...it is simple, you begin by building trust and then use that trust to your own advantage at the expense of those who entrusted you. You extend the usefulness of the trust by using underhand tactics to obfuscate your betrayal. Lying and denying can cause confusion and distraction whilst the abuse continues.
The trust might initially be earned, perhaps with handouts and support....the cost of which is miniscule in comparison to the rewards that endowed power can pillage. Done correctly, the misplaced loyalty of a supporter can create an effective buffer.
The trouble is, good people care about justice, right and wrong, innocence. They are hesitant to allocate blame and are less comfortableb talking in absolutes. The corrupt have no such limitations.
Politicians and bankers have been using the oldest trick in the book to great effect, forever. It is extremely profitable to abuse trust, especially if the mark remains unaware.
In the case of the Steem economy and all the tools we use to communicate with it and across it, most of the abuse comes in the form of attempts to gain unfair or unearned access to the Steem reward pool. The reward pool comes from inflation that we all pay for via an increase in the amount of Steem in the world. It is incredibly precious. We can all take a hand in distributing it and we must all ensure we get value in return.
So please, beware of those playing trust games for their own advantage. Don't allow yourself to be the mark, don't sell your power and the integrity of our network for pennies, the occasional handout or a pat on the head. Your power has immense value to you and everyone else here. The compensation for your integrity, should you desire it will come and when it arrives, you'll know about it, we all will.
If you spot what you think is the abuse of trust, look into it. Ask reasonable questions. Seek a second or third opinion. If you do not get reasonable responses and you think something is wrong, withdraw your support, your votes, your autovotes, your attention, your resteems. A culture of quietly insistent accountability will, in the end, serve us all....even those who are corrupt :)
It is not difficult to ensure a high degree of transparency and accountability on the Steemchain. We must use this attribute to our advantage and close the door firmly yet politely on those who would exploit our trust.
I am currently delegating the majority of my Steem Power to The Minnows Support Project. I will try my best to ensure my SP is used responsibly. I believe in the integrity of @aggroed and with his help, this project will do exactly what it says and that is all. We will be vigilant and any abuse that is noticed will be dealt with immediately.
Let's keep the fun but keep it real too!
Happy Steeming
What you are doing is amazing .
I just hope you keeping doing that because a lot of us draw inspiration from it .
I know this platform will take you far for what you are doing .
Great piece and please keep it up
I appreciate your support, the idea that someone might find inspiration from me is really very wonderful. For the record, i am inspired by many many Steemians every single time i'm on here.
i don't fully understand, i guess i will one day in regards to steemit community, but i really like the "feel" of your words. cheers! am following, i wish to hear more.
Thank you for following me. All i'm really saying is that when we award an account with our attention and steem from the reward pool, it has a very powerful accumulative effect that has the power to alter the world around us. We want to empower those who will use that power best (within reason.) In addition to that, as soon as we notice our empowerment is being mishandled or abused, we must revoke as much of that empowerment as possible and be wary of that account in the future. Accountability is part of what may discourage abusive behaviour from finding purchase within the steem economy. We must all be aware of how precious our influence is, be vigilant and active. I hope that helps :)
yes, thank you. it does. i will resteem this post.
Great post @benjojo
That's the problem with the average person, we assume that those who seek to rule and control think like we do. The amount of times I hear "they wouldn't do that would they" is unbelievable when you discuss the criminal bankster and elite in general. They don think like us because many are sociapaths or worse psychopaths and as a "normal" person it is hard to comprehend that parasitic behaviour.
Thanks once again for your generosity to the minnowsupportproject I hope you enjoyed your role in my homage to your donation.
https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@tremendospercy/5-4-3-2-1-minnowsupportproject-is-a-go
@tremendospercy
Thank you and for the post especially. I thought it was very funny and i am very touched to have been included! Just to be clear though, yes i delegated a chunk, but there are others who did too! :)
Ya right
Easy to miss though!
You are just the kid we've been looking for, reach out if you want an alliance.
~mycompanyweb.site founders club
Thanks
Keep steeming buddy
Thank you, you too
Welcome
so much to learn when you're a newb
There is, but after a bit of work, you'll find your feet and it gets a lot easier :)
Im not sure how long this will be sustainable, do you think steemit might crash due to the lack of trust in the network. Craig Grant is not lying about the money he thinks he's making, we all got to learn sometime, it might as well be him.
I'm sorry but I have no idea what Craig Grant is doing or saying. Perhaps you could elaborate? I think the issue we have within steemit is exactly the same issue that arises wherever there is a group of people. Rather than having a lack of trust in the network, I believe there is a justified and growing trust within it. As with any system involving people, it is the people that are sometimes not trustworthy. However, the steem chain and it's tools afford us protection and capabilities far beyond what we've ever had before. We just need to use these tools more effectively.....and we will. I think we have seen a lot to be optimistic about. Steemit is a growing, global, diverse community and is so much more than simply social media. There is incredible quality here, a great deal more courtesy, the potential for massive giving.....the list is endless.
proud member of #minnowsupportproject ... United we stand Divided we fall ...let's keep growing strong...thanks @aggroed for fighting for minnow's rights.
United of purpose indeed.....there is much that we share in common no matter our SP :) We must all support each other.
To the end, brother.
I know exactly which person/s / accounts you have in mind...
cough : *trail...
Most of them are kind of doing what you mentioned...
I've read a post on that and saw the comments of the mentioned user under that post. Evading questions like a little child, which knew it did something wrong.
That aside, I think it's wonderful how responsible you're handling that situation and support the Minnows Support Project.
Thanks for this good post and your efforts!
Have a nice day and Steem on!
The issue you refer to will reach it's conclusion. I hope transparency prevails, accountability is forthcoming and we can move on.
This post is mean't to address a general concern and alert every Steemian to be vigilant and understand just how precious every account, every action on this platform can be, no matter how small.
Thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me.
I hope the same!
All I really do in support is posting a (hopefully helpful) comment here and there, doing some Arts and stuff for the community.
You on the other hand, are helping many, many members of the community and that is something that means the world to so many people. I can't even put that into words...
Within the next few days I'll have to figure out completely how this Minnows Support Project works.
Thank you!
But the trail grows thin, this is just no a sustainable branch anymore, now move on!
I've already moved on. I knew that the community would sort this out as soon as enough are aware of it.
But thanks for reminding me to do better things with my time :)
Have a nice day!
Troll trail ... or ...-trail trolls
Source https://www.southbayriders.com/forums/attachments/224943/
I like the point you made.
Thank you. It is very important we are all aware.
jesus your a nice bloke. followed.
Very well said man. We can tell you put your heart and soul into everything you put on/into Steemit. You always do you best to reply back to the "minnows" / everyone. I started on here 8 days ago and on my second day you were responding back. It just shows your level of commitment to the community. Thanks. Jay
It is very kind of you to say so. Thank you. I'm very glad the little things matter so much to people on Steemit.