I recently read a post titled, Why I Won't Support Jerry Banfield Anymore - Jerrycoin --- by @meno and thought I would respond to why I feel the same way.
In that post, @meno explains a lot of the reasons he pulled his vote for @jerrybanfield as a witness on Steemit. There was one point in particular, I wanted to expand on and share my thoughts on how to better help people new to the platform.
It seems there was a new Steemian feeling frustrated with the delays experienced when starting a new account. In case you didn't know, even though Steemit is free to join there has to be some Steem Power in your account before one can begin to use the platform. For this reason, it could take sometimes up to a week for Steemit Inc. or someone to fund new accounts before one can actually start using it and that's why there are sometimes delays.
Jerry saw this as an opportunity to create a service to, as he puts it, "help people" get an instant account. The problem is there already is a service to do that called https://anon.steem.network and for 5 Steem you can get an account instantly and begin using it.
Jerry put forth an idea to create a service charging $50 for the same thing. I'm sure you can see the problem here. All he would have to do is take someone's 50 Steem, use Anon Steem to start their account and pocket the difference.
Who is that really helping?
Jerry was called out on it and started backtracking by claiming he did not know that Anon Steem existed to which others clearly proved he did know about it prior to claiming he didn't. He posted about Anon Steem and made videos about it that and can be read on @meno's and Jerry's posts.
I'm sure Jerry means well and believes he is helping people, but all of his ideas seem to have a price tag attached to them with the cash-flow going to Jerry before any help comes your way.
What I want to discuss is the definition of helping people on Steemit. It's not that I have a problem with people trying to make money on the internet, but helping implies that you are giving of yourself without an expectation of getting something in return.
Providing a service, while there is nothing wrong with it per say, does benefit you as much, if not more in this case, as the person you're claiming to help. I mean really, 50 Steem to start a new account?
What's next, a course on how to HODL?
I was interested in seeing what Jerry had to say about that so I commented on his blog and, as expected, received no response.
He claimed earlier in his defense about this lack of knowledge that Anon Steem existed that he does not write his own posts. Apparently, he doesn't read his comments either or just had nothing to say.
What Jerry is good at is ranking on Google for keywords that can help him create a sales funnel he can later monetize for his own profit, but that's not a true definition of helping someone.
That's why he doesn't write his own posts. His technique is making videos. You can talk a mile a minute making videos which can create text faster than writing them. Once you have someone transcribing it to text for you that can create a lot of posts, which in turn gets you ranked on Google for keywords. All you have to do is keep talking and saying those keywords then get them transcribed for you. Soon you'll end up in search engines for those keywords and when people search for them and find you they will think you're an expert.
He has used his page ranking techniques to rank himself in search engines and on YouTube as an expert on Steemit from the day he started.
Now let me ask you, How does someone who only started using this platform on May 2017 become an expert?
They don't. They just present themselves as one.
Most of the courses he has packaged as his own for various money-making schemes were just things he saw others doing on the internet. He copied them and branded them as his own. In the Internet marketing business it's called Private Label Rights (PLR), or Master Label Rights and you can find all sort of products to sell and say you made them.
I have seen Jerry doing his thing for many years now, selling courses on how to do it for each new product or money-making idea that caught his attention and when I first saw his videos on YouTube about Steemit my first thought was, "There goes the neighborhood." As soon as these internet marketers get a hold of this platform it's not going to help foster credibility.
One could argue he has brought a lot of attention to the platform because of his following before he got here, but what kind of attention is he bringing? People who are mainly focused on making money? Is that a good thing? That's for each of us to decide.
It could also be argued that he has done some good for the platform. I'm not saying he hasn't brought any value, I'm just saying that a lot of what he offers always seems to have a price attached to it that benefits him personally in some way. There's nothing wrong with that, but he seems to make that a pretty big focus which puts his true motives in question in my mind. At least when it comes to him being a witness to the platform. Witnesses are trusted to put the good of the platform, and by extension, the good of the community, ahead of their own interests or personal gain.
As you can see in @meno's post, he was also trying to create a Jerry Coin. If that doesn't reek of a witness with conflict of interest I don't know what does. How can he serve two masters? Both Steem and Jerry Coin. Come on. I think a more important question is, Why are we voting for people as a witness who even have ideas like that?
If you're going to create your own coin at least wait until SMT's are actually launched before signaling your intention to branch off into your own coin while still asking people to support you as a witness.
Ask yourself, If Jerry Banfield started an SBD wallet would you store your coins in it? I sure wouldn't. I wouldn't store Jerry Coins in it either.
Personally, I just think he's all over the place on so many internet ideas and doesn't come across as an expert on any of them. He just seems to be trying to cash in on as many things that come his way as possible and that doesn't help the Steem blockchain so much. I'd much prefer to have someone like @ned representing our interests, but hey, to each their own.
I won't go into details of the other platforms Jerry has been kicked off of as @meno's post covers that all too well, but I feel motivated to clarify what really helping new people get their feet solidly planted on Steemit really is and there's no better way to do that than by example.
You see, when a new person I just met feels frustrated when they discover they may have to wait up to a week to get their account verified, like Jerry, I want to help them too, but instead of charging them a fee for my help here's what I do.
First, once they have chosen a username, I go to Anon Steem and fund their account with 5 Steem out of my own pocket so they can get started now.
I enter the required information right there next to them, then go to my Steem wallet and transfer the funds, then show them how to immediately change the Owner Key so only they have it, not me, not Anon Steem.
I explain the importance of storing that key in a very secure place. Then I show them how to create an intro post using the introduceyourself tag.
Once that's done, I make a post about them on my account with a picture of us together asking my followers to go say hi and, if they're so inclined, to follow them. A week later when my post pays out I transfer the liquid SBD to the new person's account so they get a boost in SP.
What do I ask in return for my "help"? Nothing. Zip. Nada.
When people ask me why I would do that I always say the same thing, "Because I can." When they insist they repay me somehow I ask them to do the same for someone else when they sign people up and they have carried that practice forward themselves.
Everyone I have ever introduced to Steemit since Anon Steem was created this is what I have done. That is what helping people is! I have never asked them to upvote me, follow me, or return anything to me at all. That is the definition of helping.
They will all tell you that they left feeling helped and good about the platform from day one. Don't take my word for it, go ask them yourself. People like;
@anomadsoul
@mithrilweed
@plantbasedmiri
@mysevenworlds
@lizanomadsoul
@maxy-hopkins
and the list goes on.
In closing, I just want to say to be very careful on this platform when people offer to help you who require you give them something first. There are plenty of people who will help you here without needing something in return from you.
And when people like Jerry make videos telling everyone how much money they can make on Steemit, don't buy into the bullshit. Yes, you can make money here, but if that is what someone is so focused on from day one it kind of tells you a lot about them, don't you think? I think he should be called Jerry Spamfield.
Think about it.
Jerry Banfield - Here's Why He's Losing Fans..
I've only been here since this March but I'm pretty sure I'm in the top 1% of people here in understanding how things work. (For instance, I don't understand why you're giving AnonSteem money to do what SteemConnect can do for free.) I have a lot to learn before considering myself an expert but some people already think of me that way. Things around here are weird but they're not that hard to understand.
So it's not about time, it's about Jerry's lack of willingness to get into things on an analytical level rather than on a purely how-can-this-help-Jerry level.
Wow, thanks for turning me on to a new way to start instant accounts.
Does it really only take 0.1 Steem to start posting?
If that's true then I'm going to start using that instead.
That's a bold statement. You're probably smarter and have more experience with blockchains than most of us.
You may be an expert but I don't see you claiming to be one all over YouTube the first month you joined and asking people to pay you to learn how to use the platform.
Yeah, it only takes 0.1 Steem to create the account, if you also delegate some to it. You can also create it just from Steem with 3 Steem, although the account could have bandwidth problems.
Alternatively, you can also use @pharesim's https://steeminvite.com/ and send invites out to be accepted via email. I have used this many times and given people starting delegations for the bandwidth required. I haven't used the steemconnect method but being able to send an email means that I can add a bulletpointed guide for them to get started.
Damn, you're not joking about being a polymath.
I have used the SteemConnect method several times to create accounts for my friends to join. It is super fast and you can even start their accounts with a higher amount of delegated SP if you want to give them more bandwidth from the get go.
Totally agree!!!
You are right when you say that Jerry Banfield does not read the comments of his followers.
This is normal in whales just think about filling their pockets without caring about their followers.
It is disappointing to know that an author who is always trending does not write his own publications if so, so he does not deserve a vote from his followers.
$ 50 for a new account registration is much more money than everything for low-income countries like South America or African countries.
well I'm not a fan of Jerry either, for some of your reasons and some others. When I first joined the platform, I did a bit of research, and youtube was one of those places. I saw a video of his, and he came off as a snake oil salesman from one of those old western movies.
You seem to do a great deal for people when you can, and that is very admirable. keep up the good work!
I wrote a post a couple days ago about the Jerry types and the harm they do to the platform in response to @timcliff's 10 dollar Steem post. These people are a major hurdle and the 'numbers' they bring in are generally get-rich-quickers or, the desperate. The desperate are welcome as they will learn but the GRQ crowd is a major reason the retention figures suck.
note: as a reference:
https://steemit.com/steem/@tarazkp/hurdles-to-10-dollar-steem-get-rich-quick-cons
I resteemed that post, it was dead on accurate....
Much appreciated. It is amazing he is still here.
Yes, no doubt... and he played it exactly as we all knew he would. After he got called out for jerrycoin, he retracted, apologized, and then went into the family pictures and prayer post.
The Banfield effect is cyclical, so watch it happen again in 2 months so August... he will put his foot in his mouth again, remember this "premonition". ha!
Well said. I don't know Jerry's background, but I've not been keen on things I've seen him doing. He's good at publicity, but I'm not sure what else. I don't tend to read/watch what he posts. Seems he's been caught out a few times.
Long before Steem existed he's been "helping people" make money online. Those tactics don't work so well on this platform and it's only a matter of time before people figure it out. There will always be enough gullible people to fall for his tactics. I'm hoping that the community here will help him change his ways. You can make money here without resorting to charging people.
I agree with your opinion on Jerry, but I disagree with this:
I guess I have a different view of business in general. In a free market transaction between two consenting people, both end up better off after the exchange. Usually money goes from A to B and goods or services go from B to A.
And they are both happy about it.
A (consenting, free market) business transaction makes the world a better place.
I agree. What you are describing though is a business transaction.
In this particular case where A is offering to charge B $50 for a service that costs 5 Steem and only takes a couple minutes to do with no special skill or tools needed, who ends up better off?
He could have easily just pointed them in the direction to help themselves without the extra cost. I'm sure Jerry would have been much happier than the person he offered "help" to, especially when they realized, which I'm sure they would of eventually , that they were over-charged.
I'm sure there would be some buyer's remorse.
My main point was that help doesn't have to be for free though. In a regular transaction involving money, both sides are helped.
That is a good point and we are in agreement there. The thing is, Steemit is a different kind of place than most online platforms. People tend to help each other here without some expectation of direct reciprocation. At least, the people who have a loyal following. Especially if they are a witness which Jerry is.
If you look up what is expected from witnesses you would see that they give, many times out of their own pocket. Sure, they get voted by us for giving to the platform and earn Steem as compensation.
A top 20 witness earns $200-300/ day depending on the price of Steem and they earn that position by helping the platform, not by using it as a way to profit from the users.
Since that is what this post is about, in that context a witness helping someone new by charging them is inappropriate and shows a focus on one's own profitability over the good of the platform and its users.
However, taken out of this context, as you have done, you're 100% correct. There is nothing wrong with making a profit by helping people.
Fair enough.
Hey @luzcypher , I read meno's post recently also and resteemed both his and your posts. It's good to see people posting stuff like this trying to make steem a better place.
You are actually the one that pretty much got me started on here with running your Open Mic. So yeah a huge thanks goes out to you and @pfunk.
And in all honesty , that's what steemit needs ... people like you running things like Open Mic and on top of that actually helping other users without expecting something back. If only the whales on here understood that or cared about that. (And I'm not saying they are all like that).
Your points make total sense and Steemit is no different than other virtual and physical places.
Some people will try to enrich themselves by luring others in making them believe that them too can make easy money on the back of the platform.
People should concentrate on producing good content and curation and enjoy the platform and the interactions with others. Most importantly people should try to learn new things through Steemit.
Try to forget a little bit about the financial rewards for a while. These will follow in time. Steemit is not a place to make quick and effortless money.
Building a real community really does work it just takes more time and effort, but I think it's worth it and a hell of a lot more fun.
Unfortunately not enough people about about Jerry's scammings and his way of action. He's been kicked out of Udemy for his quick-rich schemes and he should be kicked out from here too . The way i see it, is he's trying to monetize every single interaction with a steemit account holder, and if it benefits the account holder, fine, but that is not the main goal of his actions and posts. I wonder why not whales gather colectively to flag his account/posts and start curating the platform of this bad apples>???
I've wondered that too. My only guess is that he's popular on YouTube and promoted the hell out of Steem. That can be good for the platform as well.
As i said, all of his actions are meant and acted upon to firstly help him; in order for him to have as many followers and people to bait, he needs to attract more and more people. The higher the numbers flooding in, the higher the chances they will follow him and thus hooking a potential milking cow. If he really wanted to act in the benefit of steemit and its users first and foremost, there are definitely way more ways to do that than the way he's doing now .
I will exagerate a bit to give you a more defined understanding, or where the edges are: There is this case: Someone enters your house to rob it; you hear some noise, you take your gun and walk in the dark and encounter the thief, which is speeding out to you. In a fraction of a second you shoot him and he dies.
Now there is a murder comited. That's the result . But the intention was to protect yourself, and therefore it is defined as self-defense, and therefore is not punishable.
The thief's intentions were to rob; and if he were to kill you, the same result would occur: a crime . But his intentions were to harm. And therefore is punishable.
Now Jerry, the result is he promoted steemit on youtube. But his intentions were focused on self-interest or on the interest of the platform and it's users? Well, his shitty posts clearly shows it he wants his pockets big as a hot-air balloon . So therefore, we can not judge him in a positive manner for having positive results as a side-effect. But he should be judged by what his intentions were for the short- and long-term as his main goal was meant to be 'a crime' as in the above example mentioned .
Hi @luzcypher
Can you tell me where I find information to create the almost instantaneous accounts? I have had this problem with new users since the other service that you name charges 5 Steem and I do not have the possibility to pay that. Thanks for the info
Estimado Profe, luego pasas el dato por favor. Saludos desde Venezuela.
If you read the very first comment in this post by @tcpolymath he explains some places where you can start almost free accounts.
Well done for this detailed post. I also don't like him, but because of the rude bashing of certain steemit members.
wow interenting opinion,
Good.and important read. I love the work you're putting down into making steemit a great place!
Caramba, esta si esta muy pero muy bien ... buen contenido. entretenido e informativo.
Very interesting post friend good job greetings
This is highly informative to hesitant new users. It can be so sickening waiting but this false help is just so bad. In fact, normally, with 2 STEEM, you will create an instant account and that is directly from Steemit. I can't believe Jerry could be as this
Trust me, I'm a doctor.
def considering taking my vote back
he may not be evil but naivety is not a good thing either def not a witness quality
Apart rom that I believe steemit will still have difficulty engaging people because of the power balance due originally from an unevenly distributed steem onforward
Believe it I tried to bring people in and actually send them 10sbd for a welcome gift, tried to simplify steemit for them by just posting 1 photo of their daily routine at the start or the end of day and talk about it but , somehow they get immediately turned off when they are not rewarded mainly because they sense the inefficiency of the system and no matter what you tell them after that it won't reset that feeling
Expecting to be immediately rewarded is a bit unrealistic. It takes time to gain followers and engage them.
This may help explain it better.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@luzcypher/growing-your-steemit-blog-to-create-long-term-results
I tried to explain :))
Jerry doesn't support minnows like us. In order to help us just name the price by buying votes.hahaha.. jerry focusing for his own benefits in this platform
The sad thing is that he is so dumb that he didn't realize he just had to lower his price. Yeah, AnonSteem exists. Doesn't mean other services can't make accounts too. Hell, he probably could have gotten away with charging $10.
There's this weird divide here. On the one side, you have people making fucktons of money and the other side you have people working their ass off for literally nothing. Some of them even act and say things that seem to suggest that getting paid for their time and work would somehow be immoral or something. It's really fucking weird.
We need more people just offering services for reasonable prices, rather than everything being charity or scam.
Woah didn't know @avilsd had a second channel!
Nice one - a summary of the guy I call Jerry Scamfield since he joined. The sad thing is most of us know he is an idiot with no expertise and a scammer that got kicked out of several communities but still people follow him - nowadays probably mainly as of his voting bot. Personally I gave up telling others how shitty certain folks are (there are more than Jerry only) but I feel you did a great job and we should do series once a week at least (by alternating posters) about people that do NOTHING for the community - thanks for pointing this out again as a reminder. Steemit owes you a lot for bringing in valuable people linked to "souls" lol - one is currently celebrating they kicked our football ass in Russia, the other one is probably beaching somewhere far from Munich, who knows lol.
I know @anomadsoul is in Russia at the World Cup right now.
I know that @anomadsoul is in Russia as I refered to this above :-)
That's who I thought you were hinting at. I had a chance to hook up with him before he went. I'm so happy for him and he's doing great on Steemit. I introduced him to the site a year ago.
Yeah I also know it was you to bring him in - he is awesome, we talk often and I am also happy for him. Good boy you and him :-).
It's that postgraduate ceremonial hat and and gown he wears which gets me.
He deserved to be booted out of the top 20 witnesses just for that.
Looks more like a jester's cap to me. Something befitting of a fool.
Thanks @luzcypher for openly and explicitly exposing what I intuitively felt from first contact. You are delivering a great service to this community in making as many members as possible aware of the delusional scams unfortunately perpetrated here, especially of when/where they are hidden amongst apparently good deeds as well.
I think it is funny that someone who was a top 20 witness for so long claims to not have any idea what anon.steem was. Just about everyone that has been here on the platform for more than a few months knows what that is. The dude is a joke on so many levels.
really scammer, I feel disappointed for this person to this person in my country called "peseteros" thank for warn the community.
He doesn't, he's just looking for every angle and doesn't mind the gray areas. I called him out for charging for a course which he didn't know anything about at the time when he first landed here, about becoming a witness.