The following conclusions were reached using the data compiled by @arcange who publishes daily posts about the state of this blockchain.
Many seem to think the reward system needs adjusting. They often complain that the Whales have too much power and STEEM will only succeed if the compensation program is changed to distribute the power in a more even fashion. To this I quote the Brits: "bollacks".
There is no need to change the reward system. It is working in an ideal manner and the stats are proving it. The Whales are not getting more powerful (ala the rich get richer mindset). This is not a bankster run system. Instead, this is blockchain with a system in place that ensures the distribution moves from the hands of a few to the hands of many.
To start, I must say that the Whales deserve what they have. For anyone to feel it unfair that Whales have so much SP when they bought into a system when it was far from guaranteed are only speaking from jealousy. Chat with some of the Whales about what the outlook was like when STEEM went from a few dollars to down to 6 cents. Then consider if you would have had the kahunas to buy at 6 cents when it looked like STEEM was going to sink. I am going to surmise that most reading would not have bought.
Therefore, those who were "lucky" enough to buy when the things were looking bleak deserve to be in the position they are.
That said, this is not going to be eternal. In fact, the last 90 days shows a shift is happening.
Here is a snapshot of the situation on Oct 26, 2017:
The total MVests were 390,055 at that time.
On a percentage basis:
Whales 71%
Orcas 13%
Dolphins 9%
Minnows 4%
Red Fish 2.3%
Inactive 0%
Do not ask me why the Inactive were zero at that time...perhaps @arcange did not use that category then.
The top two categories controlled 84% of the Voting Power.
Now let us look at the latest (1/25/18) breakdown.
The total MVests here is 392,754.
On a percentage basis:
Whales 65%
Orcas 17%
Dolphins 10%
Minnows 5%
Red Fish 1.2%
Inactive 1.6%
As we can see, even though the Orcas had an increase, the value of the top two categories went down to 82%; a 2% decrease in 90 days. This amounts to an 8% drop on a yearly basis.
The change over that time period is as such:
Whales -7.5%
Orcas +25.7%
Dolphins +12.2%
Minnows +24.2%
Red Fish -48.92%
Inactive Was 0% to start
What jumps out is that the Red Fish took a big hit. I am going to guess that many of these ended up in the Inactive account category. Also, with such a jump in the Minnows, I am going to guess many moved up.
The big takeaway from all this is the Whales saw their power significantly reduced. A large part of this might be from powering down. With STEEM heading up, some might have decided to cash out. Also, with SBD increasing, many Whales could have decided to cash that in while the other categories are taking this opportunity to power up at an increased rate.
We will have to see what happens going forward. Nevertheless, it does appear that as more people enter the system and increase their SP, this takes a larger part of the reward pool away from the select few at the top. Quite simply, they cannot post enough articles to withstand the onslaught brought on by the sheer number of newer people.
For all the complaining about the rich getting richer, it does not appear to be the case. There are more MVests in the hands of people under 50K than there were 90s days ago.
The distribution is leveling out a bit.
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I think we should leave the reward system the way it is. Let the free market decide the price of SBD and let the blockchain continue to assume the price is $1 USD...it accelerates adoption and truly lets the market drive our growth. I know for sure if I got 2 SBD worth $2 instead of 2 SBD worth roughly $12 I would probably not spend as much time making comments and being part of conversations
I upvoted you for your honesty.... 'it's not about the money' is just so much easier to say when you're average earning per post is a guaranteed $50!
well...first of all more than 80% of wealth in the hands of 0.16% (!) of the accounts is still a catastrophic distribution.
And secondly, the main problem I see is that with steem, the economic distribution is directly causing a political distribution, as for witness voting, the SP, and not the number of votes, counts. And the rich determining everything without any chance for the 99.9% to counter any decision is not a good system.
I know most whales have the best interests of the blockchain in mind and all, but we really shouldn't rely on trust in the upper 1% so much, that can go terribly wrong should just a tiny group of people decide to abuse the power.
A year ago, 90% of the wealth was in the hands of the .16%.....
So it is changing.
On planet earth, 10% of the population - not 0.16 - are holding 85% of global wealth, and that is a bad system already.
And there, with many democracies around, political power is not even directly connected to this distribution.
So steem is much, much worse distributed than money on planet earth at any given time. Even feudal Europe was better.
I do NOT say we should take away wealth from the whales. They have mostly earned it, or invested early, when everything was just a dream. That's ok.
But we have to put mechanisms in place for a faster catching-up of content creators. Plus we have to take "political" power to the people - i.e. seperate it at least partly from the wealth distribution.
Or we'll end in a non-participatory oligarchy, and that's bad for anyone who holds a single steem.
I've written a lot about this. Steem Power is a measure of platform trust and currently the only way to gain trust is to invest in the platform.
This was a good idea to get Steem going, but it's already outdated itself. We need to employ smarter metrics of trust. You should only get Steem Power when you interact positively with the blockchain and you should lose it for negative encounters.
I've made a lot of suggestions like having trials-by-jury and things like that but I suppose I'll have to become a much bigger player in the community before I'm taken seriously.
My most popular post received 1.27$. I am on Steemit a week, so consider it a success. I read a lot of posts and articles and believe that the whales do deserve what they have.
I have a question - 3 days in a row I have problems on Steemit, I can't publish posts, add comments, get rewarded. I see a sign "naditinkoff bandwidth limit exceeded. Please wait to transact or power up STEEM.". Please tell me what this means? Thanks in advance for the answer.
When Steemit is having problems they have to greatly limit bandwidth. It has no effect if you have enough steem power in your account. The problem will "correct itself", usually after 6-12 hours.
Right now my bandwidth is 1 MB. Usually it's 66 MB. However, it's going up. It will be back up to 66 MB soon™.
I have 50 SP
You have 15 SP https://steemd.com/@naditinkoff and 150KB bandwidth left so you can post again.
Thanks for the reply!
I think it is a case of rich getting richer while poor become better somehow.
A lot of minnows including me are getting some rewards but are not satisfy with our rewards and whales upvoting whales system. But people that invested their fiat and effort in Steemit at the early stage sure deserve to get rewarded for it.
Saying all these, a lot of newcomers and minnows are definitely frustrated by the returns on their well created posts. It is not a competition, the growth of steemit is beneficial to all. The whales should support the others fishes, the more the merrier...right?
you have 23 SP which is worth about $138 at this moment after being on here since December.
Just curious, how much did you make on other social media sites in your first month on there?
hehe...definitely $0. Naturally we all want more, we will love to make more from a well researched and written post than few cents especially when you see people raking in hundreds of dollars from every post. Like I said before many of them have paid dues in investment of fiat or effort, so well deserved.
For me, it is not really about the reward now but potential is enormous. Steemit is a platform like no other that sure reward creativity, hardwork and relationship building. I am glad I am part of it and I have been inviting everyone around me to join the moving train.
Thanks TM,
Sometimes we all lose focus when we're endlessly comparing and forget that Steemians are where they are at because they add value to to the ecosystem when nobody wanted to and nobody cared to.
Thanks again for summarizing the data from arcange and providing a useful comparison for perspective and insight.
Respects,
Dj
No system is perfect and no system will ever be perfect. This system compared to any other system in human history is 100% transparent so issues (and there will always be issues) can get discussed and will eventually resolve themselves in a non-violent manner. To @taskmaster4450 's point, the wealth is being distributed down and in a more even way...unlike anything else we've seen recently across the globe. Those that took the risk at .06 / Steem are now being paid for their risk as they cash out a portion of their Steem. Others who are taking the risk now (like myself and others who put money in at $1.50) will look to take money out when Steem is $50 or $100 and the distribution will get even more even. Again, no system is perfect but this is a lot fairer than most I've seen. I was on Facebook for years (not anymore) and I'm still waiting on my checks, they must have gotten held up in the mail...
Im still a minnow hoping to become a dolphin soon. I was ganna buy more steem but decided to earn the rest for now.
Nothing is wrong with the SP and who have it, it only a matter of jealous as you said... anyone can get their. investment and risk determine Success or failure.
You're exactly right, and as long as we stick to it, and deliver quality content as often as we can, we'll be right there at the top with them someday.
This is fucking fantastic news, and I'm so glad it isn't going the other way, but in reality... it really couldn't.
I mean think about it, the more people that join, the larger the other demographics get, which means smaller vote power, but collectively... an unstoppable force no doubt! 🐬
well I think the reward pool should be left just the way it is though there are still some things I find confusing on this platform but I am catching up fast, especially from your post. Thanks for sharing
I'm glad you pointed out that dispute that some feel it unfair many of those whales are majorly early adopters that their investment represents a risk of effort and funds that actually paid off.
I read a lot of those sort of complaints on exterior sites while I was researching the platform before I joined.
Fact is the rewards they now get are part of the fruits of their labour.
Large part of me wishes I had joined at that time hell when I first joined after I learnt not to use the built in converter I could buy 2.8 steem with 1 sbd so converting to power up was heaps easier than now with some days being near 1-1
Still don't want steemit to go backwards tho
The voting power of every category was never the issue, it was its abuse. There is still no way to prevent self votes and bots from promoting whoever has enough SP. Meaning, the rich get richer even if they have the same power as minnows.
The facts state otherwise. Even with the voting bot and self voting, the Whales percentage of the total dropped by a fair amount in a 90 day period.
You can opine to the contrary but the fact do not back up what you state.
You might as well expect votes to have the same power regardless of SP, so there will be no whale abuse at all.
Then we deal with Zerg rush XD
What is Whale Abuse?
Please define that for me....
Those with the largest SP always getting the greatest rewards by simply having all the little fish upvoting whatever they say or do, in hopes of getting voted back
And how is that Whale abuse?
Are you saying that it is the fault of the whales that newbies upvote their posts?
By the way most whales do not post a lot of articles...how many articles have you seen from @ned or @steemit?
I didn't check how much they post, but @haejin posts 4 times per day and has hundreds upvoting his witchcraft masked as crypto advices, just for getting curation and maybe upvotes.
I don't want to claim full credit... but I've recently jumped from red fish to minnow, and while that doesn't count for much in Mvests stats, it does count for something in pure unadulterated enthusiasm.... haha, I'm mucking around.
Obviously the whales had a massive headstart... I can't even comprehend putting so much effort into something for 2 years wondering if it was going to be an abject failure or not.
We owe the whales a massive debt of gratitude for creating the infrastructure we enjoy today, and we owe them to take our new roles seriously. I'm happy the system is rebalancing towards a more shared powerbase but I hope the whales stick around to help guide us. ..
Thank you for your humility @aussieninja.
The fact that people who are consistently on here see their accounts get bigger shows that the system works.
Those who put in the effort and consistently contribute to the platform see the results.
Too many come on here looking for a free lunch.
does this have anything to do with delegation?
I assume and hope it does.
I do not know if the numbers include what is delegated out or deals only with SP (MVests in that way).
Again arcange did the numbers so I am not familiar with what he used as the basis.
Interesting. Is there a dynamic program that tracks these shifts?
I just used @arcange's stats....
I have no idea if there is.....but he keeps putting up those posts on a daily basis which means there is an easy record.
This is some exciting news, great work with the statistics.
Like you said, we wouldn't be where we are right now if it wasn't for the early Whales adopting into the system and driving it forward for us to enjoy.
As time goes on and more and more people educate themselves on the platform we will see more changes and more dynamics changing. As long as each person believes that their voice makes a difference, it'll change.
Looking forward to the year ahead, it's super exciting.
Great article man! It's good to know that im entering a level even playing field, that rewards everyone! I look forward to the future with steemit!
Great anaylisys about the category wise distribution of voting powers. nicely compile the whole statistic by @arcange. Thanks @taskmaster4450 for sharing such an informative updates.
I was of the mind that whales were set to just make more and more, in fact that's one of the reasons I left for a few months, im glad I'm being proved wrong.
You are right when stating that the whales deserve having this much SP, however I'm glad to see how steem is distributed, it's pretty freaking cool to be honest.
I've been watching Filip de Franco talking about the recent youtube adpocalypse and was thinking that dutube will benefit a lot form this. The only thing that bugs me is the fact dtube doesn't support 720p which is the bare minimum for any serious content creator.
I saw that report and see that the balance indeed are shifting as a lot of redfish, dolphins and Orcas are powering up.
Whales on the other hand are seeing its a good opportunity to move some funds and also delegating.
This bodes well for Steem as the movement is a positive one as Orca's and Dolphins are able to reach out and influence a positive behavior with Redfishes and Minnows.
My goal is to get a good ration for SBD to Steem and keep powering up till 1000 SP and then new goals.
I cant argue with that mindset....
Powering up is a good thing to do...
Those lucky ones gotta care for their investments. We know facebook youtube or else can't shake steem's place anymore but if I found an alternative to steem. A little shining project, I would right jump into that and become their "lucky" one. Instead of drowning here, than watch these wales washed up onto a shore. :evil_smile:
I did my part by switching from Minnow to Dolphin in that time. Good to see that SP is being a bit more evenly distributed.
Yes you did @flauwy.
Plus you are trying to help others move up as well....
All the upvotes given to minnows helps out a great deal.
As always great information. I think this would just help motivate those of us who are lower on the totem pole. If we all work hard we will all be rewarded
With how much drama there has been over the reward system, this is really nice to see, thanks for doing the comparison.
I think over time we are going to see it evening out even more. It's going to become much more difficult to buy your way to whaledom, and as more people join and produce quality content, there will be more value to find in posts that each individual actually enjoys, so people will stop flocking to whales all the time like they do now. It's funnny to see a whales post come out and not twenty minutes later they have a hundred comments.
You are absolutely right when you mentioned the fact that whales deserve what they have.... Infact they are the reason why this community is alive. Because if they didn't take the risk of investing when the market was down and bad... I don't think we'll all be here trying to reply this message....
Thank you very much... This is a well documented post @taskmaster4450 ...insightful and informative!
Steem On
Just the topic I've been thinking about... Glad to see the distribution is becoming more even - and glad to be participating in that process!
I have a category request if you're ever bored out of your mind --- SPAMMERS! ☺
Or - if you've already written an article, could you send a link?
I think the people at the top deserve what they have. I can see where the argument comes from though, and how their votes are more valuable than others. It may be something we should still talk about so corruption doesn't happen.
Dolphins and Orcas give me hope. They've a general tendency of uplifting minnows as the memory of 'what it was like back in the day's is still fresh in their minds.
I never thought about it that way. The outlook must've been bleak back then and it was through the resilience of these whales, we see Steem stabilizing at $5 level.
Thanks for this perspective.
This system is far better than others , on other places we see whales have control of almost 90% of assets . Sometimes even 99% . Steemit is far better than the other options we have right now . I have seen many whales donating SP to newbies , i have never seen this on any other platform . The best part about steemit is we know who whales are , we can interact with them . Some whales make contests to reward steemians . We can work together to promote this platform !
thank you guys, I am very happy to read your writing this. it is true, if we want to be more great then we have to make our SP more. and if you want to do it that way it is great to use. it's great to be friends with you, because I have a lot of knowledge and motivation from you. Thank you friend.
The numbers are definitely shifting. I think this shows that no matter what others say about whales, orcas, and dolphins abusing their selfvote it is apparent that they are consistently spreading the wealth.
In fact that meme makes me angry. Look at all the projects started by the big leaguers specifically for the purpose of putting money in the pockets of smaller fish. I say if you don't benefit from these projects you should wonder what it is you are doing wrong and try to improve rather than blaming the larger holders of SP or saying that the "system isn't fair" .
Probably what it is, is that you suffer from a scarcity mindset. The law of attraction is real, especially on Steemit. Go out there and get it! It has worked for me and I am not special. The negative nelly will look at my wallet now and say that it isn't working because I don't have 10,000 SP. Quit looking for excuses. That 120SP is gonna make me rich while you are still pointing at the system and saying it is broke.
</rant>Thanks for the post @taskmaster4450.
Keep Steeming!
Interesting data. I wan to know if power down is forced on users on yearly basis. Have you seen something like that?
Rydhi
xox
No there is no forced power down...it is totally by choice.
It makes sense...at some point, people start to take profits. At this point it time, we are seeing those who were able to buy in at under 20 cents taking some money out. Down the road, the people who bought in at 85 cents might take some.
That´s amazing for the community!
I think the whales are a very important part of steemit and as you showed off in the post, the more people we have in the community the more equality we will verify in the future.
I just love how much I can learn here, and even better now knowing that being a small influence matters...
You are just at the tip of the iceberg @diogosantos.
There is a long way down this rabbit hole and it takes a degree of bravery (and some craziness) to venture down it. LOL
We are all here to help each other and pass on what we learn. None of us have it all down so we share what we know.
That is why reading comments is so important. There is a wealth of knowledge in there.
It´s very good to know and feel welcome in the community!
I´m here to contribute with the most that I can, and especially to learn a lot (that I´ll need in my future career).
Thanks for this info. I am halfway to minnowhood myself, lol, almost entirely just on earnings, as I've only traded a wee amount of SBD to Steem when I could (I need to cash some out to pay bills). But already there's a difference from when I first started. I've found a groove and some community. And the higher value of both SBD and Steem certainly is nice. 😊
That is what you should be doing @phoenixwren.
Power up when you can....it is the only way to build wealth. It is unfortunate that you are in a situation where you have to use some of your STEEM to pay bills. Yet it is also amazing that you are able to use your efforts on here via STEEM to pay your bills. That is the wonderful aspect and life changing part of STEEM. People are already relieving some of the financial pressures because of this blockchain. You are not the only one I encountered who is doing that....I am honored to be part of a community which enables one to do what you are doing.
Besides, I might be there myself being in the industry I am in and the shape the company I work for is in......
So I understand the concept of having to pay some bills via Steemit...I am trying to hold on as long as I can at work in hopes of a massive appreciation of STEEM while using this time where I have fiat coming in to build my account as much as I can.
Exactly. I am so grateful to be here on Steemit, and able to take care of some needs and invest for the future, as well as contribute in my small upvotes way to others doing the same!
I've already cashed out - not total earnings, just what I've cashed out to pay bills - more than YouTube ever paid me. And I was small potatoes on YouTube (and they have recently demonitized me for it), but still last time I checked I had like 165,000+ lifetime views on my channel - WAY more than the number of views and upvotes I have on Steemit! Steemit wins, for sure.
I am not too familiar with YouTube's practices other than what I read about on here.
But what I am gathering is they are going through another changeover which is going to screw the smaller content creators even more. Talk about demonizing your user base. I guess they want to facilitate the larger fish....
Hopefully many of those people will switch over to D.tube and realize they will make a lot more money on there than they ever did on YouTube.
I also have been encountering newer people who seem to lack the gratitude you have. When I see them complaining about getting very little on a post, I ask how much did they get on Facebook or YouTube?
That usually shuts them up...at least for a while.
People just want their get rich NOW daydream, and if it doesn't come as fast as a lotto win, they give up and blame. Likewise they want instant gratification as far as fame and followers. Everyone expects to go viral.
I have no desire to be famous, and if I won the powerball I would build the tiny house of my dreams with solar panels and an electric car, and then have fun giving gobs of money away like candy on Samhain (Halloween), making other people's dreams come true. Oh, and I'd pay off my student loans. LOL.
I think it's really a matter of people who have bought into the marketing ad portrayal of riches and stuff fulfilling you who have that insatiable need for instant success.
No this isnt a get rich now...although it could make many of us that way in a year or so.
There is a lot more money coming at us...I believe that...not only will STEEM continue to increase but it will also see the addition of more tokens.
I believe anyone who is here and powering up, as much as they can, will profit handsomely...in many different ways.
And you are right, being rich does not guarantee ease and happiness. Rich people have problems too. However, being poor does create a host of difficulties that the rich dont have to deal with....including physical issues from lack of quality healthcare or improper nutrition (the worst foods are the cheapest).
You are doing well @Phoenixwren....by this time next you I think you will be amazed at the position you are in.
Oh, don't get me wrong - I've spent most of my life below the poverty line. I darn well know a greater income would help improve things for me immensely, lol. But that also means I'm used to getting by on less, and feeling like what is small to others is huge and amazing to me. Ergo, gratitude. ;)
On that note, I just did a little power up and finally got to 250 SP, the quarter mark toward the 1000 goal! Yay!
Great news, thanks for sharing.
And as a Brit...
It's "bollocks", unless you was going for a cockney accent too. LOL such a cool word.
And all this time I thought I was a Minnow. Guessing Red Fish are smaller again...anyway, one day I'll be a bigger fish - no matter what I'm called.
It is good for the system that the whales are giving up some of their power, and over time it should distribute a little more. But there'll always be some inbalance, and that's alright.
Yes, the whales do deserve their bigger share of the pie, because like you say, being there from the start and having the nerve/vision to invest when things didn't look as rosey.
And so too the Orcas and Dolphins. It might be tough to see those with way more money sometimes, but if we small fish treat that as inspiration, the whole platform will benefit.
Remember, this is still early days. Today's minnows are tomorrows dolphins.
Plus do not forget the fact that the higher the price of STEEM, the more valuable being a minnow is.
For example, an account of 500 SP at $20 is worth more than my 5000 SP was when Steem was $.85.
I believe even Minnows are going to be very happy campers in a few months....the price of this is going to skyrocket.
Thanks for the visual and historical breakdown, I was extremely skeptical and suspicious about the inner workings of steemit prior to joining. Reading reveiws didnt help much as the majority tend to paint it as a paramyd scheme built to collaps and ultimately only benefiting those on top. It became clear to me that the people writing those reviews were likely either unlucky and or not very devoted. You sir, have a nact for presenting these revelations in a way that is easily digestible for ninjas!
Suburashii (SMOKE BOMB!)
To be honnest I’m not planning to buy some Steem but I don’t have any problems if other are doing it. Just trying to work hard writting wuality posts, comments and upvoting posts which I really do find interesting. You get whatyou deserve, which can be like writting wuality content or having th u to buy into the system.
I see a lot of minnows upvoting each other just to make a cent, people upvoting their own replies and so on. These are things I can’t understand(have to admit that once in a whilI do upvote a post of my own). Or copy pasting their repies on every post from a reputation above 40.
We are in it for the money or the apprecition. For me it is the last. If I do reply I did read the article in full and comment on the content, not to get an up-vote but trying to start an interacting.
It is sometimes hard, when you post get unnoticed because it is snowed under by copy pastes or just graphics to get an upvote.
Sorry for the long reply but I was on a roll!
How do you know if your a minnow or dolphin?
Is there a certain reputation number you have to reach?
Or does it go by if you have a slider?
My upvote is still approximately .01 so I'm think I'm a minnow. It really doesn't matter to me right now, as I'm not going anywhere.
I'm gonna post good comments, upvote 10 times a day, and resteem quality content as much as my bandwidth allows.
Future 🐋 is going to have dinner now. Fine post Task. 😎
A rule of thumb.
500 Minnow
5K Dolphin
50K Orca'
500K Whale
Thank you task for all you teach us. 😎
I’m very new on Steemit and I can already tell that people who consistently create good content on here get rewarded. “Consistently” and “good” being the key words. :)). In my opinion, there is no perfect system that would make everyone happy. But if it makes the majority happy while consistently improving itself, it’s a good system and it should remain that way. IMHO!
I get your point, but still I´d like to see a way bigger increase of Minnows at the moment, because out of these Minnows future Dolphins and Whales will develop. Since only a tiny percentage "will make it", the base amount needs to grow exponentially to secure a better future distribution of VP.
That is true but people not signing up is not the fault of the system (other than the manual sign up process which will be forked out).
Yes there will be more people signing on which should dilute the pool even further.
Great observation and great way if looking at the blocckhain.. I like the shift in steem power!
The wales are powering down?
most excellent post, thanks for sharing
Thanks for information but i'm stil confused. Im still alot of learning 😅
good to know all this fact and i understand that whale are the early adopter of steem.
One of the best content choice..Thanks for sharing my friend ..
Keep it up...
Me pareció interesante este articulo, ademas opino que cada quien merece estar donde merece estar, si arriesgas tienes derecho a ganar, isa que hay que trabajar duro porque al fin y al cabo todos ganamos
I have seen several other intelligent people predict huge prices in the future per steem. I, of course really hope those predictions are right!
But we must never forget the responsibility we have now as this community to make a steem a welcoming and positive place. I think we are important for the future success of the steem blockchain, so we need to keep making a steemit a great place for interactions.