Over the last 9 months I have fallen in love with the steem blockchain all over again.
I first joined in January of 2017 and after doing some blogging about hiking and bushcrafting I got out of the habit of posting. I was pretty busy scouting out areas to camp and at the time the eSteem app was not very reliable for me.
I just simply got out of the routine of being on it, and, as humans we are creatures of habit.
Once Bitcoin got back in the news and prices started climbing I went and looked at my various holdings. Oh hey: look at all that changed on Steemit! Awesome dApps, growing community, man I missed so much!
Eventually I stumbled upon DLive and found my home. I was not very good at blogging or taking pictures so I always felt that I had to try 100x harder than most to find any kind of success or traction on the platform. The couple things I had going for me were: excitement, sincerity and a desire to be social.
I quickly found enjoyment out of meeting everyone on the platform and it didn't take long for me to be pretty familiar with most people in the community.
I didn't have a computer, everything I did was from my phone. A friend had a laptop and we would use that to stream but I still did not really know what I was doing.
Ever since my son started watching youtube he wanted to make videos and steam. In a way, having a desire to stream was just as much a product of wanting to see my son happy as it was for my own desire of feeling part of a family in the community.
I liquidated over 2/3 of my crypto (less than 20% was from my steem holdings in exchanges) and purchased a laptop. From there, with my rewards I purchased a blue yeti mic, headphones, and a webcam.
I still didn't really know what I was doing. But I wanted to do better and I wanted to give this opportunity to my son to try this out too. I created him an account: @tegansteems and the excitement level was through the roof. I never thought I was going to stream before but MY SON has ALWAYS wanted to. I guess I am a sucker for seeing my son happy.
Eventually I decided that I wanted to make some sort of community project and that I when I came up with the idea of @dlive24hour.
It was pretty timely for me. At the time I was having some issues IRL and this was a great needed distraction for me. I have always battled with depression and anxiety and streaming kind of gave me something to look forward to so I could focus on things that made me happy rather than focus on the things that would bring me down.
For better or for worse I started to isolate myself and it got to the point where 90% of my social interactions were here on the blockchain.
Facebook bored me and otherwise gave me a negative outlook on people in general. The Steem blockchain was different: it fostered a generally positive outlook and positive interactions. I was able to put down my guard and genuinely feel happy for the first time in ... Well a long time.
I gave a lot to this blockchain. More things than I can list or detail or put into quantifiable terms. The time I spent here can never be recovered and the money I lost skipping work for @dlive24hour projects, leaving work early, coming in late (because I was up until 4 am the night before) will NEVER, EVER be matched in any rewards I EVER get here. Come for the rewards, stay for the community is, at least to me, 100% correct. I never NEEDED the rewards, I make decent money and I never had to power down or cash them out to survive. The only significant cashing out of any crypto I did (other than to upgrade my equipment) was to make the numbers work out to drive to NYC for the dlive meet up... In a car that is 20 years old, without ac, without power steering, would shake when I went above 60 and the turn signals would randomly go out. But hey: the cost and things I had to go through were worth the hassle (to me).
I literally slept 3 hours a night for the first 4 nights after the annoucement. I took this HARD.
I would argue that there are very few on the blockchain that was affected more than me regarding this. I gave everything I had to build a community and the fracturing that came from it breaks my heart.
What an idiot: All this time I thought the interactions I had were sincere. Evidently, they were largely based off of insincere networking for the benefit of their own SP.
What a fool I was.
I hope this all settles down and we can all go on being friends (at least with those that sincerely want wants best for everyone and not just their own wallets.)
I have a lot more to say but I already spent my entire lunch not eating typing this up on a phone because I have to get this off my chest.
I am hurt and I am devastated by the one-on-one interactions I have had on here and the tribalism that has made me feel like I am not welcome on here if I do not blindly follow the tribe without question.
I am a free thinker and if I must suck the teet of those that I don't agree with to be successful on here, maybe it is not for me.
That being said, maybe I am still emotional and hurt from some of the things said to me on here.
Maybe I am overreacting, maybe I just am speculating.
Maybe the fact that I don't power down, that I actually buy steem and power it up (and donate to others) that I have no intention of cashing out any amount until we hit the moon, maybe makes me jaded and more hurt than those with no loyalty to this blockchain.
Maybe I am over-reacting. Maybe I am spot on.
I got out of the loop again, but honestly the way they were implementing side chain and distancing themselves from steemit posts etc made it seem like they were trying to distance themselves from steem, maybe because of the fury of some whales in the chain (in the conspiracist side of my mind).
I'm still glad I met you and consider you one of the closest friends I've made this year, even if I tend to drift in and out.
Ditto brother! It would be great to catch up soon
im personaly new to all this blockchain stuff and dont understand it well but to my understanding and correct me if i am wrong but you are talking about the divide in the community after that dlive lino thing which i do see and feel impacted by as well there use to be caring friendships and fun moments but not much of which anymore from what i heard from patrick and kati alone and have even seen with my own two eyes in dlives fanbase chat people are breaking ties and becoming hostile with those who have a different mindset the community is currently torn between those who support dlive and those who feel betrayed
There is a lot of anger all around. I just hope people find their happy place and we can put this all behind us.
It will never be the same but it doesnt mean it wont be better.
Not all change is progress but all progress requires change.
Wise words my friend :)
I couldn't relate more to these two passages, thanks for writing this eric.
Dynamics here remind me a lot of this video - (trigger warning: politics) a video with Dave Rubin and Ben Shapiro talking about a gay wedding. Ben said he "wouldn't go to Dave's gay wedding" (Dave is gay) because it goes against his religious beliefs, he's doing something "sinful". Dave ends up getting offended, but they both reach the same point- they realize they are only having this conversation with each other for the views, for the money. They both know their relationship is artificial, only there to make them the cash. So their disagreements will never actually affect their relationship.
Same thing happens here except there are actual power dynamics, where you can essentially censor someone if you disagree with them. The amount of tribalism, circle-jerking and selfishness is pretty unprecedented here.
I enjoy listening to both those guys.
I am trying to remember that the loudest don't speak for the majority and what we see "being a problem" is really just people with a microphone where as others feel it is pointless to comment on or out of fear.
I don't think it is as bad as we say, I just hope that we can get to a point where these disagreements can provide constructive conversation and eventual change.
Thanks for reading, I needed to get it off my chest :)
Tribalism, cricle-jerking and selfishness levels are the same in the real world I would say. Only here it is revealed, it shows, it is on display
It really is a shame to see so many loyal to the blockchain turn on anyone that had any affiliation with dlive and took even a slightly unbiased approach towards the split. I am a witness to you getting completely slammed by whale downvotes, as if they were doing it without even thinking. It did make me realize that there is no independence on this blockchain. One person alone can't stand and speak, and earn what the true perceived value of his or her words are worth. Instead someone could say...
... and earn 5 STU, while the person below this comment says...
A statement like that would have only made pocket change without a hefty self-upvote for "prominence", and more than likely incurred the wrath of "The Tribe".
I went into steem as a content creator, not as an investor, and when I voice my opinion that "this blockchain does not fairly reward the creators" I'm met with insults from $100k USD investors that suck the steem teet in the name of "prominence", and want us to thank them for just being able to watch. Then turn and say "purchase some SP and help the platform out". So apparently they (the whales) don't see content creation as a form of "helping out" the steem platform, but rather see it more as...
This whole debacle over a business decision gone ugly has completely destroyed my will to blog, stream, or even curate anything on #steem. I was excited to see what dlive had in store for us broadcasters on the new platform and when it finally launched I'll have to admit, I was utterly disappointed. Cute little ninjas, a few new functions, and some aesthetic changes seem to be a mask for a completely missing blockchain. Paypal payouts, you say!? Wonderful! So I can buy Lino points with USD, cash out Lino points with USD, and so can everyone else... So... Wheres the blockchain?... I might as well be streaming on twitch if my viewers can't reward me from the blockchain, right?
"Well you'll be rewarded from the blockchain if you invest in Lino stake!"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but then that means everyone has to be staked in order to earn blockchain rewards. Without a whitepaper I don't even know what I'm even buying!? But they sure did entice me with a dangling golden carrot worth less than a dollar according to the Paypal value.
It kinda feels like I'm in limbo eric...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts bud, here's to hoping for greener pastures... 🍻
Awesome reply, I literally have nothing more to add to your points.
I feel this will settle down and we can find ourself and our place here on the blockchain again!
Here is to smoking the hopium.
I don't think it is so much that people are here ONLY for the rewards but it is certainly a contributing factor. There are many platforms for community building on the internet and the only thing that makes this one stand out is that you are rewarded for your efforts. Steemit certainly doesn't have the best user interface and while there are other, better interfaces I still wouldn't put them among the best on the internet.
DLive is perceived as doing a sort of bait and switch and it has, i think rightfully, pissed a lot of people off. Some of that anger has probably unfairly spilled over to those who use the platform, particularly those who stuck with it. Give it time and it will pass. But even for those that perhaps aren't necessarily angry with DLive users, many more will still not want to reward DLive for what they have done and you can't reward a DLive user without rewarding DLive.
"you can't reward a DLive user without rewarding DLive."
This does not make sense.
If you upvote someone on steem and that person also uses youtube, are you also rewarding youtube?
Come on.
Most people that "wont be rewarding users that continue to use dlive" were never part of the community when they were on the steem blockchain. But now that they are leaving they want to virtue signal and try to manipulate content creators trying to get them to only use steem.
I see you are also on wordpress.... Come on.
Content creators create content on multiple platforms and in doing so spreads out their audience. That is just good business.
I am done with the pettiness from the steem community that only cared about the dlive community and what they do with their content AFTER the announcement.
Indirectly, yes. Anything that promotes them rewards them. As upset as a lot of people are with youtube I'm sure there are some who won't upvote youtube videos either.
It isn't about the rewards or using multiple platforms so much as it is about how these particular services are perceived to treat the community/their customers.
And yes, this is the internet and people tend to overreact. That's not unique to the steem community.
All that does is prove to me that this isnt about content but politics.
Which is one of the largest criticisms of steem.
Thanks for proving it.
Not sure what I'm proving. It's not about politics, it's about not supporting a service you feel has treated yourself or the community like crap. What DLive did made a lot of people feel that way, especially given the large delegation they received. You don't feel that way, fine. Different people, different opinions. I don't have particularly strong feelings about it myself. I haven't intentionally voted for less DLive videos than before. Honestly, I would expect DLive creators to be more upset by DLive's move than anybody else.
I don't broadcast live videos but I do upload various videos from time to time. It used to be that Youtube was the only place to do that. They made it clear that they don't really care about the "minnows" so to speak so I started seeking alternatives. I tried DTube for a while but found it unreliable (may be better now, I don't know). I settled on Daily Motion instead. I still use youtube but it is secondary now and that's not where I share videos from typically. If you don't like how a service is running their business you vote with your wallet or your feet. Unfortunately, in the case of DLive, their user base was somewhat tied to the Steem user base and now they are divorcing it so to speak.
As I said, personally I don't care if someone continues to use DLive as a creator. I won't but I didn't anyway and I don't see any reason to penalize content creators for it.
Ohhh I am sorry, you were just bringing up the fact that others will do that, I apologize.
Yes, some people will be flagging content creators that stream to both services (some already have) but, in my opinion is petty amd more harmful than any positive that will come of it.
If good content creators are downvoted and pushed away they will just leave.
I personally want more quality content on here, not less.
Spot on!
andrarchy sounds like a pre-programmed drone ... :(
Stiff, wooden corporate communication.
That's not what this community needs, he should go work for Big Oil, Big Pharma or Big Tobacco
Wow, the division is real. For reference;
I see you as a genuine friend that I met here on the steem blockchain, and if we ever disagree on something in crypto in the future, I'll do the same as I do to the Dlive team, wish you the best, and go on maintaining what I consider to be a healthy relationship.
Also, anyone feel free to turn your anger toward me, but I think that it's kind of cool having multiple useful Dapps that can potentially earn you crypto. Rule 1, save your keys, Rule 2, diversify your portfolio. That's crypto in a nutshell...and now vimm.tv can take the wheel! :)
Currently, I also use D.tube, Steepshot, Zappl, Lit, Vimm, Dlive, and Kinit aside from the main Steemit website, and I think it will be healthy for Steemit and other Blockchains in the future. Plus it's better than the apps that used to fill my phone xD
I think I'll always consider Steemit my blockchain home.
Same here bro on all accounts.
"I have always battled with depression and anxiety and streaming kind of gave me something to look forward to so I could focus on things that made me happy rather than focus on the things that would bring me down.
For better or for worse I started to isolate myself and it got to the point where 90% of my social interactions were here on the blockchain."
@ericwilson 100% respect for saying that words to public. Not everyone have balls to tell things like this in public. Also same for me I'm depressed. I regret that I'm alive. And steemit gave me opportunity to find new friends. Because I abadonned all my friends IRL. For me steemit is everything. Its my second home.
That post was so emotional. I dont care if you got out of the routine or not. Im allways with you. I know you are good guy. I was allways saying "I am my biggest enemy". We all gonna be happy if we gonna beat ourselves. I wish u best eric!
Same to you my friend. We will all get through this and become stronger because of it!
I think it is both, there are those who are here only for certain benefits, and others for the friendships and interactions and for the decentralization. I am here for both. I put the relationships above all else, I have people here I consider friends. I don't power down either. I hold some Steem that I will cash out like I used to do with SBD because I need it to pay my expenses, because Steemit right now is my only source of income for what I create as an writer and artist. But I like seeing my SP go up. I am also delegating some SP to Curie and to Accelerator. When I am able to, I will delegate more. I chose those for now because they upvote me and resteem me and help me as a content creator on the platform, so it's my way of giving back a bit. I like to be involved however I can.
I understand that some people are here solely for the money incentive, but like I said a few weeks back in a post, you can't put a price on freedom of expression. The freedom we have on Steemit is worth much more.
I don't know what people said to you, and I think it's a shame if differing opinions have tainted your relationship with them. Steemit represents something different to each of us, but to me it's important to respect those unique views.
For me, I'm happy to have found Steemit, to have income for my creations, to have enough SP to give back to others and to contribute to steemit and steemit projects voluntarily because I love doing it and we all have fun, build friendships and create together. And we are free on this platform.
They did us dirty man. I don't think it's a bad idea try out other chains and post on them. Like Smoke or say EOS even though it's less decentralized.
Some of the people you interacted with will still be here for you. ;) I know what you mean though, unfortunately I feel this way about most of the people on this platform. Everything is cool until the money disappears.
We just have to remember the loudest rarely speaks for anyone much less the majority.
I appreciate what you do man and your ability to establish connections and create communities. It is a necessity in a world where societies and communities fracture and refracture on a daily basis.
The day of the news I did an Iching reading, it's one of the many strange things I do. This one was particularly accurate and auspicious.
Dragons fight in the meadow,
Their blood is black and yellow
In the top place the dark element should yield to the light. If it attempts to maintain a position to which it is not entitled and to rule instead of serving, it draws down upon itself the anger of the strong. A struggle ensues in which it is overthrown, with injury, however, to both sides. The dragon, symbol of heaven, comes to fight the false dragon that symbolized the inflation of the earth principle. Midnight blue is the color of heaven; yellow is the color of earth. Therefore, when black and yellow blood flow, it is a sign that in this unnatural contest both primal powers suffer injury.
It is important when reading these to think of "dark and light" as "yin and yang" to have a better understanding because I think in western culture we often think of dark elements as outright evil. I casted The Receptive, the only trigram made up of all broken lines. Above I posted an interpretation of the changing line of the receptive. Changing lines often depicting the cause of question in the first place. I found the imagery to be eerily accurate. Adding to the strangness, my entire Iching question history vanished after this reading. I feel that fury and vengence will eventually give way to reason, justice, understanding and a new beginning.
Some of the commentaries on this hexagram are even more spot on, as I found the default interpretation to be a bit harsh and can be found here I recommend checking them out but just remember when the receptive is drawn: Wilhelm/Baynes: When all the lines are magnetic, it means: Lasting perseverance furthers.
Keep doing you man, keep doing what you think is right and nobody will be able to fault you.
Woah. Thats all i can say.
Ha yeah, the black & yellow got me. But the Iching is bound to hit something relevant with the essay generated from each reading XD
Bro. Shit has gotten a bit religious here, which is not a good sign for the platform. Sorry you've experienced this. It's become very polarized, in my view. Lots of cheerleading and booing, not so much genuine, human interaction and critical thought outside of a few tight-knit groups.
Anyway. Maybe I am guilty as well in various times and in various seasons. I don't really know. Just want you to know that this was read, and I was inspired by it, man.
Thanks for taking the time.
I just have to keep remembering that the loudest in no way speak for the majority.
I have to keep focusing on the positive. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Eric, find me on discord bro...
Done.
i just replied to you :)
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