd benefit greatly getting in early before their very actions cause an unstoppable demand for the token. I've written about how to create an internal advertising market as well, to create more demand. Now that the paid votes are going away, these things can become a reality, along with all of the other developments that bring value to this place. Huge money to be made in entertainment. People here can create a new thing. Call it Social Entertainment instead of social media, since this platform combines elements of social media and content production. I'm talking too much. Why must I always be the one who has to pluck the chickens?
"Social Entertainment"
Nice. I feel like that could catch on.
I think a lot depends on what mentality a person had when they joined here, be it right at the start, a year ago, or a month ago. If you came here with the free money sign flashing in your eyes, you’d be doomed to fail and have a lot of anxiety as you hold on to that mentality, because every hardfork makes it harder to get free internet moneys. But if you came in with the artist mentality, like I assume you and me did, with being excited about a place where you could share your art and get to know more interesting people, it’s a lot easier to handle all the turmoil in the platform and price.
Just keep steeming just keep steeming. I find it very important to just keep putting out what you enjoy, what ever it might be, cause the worst thing is to just stop. It’s too fucking quiet in here!
The mentality we share makes life a lot easier here. You're right about that. I just need to be careful and not burn out again. Having fun can be a lot of work.
It has been far too quiet. I'm not sure what can be done to improve that. I know it's bugging a few people, making them feel down and out. Some folks just needed a break and I don't blame them. Just have to go with the flow.
I can totally side with you on the too much of a good thing, gotta be careful with this. I took some time away too because of burning out. Well I did post but I wasn't actively engaged in the community for months and months, now I'm fully back.
I took it a little personally for a couple days for not getting the response I hoped for to my posts, but then I realised it's super quiet all around! It's just you, me and five other people here, like an awkward little company Christmas party.
I've been trying to improve the frequency of my outside appearances, making time to leave comments and stuff. I still need to improve there, plus respond here, plus I already started the art for the next post, plus curating at least, in creeps the burnout. It'll be tough keeping this place active when it feels like there's not enough time in the day. It's not impossible though.
This awkward party could probably use more alcohol. Looks like I'm having beer for lunch on a Wednesday again...
It's a hard balance to find, but the upside for it being so quiet in here is that it's easier to stay on top of everything.
I already opened a bottle of cheap red, cheers!
Well... that's still better than drinking mouthwash!
Steem is not that low yet.
Haha!
I have to believe that we are headed in the right direction! I am just following Boom @meesterboom around. He better be right or I will sic El Jeffe on him.
@tipu curate
That @meesterboom guy knows his stuff. It might not be the right direction but it's a direction and for the longest time this place didn't seem to have any direction.
I agree, yet still kept plugging. There are less here and many have powered down and gone, but, I feel like what is left will probably be the core group. Not here for the quick buck.
We shall see where this all leads us to.
!tip .20
It will lead to DOOM!!! But maybe a good doom :0)
Ha! Oh, Boom!! Don't be a doomsayer! It's not fitting of you... Oh, wait. Yes, it is! ;)
Mohohowahr!!!!!
:OD
creating this account was ridiculously harder than it really should be!
OMG!!! Hahahahah! You need to keep that as your alter ego! Wait... You do have an ego, right? Perhaps I should ask the good lady.
She would know. ;)
!tip .20
🎁 Hi @meesterdoom! You have received 0.2 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Walking Through Some Trees On Tuesday Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide.
I'm still seeing a lot of the same folks who've been around for a long time. I'd still like to see a few of those who left long ago to come back, now that conditions are improving and more in line with their standards. They were good people.
Fact: More steem has been powered up than powered down lately.
DOOOOOOOM!
Wahahahah!! love it!
Can you please let us know the last time you made a grammatical error or typo on your posts? I've never found one and it's starting to make me jealous. Organic? Grammarly? IQ 175?
I make mistakes all the time. I don't use Grammarly or anything like that because something monitoring everything I type into a device freaks me right out. I just proofread as I go and then read it a few more times after publishing. I'm sure it could be even better.
Dude. I hope you're feeling a bit better today.
Ah ha! I found a mistake just now. I missed a word. Had to add in an 'a'.
Funny, you made... "a" mistake.
Funny enough to earn the You Just Made Me Laugh vote!
I suggest wearing a girdle.
I say good riddance to many and welcome to all those who are going to come in the future. Perhaps their leaving is what makes this place enjoyable for the masses.
I wouldn't even know where to put a girdle without googling it first....
Getting rid of that truly toxic element should help improve morale. Not everyone who doesn't agree with the changes is bad for the place. Some just need more time to adjust than others, but at least those ones aren't going around beating everyone over the head and being jerks about it.
I am pretty sure you wrap it around your...
Yes, not all a bad, but the ones that have been "earning" for 2 years and now complain that they aren't "earning" from the "community" they have spent two years "investing" into, makes me laugh.
They fell for a sales pitch. Some still parrot that sales pitch. It's like they don't even know it was some shady marketing and someone just wanted to make money from a few gullible minds. Fame and fortune! Get your fame and fortune here! Only infinite installments of $99.99 will get you your fame and fortune!
I have so, so many posts they didn't read :)
I think they missed a few of mine as well...
If ya ain't having fun then don't do it.. lifes to short..
Amen brother! And smoke one for me while you're at it.
Only one? Rookie. 😁
All I know for sure is that I like the new happy lap dog picture, well it does look like it might be slightly big for a lap dog, but I have know a few Saint Bernard's that thought they were just eh cutest lap dogs in the world.
A lot of large accounts trying to understand producers, curators, users/consumers. and pushing the down vote button. Logic has nothing to do with like and dislike, the investors don't seem to grasp that concept very well. They don't understand retaliation very well either.
That happy lap dog almost came with a white pill on its tongue but then I decided against that detail. I still might work on that one more in the future. I was happy with it as is though. Damn thing took a long time. They say the art is never finished, only abandoned at just the right time.
Those large accounts are people just like you and I. I know you're not a fan of the downvoting but many more are not fans of the abuse that was taking place. Something had to give.
First, !BEER, I was gonna leave that, but forgot. A persons vote is theirs, that I have always believed, sell, buy, or rent out, or use it for an actual indication of like.
Abuse happens, and a lot of it is ignored by Steem Inc and by Steemit. People think the 15 SP new accounts that do nothing but down vote are a non-problem, that they have no effect. I have been told on a few occasion "Get Over It" they cause no damage. Those people do not see that the system is broken, and that @steem simply removing the delegations to those accounts the problem would be solved. Removing one form of abuse and replacing it with another is not fixing anything.
If/when the down vote system is honestly fixed, then I may down vote more than just Blatant Plagiarism that I run across.
Thanks for the beer. Do you need beer in your wallet to give beer?
As for the downvote stuff. It's true, those little ones don't cause damage. Also, if all those accounts do is blindly downvote, not only are they not damaging, they mean nothing as well. Folks taking that personally must hate it when a raindrop ruins their nice paintjob on the car as well. It's also a waste of delegated stake if those accounts are only here to be a nuisance. It won't go on forever. I personally believe a downvote should cost far more RC than a upvote, to help prevent abuse.
Yes, for every 6 staked beers you can give a sip of beer. I got some to sort of pass out on coments since steem vote value for me falls below dust level after a couple of votes. Also to bolster some of my post votes.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @nonameslefttouse, here is a little bit of
BEERfor you. Enjoy it!Very cool image from all sides! Just keep being you.
That's the plan! It would be kinda hard to be someone else.
I can imagine that pink one as a mask, baked in a clay oven and glossily painted...hm, I have been wanting to take up pottery.. that could be my first challenge (after I screw up a few mugs and ashtrays of course)
It wouldn't be hard to create a mould and 3D print that shit up. I've thought about doing these things but that's as far as it got.
hahaha it reminded me of those that every 3-5-10 years are talking about the end of the world, only to realize how stupid they were, if they manage at least comprehending it :P
The end of the world can't happen until everyone is either dead or dying. If those who think the end is near would actually look, they'd see a lot of people ecstatic and ready to take on the next set of challenges. Instead of recognizing the fact many refuse to let the world end, they'll continue to say the end is near and everyone else is just stupid. As the days pass, yes, they become increasingly annoying and then can't seem to figure out why folks either don't pay any attention to them or become annoyed. Then they say things like "You people are all jerks and now that is the reason the end is near." That goes on for months and months and months...
I like all the points you covered. I even understand how you feel additional pressure. Well, to a point. I am not sure why I seem to be the only one saying this, but I have been saying it on the chain for ages. Have fun with what you do here, and not worry about the rewards so much.
I always thought social media was basically about the fun. Steemit was cool coz you could get a bonus, like the cherry one top. Not sure how so many people all of a sudden got the notion to make it their full time gig, their job.
I do have fun. A lot of it. It's not me thinking about the rewards, it's other people. Some see the total, forget half of that goes back to the community, you get called names like circle jerker and ass kisser, plus many others. Some will even say the votes are coming from alt accounts and the comments as well. You know you're you but the crazy types think you're me, putting on a show. Luckily it's a blockchain and honest actions are easy to prove.
The job isn't much fun but it pays the bills. I can turn a hobby into an occupation here, still have fun, and be fine with any outcome.
You're not the only one saying what you say.
Fair enough. I should point out, and I do this all the time, but I wasnt meaning you as specifically at you, but more of a "you all" as in folks on the chain. People need to lighten up and do their own thing. Thanks for the follow. I followed you too. Guess that means we are circle followers or follow jerkers lol.
Celebrate success and try to offer people the same opportunities by contributing as best you can. That's how I look at things here. Simple concept. Treat others like you are or want to be treated.
I've seen you around/heard of you. Thought I already was following and simply missing your posts.
I'll see you out there.
As always, well said and I honestly don't know how you're able to write such detailed and lengthy posts, along with your artwork every day so I bow down to your work ethic 🙇
And you're right about those freaking out - if they are powering down, I'll be buying their cheap steem and add to the 10k I already have on the cheap and power that bad boy up.
As for the content creators who left, I know the ones you're talking about. In fact, that's how I first came across you as we were commenting on the same post from those who couldn't see the bigger picture other than the potential effect on their own post payouts. I dare say these guys didn't buy any steem and would probably still be incapable of seeing the long term goodness that the latest changes are bringing.
The words "head", "own" and "arse" spring to mind here.
A lot of damage has been done pre HF 21, now we're in the long slow recovery and it's going to take time but I'm really pleased I stuck around and bought up, seeing the benefits of it with my own blog, curation rewards and engagement.
Rock on
Posted using Partiko Android
That damage pre HF 21 is ignored by those currently slightly inconvenienced today. What's the worst that can happen to someone today? They get upvoted by an actual curator? Oh no! Let's run for the hills!
I just hit 30k SP today. Feeling good about this place, as usual, though it can be frustrating at times, but that's life.
Heaven forbid, someone manually curates your posts 😱 I'm out, this is not what I signed up for...
Congratulations on 30k SP! A lot of blood sweat and tears gone in to that.
I had to cheat and buy my way to 13k, with actual money I earned from starting a new job though. Never used a bidbot, don't know how they work really, don't want to know either, I just saw the effects of their usage all the time I've been here and hung around long enough to hope something would be done about it... And it has 🙂
There aren't many around who still value the rep system either, I know at least 4 people who have never faked it, 2 of them are us. I am really hoping to get to 70 and join the elusive club, just hopped over to 67 after yesterday's post so fingers crossed!
And of course it's frustrating at times, you didn't think it would be a walk in the park all this time did you? 😁
Posted using Partiko Android
I have no idea how to buy a vote either. I assume it's easy because 44000 spammers and scammers were blacklisted, so apparently the bots are designed for those who are confident in their inabilities and lack of actual talent. I know that sounded smug.
I set a goal to hit 30k before the year was over. Now I set a goal to have rep 74 by November. These little things keep me focused. I don't care if they don't matter to other people. The main goal is progress and the little steps to get there are required. Something a bot user wouldn't know anything about. Oops. Smug again.
Jeez, 44k blacklisted accounts? No more milking of the system for you #sorrynotsorry
It's good to have something to aim for though to keep focus and motivation, no matter how big or small. Good luck on the hunt for 74, I'm sure you'll get there in no time at the rate you're going!
My aim is to try and do at least one post per week. I was posting everyday but it wore me down and with HF 21, wanted to focus on putting the main effort in to one big quality post (travel mainly) and see what happens. Oops, I used the "q" word, strike me down 😁
Posted using Partiko Android