My Two Cents
I’ve been on Steemit for the last few months. I’ve been onit pretty much 24/7. When I’m a wake I’m steeming. (I’m retired and trying to supplement a fixed income) During that time I’ve made some observations and come to a few tentative conclusions. I’d like to share some of them now.
The biggest problem that I’ve seen, the one that causes the most heartburn among all the minnows...is inequality. The whales have all the POW WAH!...and the winnows want some.
Understandable.
On the one hand...the Whales have “bought in” with a WHOLE LOT of money...now they want a return on their investment, the sooner the better.
Understandable too.
The way the system is presently set up the whales can buy POW WAH. They can lay down a big chunk of change and purchase SteemPower. The SteemPower adds PUNCH to their vote. The power of that PUNCH....the EFFECTIVENESS... of that vote is directly proportional to the SteemPower behind it.
On the other hand...the minnows want POW WAH too. They have two choices...either lay down some money (not likely, if they had any they’d have done so already and be whales too). or work for it. They can blog and blog and vote and vote and comment incessantly and eventually accumulate SteemPower, it takes months.
However...there is still the glaring disparity. A whale can vote for a piece of garbage and the writer of the garbage get’s LOT of money (compared to the vote of a minnow) and the Whale gets an instant return on his investment.
Paraphrasing here, since I’m too lazy to look it up, but Dan said once that when he votes for someone they get $200 and he gets $20, which is a POWERFUL inducement to vote on everything...quality or NOT!
A paranoid individual might think that Whales buy a lot of accounts then write crap from one account and vote on it from another HI POWERED account. I’m SHOCKED that anyone would think that. No one would do such a thing...would they? Such action would eventually drive off the other users. (cough...currently Steemit has over 108K accounts...about 30K are active...of which more than half are ‘bots...WAY more than half)
On the gripping hand without the minnows the platform is nothing. It won’t succeed with just whales voting for each other. The must be sheep to shear...er... I mean, for Steemit to succeed long term it needs a LOT of active accounts.
Once more I mention SteemPower. The concept is fundamentally sound. The vote SHOULD be weighted. one man, one vote is a flawed concept. The WAY the vote is weighted, however, in my NOT so humble opinion, is the problem. Right now Whales can ‘buy the vote’ while Minnows have to earn it.
I propose that the power of the vote be tied DIRECTLY to Reputation...NOT SteemPower. I suggest that SteemPower and Savings (which earns substantial interest) be merged, and that reputation become the new SteemPower.
That way...a noob... who just walked in the door, HAS a vote...but it’s not as powerful as someone who has posted hundreds of articles and thousands of comments and cast thousands of vote. (just like now) I propose that the NEW SteemPower can NOT be bought but that it MUST be earned, and that the newly created steem continue to be directly distributed by vote according to that SteemPower. (the same way it is done now).
Another thought, that’s related.
Currently the FULL POWER limit on Posts is for only 4 in 24 hours. After four the value of that post declines drastically. For example, the fifth post is only worth 3/4 of what the fourth one was, the sixth is worth 1/2, (this one for example, my sixth in 24hrs) the seven is worth 1/4, the eighth is worth 1/8.....see where I’m going with this? If a prolific person who wants to make a living posting, well he can’t. He’s THROTTLED...he can work as hard as he can..and get nothing...after the first half a dozen article...per day.
The reasoning I’m told behind this ‘feature’ is to prevent Spam. The idea is to prevent someone...oh...let’s say a Whale..from posting a ton of Crap with many low powered accounts and then voting on it with a hi-power account. I’m sure this never occurred to anyone, that would be unethical. We have ethical whales. .
How’s that working out for everyone, by the way?
Yeah...I thought so.
I suggest that If MY proposal to, change the way that vote power is allocated, is implemented then SPAM will just go away. If vote power is based on reputation, and the reputation must be EARNED rather than bought, then voting will be honest and who votes on spam?
I suspect that vote power based on reputation will have a number of other effects also and some will unexpected. There will be no reason to hate whales for one.
And finally...Long Tail
The payout system should be altered Right now it’s just BEGGING to be gamed. (and it is..bot swarms for example..and curation guilds) Right now there is decreasing incentive (from a curation standpoint) to vote for anything younger than 1/2 hour old, or older than a month. The curation reward system is complex. I’m not so sure I understand it, but it effectively makes any article that ‘goes out of print’ (the first 30 days)...worthless.
As it presently stands...if anyone sees an article...over a month old. They can vote, but it has no effect. They receive NO curation award, and the author receives nothing either.
That should be changed.
There should be an incentive for an author to write a LOT, of quality stuff (as determined by un-gamed NON strategic votes...if you like it...you vote on it...simple as that) and continue to receive compensation for doing so as long as it gets new votes.
Oh...one other thing.
I’ve noticed that my series. TEOTWAWKI...is doing well based on the number of votes. The other day I received more than 200 on one post...that’s a new high for me.
It received $1.52...
I surmise that they were all minnow votes. All the whales are busy at the steemfest(s).
Hi @everittdmickey
Your post caught my eye. I am also "on it pretty much 24/7. When I’m a wake I’m steeming."
I am also retired, but I kicked in a bit more in order to get more SP and a bit more income. If I have a profession, it's Steemit and alt-coin trading.
I joined in August, but I didn't have a lot of luck with votes from my posts. It's not my thing, I guess.
I do however study when and how others vote using steemstats.com - you can put in @recursive and watched him vote live. I tracked how people vote and what I can make by following them (put in your own name and you will see your possible returns live while voting) I would say it's best not to follow a whale like my example above because you would get more money if you vote right before a whale does. But there, my friend is the trick to be mastered.
Feel free to take a stab at my contest which is running till tomorrow night. I am paying Steem for a guess at what that picture might be! See my blog.
Thank you.
My goal is to get enough Steem such that I can supplement my fixed income substantially by the interest alone. Since i have ZERO discretionary income at the moment the only way to increase my steem is to earn it.
If we changing rules every week all people will go away eventually. It's already to complicated for regular user. If you post, curate or invest you want to have stable rules; good or bad.
I had followed you when I started as I was interested in people who were doing well with curation. I credit you as an example to me.I agree @oldtimer I posted feverishly when they wanted to give us only 5 votes per day!! It now appears that things have changed again. There are nearly no votes in the first 10 minutes - huh?
Thank you very much. I try to do my best with voting. But I'm at (UTC-07:00) Mountain Time (US & Canada) so I'm kind of late with voting. And I still have full time job, so my hours on steemit are limited.
You have a point.
It is too complex.
I feel that my proposal will make it less so.
Steem is increasing in value. It has more than doubled in the last 24 hours. I would say wait just a little longer and you will get your due. Yep. Watch and keep writing
I'm suggesting a LONG TERM implementation. Do you see a downside to my proposal?
As far as 'waiting'...HELL NO.
I'll continue to Steem while I'm awake...write as many articles as I can (resist the temptation to post them too soon...I have a dozen in the can right now).
Oh...you mean power down?
I have no intention of doing that in the foreseeable future...everything I make is PoweredUP
I have a huge problem with the reputation being the voting power. Recently, I was attacked by a bot train that sent 11 flags within seconds to one of my articles.
I also witnessed people getting angry with other people for choosing to use their vote on something they liked. You used the term "garbage". Someone voted on my article, they didn't think it was garbage. Others got angry with that person because they felt what I did was garbage even though the votes were in and far more thought it was good.
My stance. I'm going to spend majority of my time contributing my art and words. I'll vote when I can, comment when I can. I don't require the "power" and don't feel it's necessary to be successful here. I don't care who votes on what. It's their vote. It does bother me though when people think one persons trash can't possibly be another persons treasure. That mentality is harming steemit and forcing some of us to walk on eggshells, when we shouldn't have to.
I do enjoy your work here, by the way. So please keep doing what you do.
with my proposal in place Assholes won't GET a high reputation....and thus they won't be able to harm someone by flagging.
Thank you for the kind words..I have a few thousand more words all ready in place on TEOTWAWKI and more to write..
Now that I think of it, the flag train was caused by a low rep high wealth coward (pardon my language). My reputation was hit though. I earned this. Many helped to bring it back up as well.
That story of yours gets my vote every time I see it pop up, and yes I do read it.
With my proposal in place that could not have happened.
I'll admit, I don't have a full understanding of how all of this works. I've been doing a bit of reading. Some of the things you say do make sense now.
Steemit is a work in progress, it's based on something called the BlockChain which is it based on something called CryptoCurrency.
The whole concept of Crypto-currency (Bit coin was the first) then later Block Chain and the uses it can be put to...is brand new.
Ten years or less I think.
Before high speed, and very cheap, and ubiquitous computers it would have been impossible.
Interesting observation.
Good Job!
Thank you.
I solicit discussion
I'm down with that forever payout on posts.
I think that votes should pay immediately.
I'd even go for 3day grace period to revoke any votes.
why allow refunds?
Buyer's remorse, or cheetah bot flags, any reason really.
I think the reputation system makes use of steem power when it calculates the weight of upvotes and flags. Also, I think reputation is only calculated based on posts and comments. If so, lurkers would never be able to gain in voting power if voting strength were based on reputation. Ideally, I think we want many more curators than authors.
Maybe as a starting point, voting power could be a combination of reputation + steem power, and the weighting function could be a little more balanced. Don't equalize it, but reduce the slope on the curve so minnows have relatively more power and whales have relatively less.
I'm suggesting disallowing the purchase of Steem Power. It should be earned...not bought.
All else will follow.
The author/curator ratio will work it's ownself out..
Hello @everittdmickey,
It gives us pleasure to inform you that this post have been upvoted by Project Better.
The Mission of Project Better is to reward posts have many votes from Minnows but earn pennies.
Your payout is $0.005 before we vote on your post.
Learn more about the Project Better here! ,
Want to donate your voting power to support Project Better and earn curation rewards? Click Here!
We hope to see you continuing to post some great stuff on Steemit!
Good luck!
~BETTER~
I was once told that if an idea cannot be explained on one side of a sheet of A4, it is too complex.
I was born before JFK was shot to give you a reference point. I know too many people who have never heard of him. We are not Luddites and probably have something to offer and I, for one, love to learn and grow in understanding.
You are now at 121 votes and $0.65 I see. I am changing that now.
SP should be earned not bought - a bit like respect really.
Perhaps this is why I follow you.
Have a great day, comrade!@everittdmickey , thank you for taking the time to firstly work all this stuff out and secondly for sharing the fruits of your labour.
Thank you.
I was in middle school when JFK was shot.
Haha! I bow to your greater experience!
I wrote a series of Steemit questions a few days ago - and I continue to add.
One of my questions was how can one message directly to a fellow Steemer.
Another was can one start a group in any way other than via an alter ego.
Your questions are extremely well put and I find it hard enough to find time to do many things to which I aspire, let alone get to grips with Steem forks and all that gobbledigook. So, hats off my friend!
thank you.
POW WAH - Coming soon to a steemit near you!
You da MAN.
Not that I checked or anything but I don't think you bought any of your SP.
and you have a HIGH reputation.
But don't look now...I'm creeping up on your six.
Papa worked his way up there.
But the view is nice!
Thanks man!
Is that beard real?
I'm hoping to get one some day.
Also, if you don't mind me asking, where are you at?
Yup..it's real. I haven't shaved since I got out of the air force in October of 1979.
I'm in an undisclosed location in Texas.
I'm an anarchist hiding out among Socialists so I have to keep a low profile.
Not that all (or even most) of Texas is socialist...it's not.
I was born here and have been all over.
But I happen to be living in an infestation.
Grandbaby..lives here.
Wife couldnt' be moved with dynamite.
Best wishes with the infestation.
I pass through the entire eastern side of Texas pretty regularly....
shhhh...don't tell anyone, but I live in Central Texas for now.
in Austin. Or as some of us say "Berkley West"
that beard is sick!
Thank you
This is the real me.
after the haircut
I still have a ways to go
I don't like the idea to make votes weighted according to reputation.
Steem is special because you can buy influence and is based upon the idea that he who invest gets more influence. I think changing that is changing the essence of steem. If this does not work we have to adjust but I do not believe this is the problem.
I do agree with you that the way payouts work and the way curation works however is the issue.
Sorry...it already is.
Reputation is a MAJOR determinate in vote weight right now.
see the white paper..
The problem as I see it is that SteemPower is also..and it can be bought.
therefore..vote power can be bought....if you pay enough to overpower the reputation alone.
There lies the problem..
actually i think you are incorrect. reputation did not even exist a few weeks ago and is not determined for vote weight. Only SP is.
I could be both right and wrong...things are changing rapidly.
it depends on how you define a few weeks
in the beginning...you are correct.
then they implemented a Richter Scale form of reputation...it swung between 0 and 10 I think. each number being ten times that of the one before.
That didn't last long..before it was changed to what we have now.
Other things have changed too.
I expect BIG changes when the DEVS get back from the 'wine and dine'.
Everittdmickey,
#1 Good intentions, but since the value of Steem Power is due to the effect it has on Steemit won't it cause Steem Power to be worthless? And since Steem is ultimately tied to Steem Power, won't the value of Steem take a massive hit?
#2 The other thing I would like to say as a Minnow is that often I make a reply and the author indicates he/she likes the reply but doesn't up-vote it. I try to be generous and up-vote most replies on my posts. My enthusiasm for Steemit has taken a hit as of late for that reason.
Well I'm attempting to come up with some solutions.
I recall...long, long ago, when I was just like you.
Last month...when I was still under the impression that Steem Votes were in many was similar to FaceBook 'likes'.
Then I found that they were limited...and valuable..so I didn't vote on just any old thing. I was very careful. Then I found that the vote of a minnow was as effective as the piss of a sparrow at putting out forest fires.
So screw it...I vote as the muse urges me. Sometimes fifty times a day.
YMMV.
you say
Could be.
I don't entirely understand it yet.
I just know that selling indulgences didnt' work out so well for the Catholic Church in the long run. Buying SteemPower is sorta like that.
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
I know that original posts are limited, but are replies limited as well? Where do we find the "rules of engagement"?
The White paper was originaly the "go to" document.
I dunno if it's been kept up to date.
As far as I know there are no limits to commenting (as we are doing now)
But there's more... if you act now...today only...and someone VOTES on your comment.
you get curation (or some type of) rewards(operators are standing by) so act quickly.
actually I lied...there are no operators...and the option is in perpetuity.
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