If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering if there’s a way to beat the voting system on Steemit. Disclaimer: I’m far from being a tech/crypto nerd to give you any technical details. This is more like my personal observation and an open invitation for discussion and rant.
A lil bit about my Steem experience:
I’m a freelance writer and traveler who heard about Steemit from a Bitcoin friend, been on the platform for half a year, and still figuring my way around. I mostly write about traveling, sometimes short scribbles about love and relationships. Because of laziness and my general lack of interest in the Steem content, I don’t interact with other Steemers that often, and there’s no pattern to my posting frequency.
Since my real-life friends aren’t on Steem (yet), the platform has become a place where I post my personal writings. Although every action in recorded on a blockchain, I feel like I have more anonymity in this environment, ironically. Because in a community where no one knows you, you’re basically anonymous?
Here are three of my best-performing posts in the past 6 months:
The first one is about my travel experience, the second is more informative, and the last one is only two paragraphs of emotional output. No idea what these posts have in common, except I should thank the few Steemers who have high Steem Power for having graced my posts. My other posts are in similar fashion but yielded poor results. I decided to explore the platform’s system a bit more in an attempt to answer my own confusion.
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Let’s look at what Steemit’s mission statement reads and keep it in mind:
"Steemit is a social media platform where everyone gets paid for creating and curating content."
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The “Creating” Part:
When I click on the “hot” section, I see posts like these.
No offense to the author, but all he did was posting 5 unimpressive photos. I can pull up a million better photos on Instagram, so why should I bother browsing on Steem? Hats off to the other Steemers who leave thoughtful comments, though.
Let's take a look at the “trending” section:
Almost EVERY post on this screen is related to cryptocurrency or exploring Steem as a platform. The most popular or interesting type of content I can find on Steem is crypto-related. It’s great when I want to read about Bitcoin news and analysis, but I don’t come here to read anything else.
Enthusiastic Steemers always talk about how DTube is going to beat YouTube and how Steem is going to replace Facebook and Instagram. Well, it’s not gonna happen unless a high volume of quality content creators starts sharing on Steem. Right now, this platform is loaded with crypto enthusiasts and other people who just want to earn some extra bucks. Steem needs to encourage real content creation to thrive, and of course, a better design to categorize topics and customize profiles.
Do I find any enjoyable content on Steem? Yes, sometimes I read @oflyhigh when he writes about sentimental things in Chinese. Otherwise, I still consume content elsewhere. If you have any great account to share with me, please let me know in the comments.
The “Curating” Part:
Now, let’s take a look at a common voting result:
44 votes but only 20 read? What kind of “curation” is this?
Should I be proud of what I wrote if I received votes from people who didn’t bother skimming through the passages?
If the curator of an art gallery simply picks something based on what other people have said, the gallery is doomed to fail. Can Steem still work in the long run if the curation system is based on blind voting? Perhaps it could, but I wouldn’t understand the mechanics behind it as a crypto illiterate LOL
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Let’s look at Steemit’s mission statement again:
"Steemit is a social media platform where everyone gets paid for creating and curating content."
Bluntly said, I think Steemit has succeeded in the “everyone gets paid” part, but not the latter.
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The Secret Formula to Steem Success?
- Write something about Steem itself every day and make sure your title includes the keywords.
- Post anything 3 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Final Disclaimer: This post is obviously just how I personally feel toward the Steem content trends. No meticulous research involved, just a little sprinkle of sarcasm. Again - if you know of any Steemers who have interesting content, please share with me in the comments.
Final Final Disclaimer: Sorry if you thought I had any brilliant idea to offer, but thanks for reading :)
~ Happy Steeming ~
I completely agree that the content of Steemit needs to broaden out from crypto stuff (albeit I am partial to a bit of crypto news and opinions!) and I suspect this will come over time.
The link to rewards is hard to work out - I am fairly new but a few quick photos I took garnered more interest (and reward) than posts I've written.
I think the biggest prob might be finding the right stuff here on Steemit as the tags etc aren't brilliant. As much as FB and Google get criticised for invasion of privacy etc, the one thing they are masters of is serving up posts and info that "they know" will be of interest to us!
Exact same thoughts here. I do favor the crypto news on here just because I know lots of experts are active on this platform, versus people on major social media outlets are more like outsiders/spectators. Yes, I think the content quality thing has to come with time, and a little bit of redesign or enhancement will go a long way.
Also - right - FB content is more "curated" to our interests, but I also HATE the algorithm because it's made in a way that favors ad content LOL now if you don't pay for ads, your content basically goes unseen on FB. I believe Steemit won't need to go that route, which is reassuring :)
I personally believe it is important we acknowledge that at this point steemit is still in infancy in comparison with FB, Google, Youtube and other social networks. One of my favorite quotes by Mahatma Gandhi serves as a reminder to “be the change you wish to see in the world.” With this thought in mind, I consider us some of the first adapters of this social experiment. I believe being a part of steemit at this stage of it's evolution provides us the opportunity to lead the way in contributing to the creation of a platform where we are able to share value with one another simply because we find each others content valuable :0)
True, Steemit is in its infancy stage, which means now is the time to steer things in the right direction :)
Absolutely!:0)
Hi @daphneklee, I find your profile and writings highly interesting. A lot of your sentiments and experiences, I can totally relate to them. It's a really feel-good-feeling for me, seeing like-minded people on Steemit. 'cause as much as we crave for connection, it can be also tough to find the 'right friends' in reality. But with the Internet and platforms like Steemit, things are relatively easier. I also find Steemit more engaging and positive (compared to FB- too much negativity) Anyway, keep posting. Looking forward to your great posts ~from another nomadic girl <3
Hey! I was talking to a Steem friend another day and we also mentioned how the community here is very supportive and kind -- which I do appreciate a lot. Plus sweet comments like yours really keep me around here. We should definitely connect if we ever cross paths <3