Did You Know Some Steem Apps Are Taking Your Rewards!?
As I was browsing through Steemit aimlessly yesterday (as I typically do) I came across a video that grabbed my attention and quite frankly caused my jaw to hit the floor. @dnews broke the news (to me, at least) that DTube is getting 25% of Your Author Rewards. I watched every second of this video in amazement. How did I not know that Dtube was taking 25% of my author rewards? And now I wanted to know how much other applications built on the Steem blockchain were taking.
Here's How It Works...
With Hard Fork 18 (v0.18.0) came the introduction of author reward splitting, otherwise known as "Comment Reward Beneficiaries". With this feature not only can you share your rewards from comments but also from your posts. Instead of taking everything for yourself you can add a beneficiary to share your hard earned rewards with. If you'd like to learn more about the process of setting up a beneficiary for your post, see this article by @heimindanger as he explains it very well.
So How Can Steem Apps Take My Rewards?
Well.. you would assume that you would need to explicitly give permission for a Steem app to be able to take a portion of your rewards, right? Not exactly. When you log into an app it is up to you to understand how the app functions and how the developer rewards themselves for their hard work in building the platform. Not to mention, they have costs with maintaining and improving these apps. This is why most Steem developers have have decided to monetize their efforts using this feature.
And before you start thinking, "These guys are robbing me blind!".. remember that it's monetization like this that incentivizes developers to spend their days and nights writing complicated lines of code. This in turn allows us to move away from sites like YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, Instagram, etc. So I'm not saying that this is a bad thing. In fact, I think this was a brilliant idea. What I have issue with is the amount (or weight) that some of these apps are taking. I also feel that there should be more transparency between developers and users. As a user, we have no say in how much we allow an app to take from our rewards. They decide on a set amount for ALL users. And as you'll see from the table below, some take as high as 25%! And most of us aren't even aware that this is even happening.
| App | Purpose of the Application | Beneficiary Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Dtube | Crypto-decentralized video platform, built on top of the STEEM Blockchain and the IPFS peer-to-peer network. | 25% |
| Dsound | Decentralized sound publishing and monetization platform based on Steem blockchain and IPFS. | 25% |
| Utopian.io | Utopian uses the Steem blockchain to reward Open Source contributors. | 25% |
| Dmania | Make money with memes, funny pictures and videos. | 25% |
| Steepshot | Image platform that rewards people for sharing their lifestyle and visual experience. | 15% |
| ChainBB | Blockchain based decentralized forum software powered by the Steem blockchain. | 15% |
| Esteem | Opensource Steem Mobile application with support for iOS, Android, Windows Phones. | 5% |
| Steemit | Steemit is a blogging and social networking website on top of the Steem blockchain that rewards both authors and curators of content. | 0% |
| Dlive | The first decentralized video live streaming platform built on the Steem blockchain. | 0% |
| Busy.org | Decentralized social network with a unique and feature-rich interface for the Steem blockchain. | 0% |
My hat goes off to Dlive and Busy as they've opted out of using this monetization feature. Of course there's nothing to say they won't implement this at a later time as expenses begin to add up. But I highly doubt they'll go from 0% to 25% as that would be a huge jump and probably upset a lot of people. And obviously Steemit isn't going to take your rewards. Heck, they're even paying our account creation fees which tells you they're more interested in people coming to the Steem blockchain than anything else.
Why Should I Continue Using These Apps?
You may be asking yourself if it's worth even using these applications anymore. The short answer is Yes. There are several benefits to using say... Dtube instead of YouTube... or... Steepshot instead of just posting your pictures onto Steemit.com. The first and probably the biggest benefit is this little thing called exposure. You see, when you post your video on Dtube it also automatically posts on Steemit.com. This means you could possibly have twice as many people watching your video then if you had just posted it on Steemit with a YouTube embed code. It's the same thing with Steepshot. When you post a picture there it also gets added over on Steemit.com. And believe it or not, there are people who only use Dtube and Steepshot; they never even come over to Steemit... ever. So you're really hitting two different audiences with your content.
The second benefit is that that 25% being taken from Dtube is far less than the 45%+ that Google takes from your YouTube monetization. Okay, maybe this isn't a benefit, but one hell of a justification. If you're a YouTube creator and you've gone through the YouTube Adsense agreement in all its fine print, then you'll know that Google earns around 45% from the ad revenue created from your videos. This is assuming that your video doesn't become demonitized in which case Google takes 100% of the ad revenue.
Another benefit is something that not everyone has experienced. But every so often, when I post on one of these alternative platforms, the developers themselves will upvote my posts. I've had this happen numerous times with @dtube and @steepshot and it typically means big bucks. In fact, I've had this happen often enough that its totally outweighed the impact of the rewards I'm sending over to them each week. This may not have happened to you yet, but if you stay consistent, and post quality content, there's no reason you shouldn't see a dev upvote in your future.
Aren't There Any Workarounds?
Yes, sort of. Some users who have become aware of the "Comment Reward Beneficiaries" feature that apps are using have found workarounds. However, there's no possible way to use these applications without giving up the percentage of your rewards that they have set out in their code. To bypass the sharing of your rewards you would simply need to quit using these apps altogether, which I doubt many of you are willing to do. I know I'm not willing to part ways.
Dtube - Some users are now uploading videos to YouTube and embedding it into a Steemit post, then wait a little bit and upload the same videos to Dtube. This still gets them their double exposure and they earn 100% of the rewards they are supposed to be paid out from the Steemit post with the YouTube embedded video. This seems like a bright idea but then your Steemit blog has two of the same posts on it which to me seems kind of tacky.
Dlive - Embed your YouTube Live videos into a Steemit blog post. Then post again to Dtube after the live session has ended. And I'm not 100% but I think you can also upload previously recorded videos to @dlive as well. Triple exposure anybody!?
Steepshot - You could post your #photography or #travel pictures to Steemit.com in a blog post instead of using the Steepshot app. However, this will not get you the double exposure and could actually hurt your rewards as Steepshot has become very popular and typically gets me more upvotes than if I just posted to Steemit.com.
SHAMELESS PLUG: If you love travel and photography, consider following my @travelpreneur channel!
As far as the other applications go, there aren't really any workarounds that I'm aware of. I don't even consider the ones above to be great ideas but it hasn't kept others from utilizing them. You'll just have to weigh the options for yourself and decide what is best for you and what you're trying to do here on the Steem blockchain. At the end of the day you may just be creating more work for yourself than it's worth.
My Conclusion
I'm personally not changing a thing. Although I was initially shocked to learn that I had been sharing my hard earned rewards with these apps without even knowing it, I plan to continue as I always have. There are way too many benefits to using the apps that I use. And I'm more than happy to do what I can to help them succeed. One thing I do wish is that the use of this function was more apparent. I hope that in the future these applications will put a warning on their login screen such as the example below...
I think a notice as simple as this would go a long way with building trust with the users and helping them to be more aware of what they're participating in. Everybody loves transparency. And let's be honest, with all the lines of code that goes into these apps, one more wouldn't hurt! 😉
UPDATE: I've decided to boycott Dtube until some changes have been made. If you'd like to see my update video, please go here.
What are your thoughts? If this is all news to you, will you be changing how you use any of these applications? Do you feel there should be more transparency? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Recent Posts
- Steem, Steemit, Dtube, and Dlive Updates
- 5 Ways to Maximize Your Curation Rewards
- How (And Why) I Created A Second Steemit Account
- Where Does The Money Come From (Value and Rewards Pool)?
- How I Went From 25 to 60 Rep in Under 3 Months
- Top 3 Ways To Grab Your Followers' Attention
- Steemit Games? Yes, And Today We Test Out SteemGar!
- Steemit Security: How to Protect and Recover Your Account
- SteemWorld.org: The Future of Steemit Stats?
- MinnowBooster Project Overview
Enjoy Travel and Photography? Check out my travel channel at @travelpreneur for incredible pictures and travel suggestions!
Oh! I knew that dtube is taking 25% and I think this is a fair way to support the hosting costs and the developers, but I didn't know about all the rest! Some of them have no hosting costs at all - especially esteem and dmania (which I rarely use) - so I see no reason for them to take this high % without even telling anyone. This really is an eye opener - thank you @brandonfrye
Really great to get this into attention. Never knew before. I agree with you about it’s high % and before that should be a warning ⚠️ in the beginning.
Btw.. is it safe to give your active key to steemconnect ?
And do they have hidden fees too to come t you to such dapps?
Yes, steemconnect is encrypted and trusted. The great thing about steemconnect is it keeps you from having to provide your Steem credentials to the app developers. And no, steemconnect doesn't charge anything.
Do you have a source Link about that? I.e encryptonction of the keys.. and How much credentials dapps developers should know or not Know?
Thanks @brandonfrye
Sure, here's a link to info about SteemConnect V2.0 directly from the Steemit Inc. Blog: https://steemit.com/steemit/@steemitblog/steemconnect-2-0-easy-fast-efficient-access-to-the-steem-blockchain
This gives a brief explanation of how it works and why it's good for both users and developers.
Thank you so much for the sincere help 🙏🏼
Thanks
That’s Gr8. That’s what i kept asking about for the last week But No clear answer till i got your answer. 🙏🏼❤️
Wow, I didn't know that, definitely a safer option.
I heared the maker of D.tube in an interview with Ned say that a lot of money needs to be paid for IPFS storage...
Would sure be nice to know how much of this is used for what!?
@brandonfrye I do not know , think it is important for anyone as me , know little about steem, Dtube, etc.. but looking information before taking decision. Today I did read "delegate your upvote because ...it will booster your vote power.." it is the way? when you delegate them?
Okay, thanks. I voted you.
great points...as to WHY still use these applications. your conclusion summed it up for me also. just uploaded my first dtube video and steemit post! it's on like donkey kong!!!!!! gonna keep posting to dtube and youtube. thanks brandon!
Nice!! Yes, these applications have to support themselves and we should all want to see them grow. :)
Thank u for great information. I had no idea but gonna check out Dlive
Cool, glad to help. :)
So do they take cut per Video posted on Dtube, or every single you ever make with your account? @steemitguide should resteem this
Great info @brandonfrye
Utopian.io is also taking 25% as far as I know.
People who use upvote bots should calculate very carefully if it is worth using bots for their posts on services that take 25%.
True, that's a very good point. And thanks for the info on Utopian.io. I remember seeing that but failed to mention it here. I'll get that added to the article.
Great outline. Yes, not only do I hear from people complaining about having to use their phone number to join Dtube (in my most recent upload to YouTube/Dtube "How To Upload to Dtube), they then want to compound the fact that Steemit/Dtube and or other Apps take a percentages of there earnings.
I suppose this isn't anything too surprising in this age of the internet (platforms have bills too). What's funny about it and makes me laugh, is that YouTube takes as much as 55 % to 61% of creators revenue (when they aren't flagging, demonetizing or ShadowBanning), not to mention people who join an MCN and essentially have their channel practically hijacked.
There is something Gary Vaynerchuk once said when I was researching frequency of posting content (Instagram in particular), and that was, "I'll gain more followers than I'll lose". That got me thinking. He's right. At the moment my YouTube Channel is transitioning from being nearly exclusively Gaming back to my original format, How To's, Vlogs and Reviews. I'm watching as Subs, as many as 2 a day, unsub. It's a little disheartening, but I'll gain more in the long run. So what is my point here, LOL.
The point being is even if we are having a percentage of our earnings taken, we'll still end up gaining way more than we lose.
I remember that video by Gary V... and he's absolutely right. I've noticed the same thing with my channel. I'll have 10 sub and 2 unsub. As long as I continue producing the best content that I can, I'm not worried about it one bit. And I like your comparison. It's still a win-win with Dtube and all of these other applications. Especially when you consider the alternative (YouTube). Thanks for your comments and feedback. I really appreciate a well thought out comment.
I'm looking forward to checking out busy.org and Dmania.
Given that things such as dtube, Utopian, etc. get money just from posting project update to SteenIt it’s crazy to see them taking such a high percentage. They’re ripping off creators worse than their now Steem equivalents!
Is this 25% from the available 75% author reward ?
If yes then 25% is huge man . I hope they come down to 10% . It's hard to get reward , giving 25% on top of that may makes it seem worse .
From what I've read, Dtube takes 25% from the Author portion and 25% from the Curation portion. So it's 25% of the total rewards. If I'm mistaken, I hope someone will correct me. But that's what I've read.
It's a business model and okay as long as they are up-front about what they do. I know there is a cost to storing stuff on IPFS and some of the money goes to that. Dtube is getting a lot of uploads and they can't fund it all otherwise. Any way to serve media is going to have a cost.
You’re absolutely right and I think it’s a brilliant way to support the growth and maintain a platform such as these. And with the latest updates from dtube you can really see where the money is going. They continue to provide new features and upgrades. However, I do feel that there could be more transparency about this as I’ve been on Steem for over three months and had no idea until yesterday. And I know not everybody will follow the gethub or scroll back to the original announcements of these platforms like I have.
It really ought to be right there on the new post page of each service. In some cases it could be a lot of money. I guess the big posts fund the smaller ones.
I had no idea that they were doing this, thanks for letting me know! I didn't know that eSteem was doing it, and I hardely ever use it.
I had no idea either until yesterday. I'm really surprised that there isn't more backlash as many people would be upset with the lack of transparency. Other than the high amounts being taken by some apps and no notification that this is happening, I think it's perfectly fine. Just need to be more upfront about it.
Yeah I'm really surprised that this is happening. I wish they would let us know before they do it.
Well, as the saying goes, "Nothing in life is free"
Thank you for the informative post because I really think most people (myself included) usually don't read the fine print when we sign our life away. I subbed because you make the hard stuff look easy.
I will mostly be using Dtube and steemit for my shout outs to the world.
So glad I found you on youtube, so I could follow on steemit.
Steemit and YouTube are free, and make one heck of a combination here! 😁
Lol, but I know what you're saying. It costs money to build platforms like Dtube, Dlive, Dsound, etc. Glad you found me on YouTube. And I'm glad to see you here!
Doesnt Dmania take like 15 or something? That spliting between 3 "chosen" ones?
Yeah, I included them in the table above...
They take 10% but I'm not sure how that's split up. Steepshot for example has three accounts that they send a portion of your rewards to. This is nice because it sort of shows where your money is going.
Thank you so much for this post. I had no idea that this was happening. I've been having so many problems with uploading videos to Dtube. Lots of "blockchain" errors. I appreciate all the information you give us noobs.
You're welcome, @hawaiialoha. Glad to share all the information that I come across. Knowledge is power :)
But DTube has to pay for the upload storage so 25% are fair i would say, what i would like is that the percentage they take off of your reward would be scaled by your account worth when you have 4$ account worth they should not take anything but the bigger you get the more fees you should pay
I agree. Among all of the platforms that should take a higher percentage it would be Dtube. However, I feel that if a platform takes such a high amount then we should be able to see a monthly expenditure report so that we know exactly where these rewards are going. I also like your idea of not taking anything from people unless they have X amount in their account. This would encourage people who are brand new to upload there.
Thanks for sharing, I did not know this before.
Thanks for the heads up, Brandon. I just signed up on the Dtube an hour or so ago and already commented there on one. So while this came as a surprise, your insight helps to understand why. I'm a little surprised they don't make it clear, given the level of transparency I've seen so far today, my first active day here on Steemit. I'm guessing they're playing catchup. I agree a bit more transparency along the simple straight forward lines you suggest in your conclusion would help a lot. All the best
Mind blowing,
but great insight.
LOL, that's what I thought!! 😮
대단합니다.
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea that my rewards were going anywhere else and I will be more cautious from here forward. I think there should be more transparency with these apps, although some of them my very well be transparent but they may not be making it obvious to all. Either way, I like to know what I am getting into ahead of time and feel it is just better business if they would let the individual know what to expect with using their platform. Thanks again :-)
I agree. Most of them have disclosed this in their initial announcement post. But you have to scroll weeks back on their channels in order to find the announcement post. So it's not readily available at all. I think this is something that could be improved with all of these platforms.
I’m not using these apps but it’s good to know about it. Information is power. Thanks!
Definitely good to know. I wish we were all made aware of it when we use the apps, lol. But I am glad that they've found a way to fund themselves. Thanks for the comment, @stilltnc.
High costs not necessarily means the best. In my case, being new and with little experience, I would opt for those that charge nothing.
Thanks for the feedback, @xlaylamx. I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks about these beneficiary weights or "taxes" if you will. :)
Thanks so much. As I am just now putting together future content strategy. It is information exactly like this newbies like me need to factor in.
You're welcome! Glad this was helpful. I'm sure this will be the first anybody has ever heard of this.
I will resteem that won't help a lot but maybe an extra person will see it
I noticed this long ago while browsing users' blockchain activities in Steemd.com. You can check it on Steemd.com when you give permission via Steemconnect or make a post using the app, there would be 1-3 beneficiary with different percentages of rewards.
Yeah, same here. I saw the beneficiaries in www.steemworld.org but had no idea what they meant until I saw @dnews video yesterday about Dtube. It's definitely good information to have.
Does steem connect charge any? And is it really safe to give your active key to them?
Thanks 🙏🏼
SteemConnect does not charge anything. It is just an authentication platform built on top of STEEM Blockchain by Busy.org and Steemit.com team. Yes it is trusted. But you should be careful that its https://steemconnect.com not any other site pretending to be steemconnect.com.
Oh wow, I didn't know. I just don't know hot it works with esteem. Will it take from every content or only from the Upvotes I give through esteem and the content I create in esteem? But now it explains why people would even create apps. My problem is just to find out which apps are trustworthy. I mean a developer could fake the login screen and get my login data.
I'm not 100% sure if it's just from posts or also from your comments. Likely both. And yeah, I always wondered how these app developers were getting paid. I assumed that they were all witnesses just trying to get their name out there and get votes. Turns out they're getting paid.. really good in some instances.
I think I will try to use Steepshot to maximize my audience. But then I have to log in Steepshot first, then make a post there and then it will be published automatically in steemit? Do I understand right? I think they should ad a notice about thous 25%. Thanks for info
Yes, if you post to Steepshot then it will automatically post to Steemit.com as well. Luckily @steepshot only takes 15% which I think is much more reasonable.
Good thanks.
This post has received a 8.36 % upvote from @boomerang.
@brandonfrye
Thanks for the overview, Thankfully I don't venture that much further than Busy.org, or Steemit.
It will be interesting to see what happens when APPICS comes online as far as steep shot is concerned. Nice to have a little bit of competition I think!!
Thanks for bringing APPICS to my attention. This is the first I've heard of it so I'm checking it out now. So is XAP a Smart Media Token on the Steem blockchain? Oh boy, you just gave me a bunch of homework! lol
Edit: Yes it is!! How sweet! "APPICS is going to be one of the rst meta-tokens launched on the Steem blockchain – so-called Smart Media Tokens (SMT)."
yes I believe the ICO starts on the 28th March. You will have to join their telegram channel!!
Cool, I'm looking into it all now and have subscribed to their emails. This launch will be huge and should affect the entire Steem ecosystem. :)
Yes the first of many in the pipeline
After reading this I decided to try Steepshot. It's absolutely fair to let them have a share for using the service.
Agreed! I hope you enjoy @steepshot as I certainly have. I use steepshot almost exclusively for my @travelpreneur channel.
This post has received a 6.58 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @brandonfrye.
LOL And here I am thinking I'm safe cause Dtube hasn't upvoted me since December LOL
As the blockchain turns, sounds like a soap opera in the making.
Thanks for keeping us up to date man. That's a very curious article and I'll have to dive into more to learn about it.
I knew I loved @dlive for a good reason lol
Yessir, glad to share everything that I'm learning. And hey, @jongolson I know that you use @dlive quite a bit. So I have a question - are you able to upload videos to Dlive? Meaning.. can you upload a rerecorded video to dlive? And if so, is that frowned upon? I assume it would be since the whole point is for live videos. I've just heard of people moving to dlive instead of using dtube but I don't think that's necessarily a smart work-around.
The best thing about dlive is that once your stream is over, your video is uploaded and can be replayed. That's a newer feature.
Don't think you can upload videos, from YouTube etc...Think they just upload your streams.
Gotcha, thanks man!
This is a great explanation and breakdown that many people didn’t know about. I personally only found out recently that @dtube took a percentage of rewards.
I think 25% is a bit high considering you already lose 25% to curation rewards. So you’re basically losing half of what you earn.
It’s far better than earning nothing for your content but it is still a steep price to pay to use these apps.
Like you said, it’s more about transparency than anything else. If apps/developers are more upfront about the costs and what the money goes towards than I am far more understanding, it’s the sneaky ones that try and hide it that usually annoy the consumer.
Great info here, gave it a resteem for visibility
From what I understand it's 25% from your author rewards and 25% from the curation rewards. So it is split up and not just taken from you. But it's still high, I totally agree with that. But yeah, if they were transparent about these "fees" then I think that would go a long way to build trust in the community. We shouldn't have to find out from posts such as this one.
DTube has posted in from the beginning that they take 25% but they probably need to make it more clear to new users.
Thanks for digging in and reporting what you've found. Resteemed.
You’re very welcome. Thanks for the support!
This post has received gratitude of 4.84% from @appreciator courtesy of @brandonfrye!
thank you, I have been trying to figure out what was up with the beneficiary awards thing.
You’re most welcome. Unfortunately this info isn’t that easy to find so most people find out from articles like this. But at least now we know.
Wow, guess that's what happens when you don't read the fine print. Not that we would stop using them though. Thanks for the heads up!
Right, I don’t think this would dissuade anybody from using these services. They offer way more than they take.
And good value services too.
I also didn’t know this but that is why I watch all your videos and posts. As I learn these things, it helps plan how I will develop my content in the future. I dont think it is a bad thing particularly considering the centralized alternatives out there. Thanks!
Thanks for your feedback on the subject, @newageinv. Always enjoy hearing your thoughts!
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but is it not measured in percent of the total reward and not percent of my own cut? Let’s say one of my posts earn $1 and I posted it with esteem (5% fee). 25 cents go to curators, 5 cents go to esteem and 70 cents go to me. This translates to about 6.66% of my cut in this case.
I think it depends on the different applications and how they have the beneficiary rewards setup. Take Dtube for example. I'm pretty sure that they take 25% of both the author and curator rewards. But if I'm not mistaken they can set it up how they like.
Either way it is an important topic to understand, at least for the major content producers around here. For a small timer like me it’s not really a big deal if a few cents out of my $0.10 or $0.03 rewards go to esteem, but for people trying to make a living this is potentially a big deal.
The post is quite informative @brandonfrye.
Yeah, I agree. But I think we all should appreciate these applications to grow, I know they took a certain percentage of our author rewards, but If we post quality contents on DTube, Utopian or other apps. They will appreciate us by a huge upvote. I have seen some posts got an upvote of over 120$ from Utopian and DTube. I think we must support the Innovations build on the Steem blockchain.
I like your this idea.
Keep it up Brandon! great post.
Agreed, these platforms have to make money somehow and many of these developers are not witnesses, I'm now finding out. That's how I assumed they were making their money before. And yeah, I too have received upvotes from both @dtube and @steepshot which has more than made up for the beneficiary rewards I'm making for them. Thanks as always @mslifesteem!
You are most welcome Brandon! Yeah, I agreed.
I didn't know of ChainBB before reading this post. Looks interesting. I use a lot of forums would be cool if some changed over to ChainBB.
Cool, and yeah that's one I personally haven't used but could be perfect if you're in need of a good forum built on the blockchain.
I didn't really know this was going on but after reading through your article I'm ok with it. I am a big fan of Steepshot and I use it for outreach because it is far easier to expose someone to the ecosystem using an instagram clone than steemit. Telling someone they can earn money without the need for becoming a blogger is huge to me. I agree with your transparency issue but it won't change my behavior. I think I'm like you in this regard.
It caught me off-guard as well, lol. But, like you, it's very unlikely that I'll change anything. I had to think on this for a bit before I even wrote the article. I had to really consider how all of this works and the benefits of it. And it really is necessary for these platforms to monetize their sites so they can maintain them. I'm glad you see that as well. Thanks for your feedback.
대단합니다.
I think DTube's 25% cut is justifiable. They do have development and maintenance costs associated with their platform, and like you said, they often share the proceeds with their participants. I earned close to $20 for a DTube upvote, so they definitely gave me more than they ever took.
But this post should be a warning to those who make use of alternate apps to be aware that a cut of their revenues may be taken. But so far I don't see any abuse in this realm.
That is hard to argue against because @dtube probably has the most expenses out of all of these platforms. Plus, they've proven that they're using this money to fund advancements. It takes a lot of money to pull off what they've created for us. I wish each of the platforms listed here who are taking rewards would have a monthly expense sheet that we could all view so we know where our rewards are going. That would put a lot of people's mind at ease.
In the case of DTube, they're going to need tens of millions of dollars to make it work as it scales. Storage costs are enormous, easily in the millions, this is why our videos keep getting deleted, they cannot afford to store them all. Developers are mighty expensive too it seems. A small team of full time developers costs millions as well. The enormous operating costs of running a video sharing platform is the whole reason platforms like Vidme failed.
I had NO idea that these apps take your rewards! I don't use many of them, so like you, I'll probably just continue business as usual. But it's a good thing to know!
It was a shock to me as well, lol. I couldn't believe that I didn't already know this. How could this have slipped right by me!? Anyways, it's all good because I know they have bills to pay and they're offering a service that's never been available before. :)
Just curious how those fees work on the upvoters? Does the Fee come out of the Authors Reward or from the Total Post Reward?
I believe it depends on the application and how they have it setup. But I'm fairly certain that dtube takes 25% from both the author and curation rewards. So it's a total of all rewards on a post. But again, you might want to check with each application to see.
Wow thats really something that should be disclosed in a person's post to let the upvoters know.
I agree. It should be posted somewhere so everybody knows.
there cut is quite high but its only fear they get something for there code an writing one more line to give us a heads up wouldnt hurt though
Yeah, the heads up is really all I want to see. Some kind of notice on the front page of their websites. The last thing we need is to give people a reason to call this a "scam". We all know people who jump at the opportunity to use the S-word. ;)
I've known about most of these ever since I joined and started using each app. DTube made it known from the beginning on its Steemit blog but I agree it should be posted or pinned, like in your example.
Right, that’s actually how I was able to research their beneficiary weights. I scrolled WAY BACK to their initial launch posts to see lol. I highly doubt others will do the same. So yeah, it would be great if there was a notice somewhere letting us know.
Agreed.
By the way, I noticed you chose to write about this on Steemit instead of making it a video on DTube. Did this new information steer you more towards Steemit?
Lol no. Truth be told, I usually write stuff out prior to creating a video. But my writing for this topic got a little out of control, and before I realized it, I had written a blog post. So I just went with it. I’m actually surprised that you’re the first to ask that. Great question!
Great article. Yes, it would be nice if they were more transparent. I found out Steepshot took 15% last week...THE HARD WAY! I was using bots on a steepshot post and boy that was a mistake. I knew dtube took 25% because I use to upload there in the beginning. It did not seem worth it to me. If you are not really known or popular there your videos get lost real quick.
Thanks @tesscooks4u, I appreciate your comments and feedback. Yeah it’s hard to be profitable using any of these apps with upvote bots. And I do like using bots, especially for posts that I want to gain traction. So now I’m thinking more about that. I also didn’t have a huge following on YouTube or anything.. and my following here is still minimal... so I may start posting more to YouTube and embed it here. I spent the afternoon hiking and this was pretty much all I thought about lol. It’s basucally a business decision for me and I’ll have to decide what’s best for my viewers and my channel.