Time to make @sflaherty do a run for the prize ;) Hey @the-traveller, I can't believe I only just saw this post now!! I love your initiative and the reasons behind it (it's true the red reply flags are pretty addictive eh?).
I'm answering this post because I just can't leave without commenting (and the price is juicy too):
(1) To encourage high quality content, I think we can and should all put comments highlighting good content (whether its written thoughts, photos, videos, creative writing, etc) and praising it, to encourage the writer in the right direction. If the content is not so good, we could try to give some advice, though at the risk of looking like a know-it-all douche ;)
Another way is to run really attractive contests with clear guidelines to be met by contestants. Immersion into the right framework > repetition from taking part multiple times > habits formed
Or to simply become a huge-ass influencer, and then create and roll out tutorials to your audience (@allasyummyfood is in the process of doing this already. Check out her first tutorial here: https://steemit.com/steemit/@allasyummyfood/2-video-tutorial-how-to-write-a-post-on-steemit)
(2) To encourage high quality behavior, I guess just reward those who are doing things write, and be careful to reward those who insist on doing things wrong ;)
(3) No changes..this is a much better screening method than 'the highest number of upvotes on comment' method..
(4) The only negative I can see is that you might get burnout, if any of your posts receives a mega-reply..lol..I don't think it's a bad idea so long as you have the energy to screen through the comments. You will get a lot more 'red reply flags' on your profile ;)
Hi @foodie.warrior strong contender!
Great points! I don't like empty praising really, if a comment is good I will tend to find some idea to engage with and make a relevant reply (sometimes gets out of hand), ... too long
As for attractive contests, I am thinking about sharing my 50 % SBD author share for a while (up until now I have guaranteed at least 5 SBD payout and if it earns over that i pay out the rest in 5 SBD increments) I should think that is juicy enough (7,5 USD real money)
I can sustain this if I just share what ever SBD the post made. I don't like winner take all situations, that is what is wrong with the whole upvoting system. I'd like to develop a system that allows people that put in honest effort also have an honest chance at a reward.
The influencer route is a nice one of course, but it helps if you already had 300.000 followers on other channels of course. That said, here on steem I suspect having around 2000 active followers might be enough to make a reasonable income. And 2000 followers right now is totally doable if you keep consistently producing .
I think I actually took 'quality content' to refer more to posts than to comments. Empty or general praising is not my cup of tea too. I meant to say that any praise should be directed and highlight an area that the author of a post did well in..In the spirit of positive reinforcement. :)
When the author sees that people appreciate how he is doing one particular aspect of his post content, he will be encouraged to incorporate more of the good 'practices' in the future.
Now for quality comments, I don't think praise of the comment works well. Then I would say, go for making a relevant point that is in direct response or somehow in line with the ideas being expressed by the one who wrote the comment. This kind of recognition allows the Commenter to enjoy the possibility that someone enjoyed and found his comment useful, which is also a form of intrinsic motivation.
I think the operative word is 'active' followers :) And yes, let's also not forget to keep on consistently producing and we'll see where we are in a couple years.
That is totally true, positive reinforcement is definitely a huge motivator!
I think the reward kind of built in when you get 2 way communication, basically people want to be heard. Listening to what they have to say and react or engage constructively with that is I think a higher form than recognition than the empty " great post" "Great comment" dynamic. Of course that is a great opener if afterwards you say WHY you think it is great, then we are talking about something entirely different.
Yes the active followers is really what makes your account valuable. The number is meaningless if you got all of them through follow exchanges e.g. !
I am convinced in 3 months both of us will have a hard time believing where we ended up! Such is exponential growth!