It's been a few weeks since I posted here on Steem, which is still my favorite place to be. It is still a pioneer in my mind and has set in place a foundation I think could allow it to rise to greatness and become the first platform with real use application accepted by the mainstream and thus their crypto-christening. Like Steem on my mirror in the morning after I shower, its presence could just as easily fade away into obscurity.
Lately I see so much influence on posts and voting by bots or whales who seem to dump large sums on their upvotes for posts that leave me wondering how in the world was that worth $55? There seems to be almost equal outrage to these posts from well intentioned Steemians trying to preserve the pure nature of Steem content. Their self policing only seems to get them beat up and caught up in battles against the ones dumping and profiting from these seemingly worthless posts.
I can't keep up, I have other battles to fight and it's sad to see soooo much effort go into monitoring, flagging, regulating, blacklisting, identifying, and calling out the culprits. Don't get me wrong, I support the quest for fairness and righteousness. I've started to feel like my vote almost doesn't count anymore in perspective with accounts with huge influence and voting power who make my minnow vote look more like plankton.
It just seems to becoming a mess. Look at how many posts (like mine) are focused on the topic of bots, whales, and the evildoers who use them for profit. I'm almost afraid I'll accidentally upvote a post or follow some account and then be included in the retaliation against them later. Should I just sell my delegation votes and come back in 90 days?
I think not. Like I originally said, Steem has the chance to rise above this present level of inner turmoil and become something used by all to spread information and knowledge and measure its value. I'm just going to keep plugging along, posting here and there and commenting and upvoting posts I think have value. I always find it's best to block out the noise the best you can and just do the right thing when you believe in something. As we go through growing pains, Steem forges its steel in the furnace hopefully to emerge hardened and superior to its previous form.