This is an awesome post, and all things I try to live by here in Steemland. Right now I am interested and somewhat hyper-focused on a tight-knit community of brilliant Nigerians who are trying to reset their community's skepticism about online ways to make money. (Apparently a lot of people have been burned there in recent years in BitConnect type Ponzi Schemes, and many won't touch another "online way to make money".) I am trying to figure out how to help them convince people otherwise, especially since Nigeria is set soon to surpass India in rank of the most poverty stricken country. So many people's lives could change if they embraced Steemit, as they can survive on so much less than those in the West.
I also have no interest in chasing whale balls, although I do plan to talk today a little about the challenges that face those who are trying to make a living using Steem that are trying to get there on community upvote alone. I am not sure that's possible, just because the amount of active users is so low, even if you have a lot of people following you. So that's kind of discouraging. This is most evident, I've said in the past, with @haejin. He has one of the highest follower counts of like 18k people, yet without @ranchorelaxo's vote, he barely surpasses 40 bucks. So you can imagine that for the average minnow with only a few hundred followers, even if they are engaged, it would be hard to ever make anything without a mega upvote. I am trying to get away from that with DTube, as that is what I rely on for consistent bigger upvotes. I know that will diminish with the addition of more users and bigger users like YouTubers though, so I want to have a backup plan. Just not sure what that is yet.
Obviously the most important thing to me on here is helping others. I've set up my show that way, but I would also like to be able to give people a more hefty upvote, and maybe SP allocation at some point. (I'm very interested in the idea of giving people from poorer countries a "micro-loan" of sorts.) At the same time, while in an obvious place of privilege compared to others on here, my own family has been hitting obstacle after obstacle that has set us back financially, so finding something consistent that allows me a little flexibility and a little financial help is also attractive for my personal life.
I have also been applying my personal skills to try to expand Steemit. Steemit really needs some marketing help! Like whoa! The first step is word of mouth, and that's what I am focused on right now!
Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble on! Great, thought-provoking article!
What a great response, I don't know where to start! You have certainly laid out a plan of action and I'm liking what I see!
I'm glad to hear about the support for the poorer communities, taking about this on dtube would be great for you and them I suspect.
Valid points about @haejin follower accounts, however 90% of these followers are from twitter and other 'sources' and so I think he's not the ideal test case.
For me, you actually only need 4/5 large followers for it to work financially, one of these could indeed be dtube.
And honestly, having 7500 follows can be very time consuming if wish (as I do) to try and respond to every worthwhile comment - I barely get out of my replie some days. Not that I'm complaining, the support is great!
Yes Steemit greatly needs marketing! And it's up to us, a social network should be marketed by its members I think. And I'm happy they haven't advertised - get your friends / family / real life communities here quick for that guaranteed support! 😁
Thanks Beth, awesome comments!