This morning I woke up and first of all came into the Steemit World. Yesterday I wrote my thoughts about the system of "loyalty points"[A Questionnaire For Whales And Solutions For FRUSTRATED MINNOWS: Comments Are Needed, Don't Have To Upvote], which I have great respect for her sincerity, genuineness and responsiveness., aimed to help Steemit to grow more faster and more stable. And here I saw a post of @stellabelle
Also a matter of respect and gratitude that @stellabelle thinks about the Minnows, about the new people who join the Steemit Ocean. Yes, the problem she's trying to solve do really exist. I see it too, as for the present I am the Minnow. The problem is that people are frustrated with not getting enough attention and monetary compensation for their posts. And this creates obstacles to the development of the entire social network, and fills the Steemit World with negative.
Her post generated a great resonance and I will gladly try to answer on her initiative. I will share here some ideas, which may be useful for the entire Steemit community. At least, I really hope so.
I agree completely - it is discouraging.
I'll be blunt. This system sometimes (more and more) reminds me on the real world economics. 1% of people is holding on to 99% of wealth.
We know very well that this is not sustainable in the long run.
The write and be happy mantra won't help I am afraid.
Your suggestions are valid. You care deeply.
Let's see the reactions of those your questions are aimed at.
Pareto Rule.
@ervin-lemark
20 - 80. Pareto rule.
I reflect on how to improve the Steemit World. And knowing the Pareto rule, I understand that such "unfairness" will always be. In the "real" world and here in Steemit. 20% of people will get 80% of monetary reward, and 80% of people will settle for 20%. But why is this so? What is the true cause?
The cause lies in the different abilities. 20% of people much more talented and intelligent than the rest. And that's normal. That's fine. This natural phenomenon is impossible to change.
The key difference between an animal and a human.
The key difference between an animal and a human is explained very simply.
Strong man helps the weak. But the strong animal eats the weak.
That's all. This is the essence. More developed, talented and intelligent people are supposed to help the less developed, less talented and less intelligent. This is the essence of a human and humanity. If 20% of the people who are the most developed, do not help 80% of people, they actually lost their human essence.
What is social injustice?
This is when the animals principles apply to human society. When the elite (20% of the most developed) exploits so-called crowd (80% of the less developed). That is a strong human lives at the expense of the weak one. And this is the essence of social injustice.
What is social justice?
This is when more advanced people help the less advanced ones. That's what manifests humanity. If I see someone less talented, I help him to become more talented. If I see someone poor, I help him to become more rich. If I see someone failed in what I've achieved success, I help him. This is true social justice.
So what are my specific proposals.
1. "Family system". The Mentors.
We all come into this world in some family, in some environment. But in most cases in this Steemit World we come alone. And this complicates our adaptation. If we assign a mentor for each new person, and this mentor will support this newbie, it will make life easier for many new residents of Steemit World.
- So we could make a list of mentors, that is, people who are willing to help newcomers.
- And novices will choose a mentor from the list.
The mission of the mentor is to support the actions of the novice with votes, suggestions and useful feedback. In particular, the mentor may publish the materials of his ward, just as @gavvet, @jacor, @dragonslayer109, @crazymumzysa and others are doing now.
Mentor gets special privileges, special status, i.e. reputation. The mentor receives no money for his help to the beginner. That is, the mentor acts as a parent. This is true human nature. Strong, advanced people help the weak, inexperienced.
If it is in our community, we will have every right to say that we have implemented social justice.
2. Monetary support of new people.
At the moment, newcomers very difficult to get the money. And you can certainly argue that money is not important, let them learn to make friends and communicate, let them build reputation. However, money is a very powerful catalyst, it is a very powerful tool that you can use both good and harm. According to Robert Kiyosaki, and I totally agree, when the money is used in the educational process, learning takes place much faster.
Once again, the humanity, and therefore social justice is that strong care about the weak. And social injustice means that the strong live off the weak. In other words, when the strong exploit the weak.
The Support Fund for beginners.
The idea is to form a Fund, which the more successful people of Steemit World will fill with money that will then be distributed among the newcomers. Those who are engaged in such charity will receive some "charity reputation" points (angel investors idea). It would be great if Steemit software to highlight such people.
This is similar to how parents feed children. Or how developed countries help underdeveloped. This is the true essence of human nature and the difference from an animal. And this is the essence of social justice. Because social justice is possible only in a society where humanity is manifested, where the more advanced help the less advanced. If instead of compassion the animal psychology would be shown (the strong eat the weak) then what kind of social justice can be said?
Reading the comments under the post of @stellabelle, I met some wonderful thoughts which are worthy of mention.
1. The idea that each Steemian has the opportunity to sell his products and services.
An ecommerce Content Management System powered by Steem, similar to Shopify. This would allow people in the community Steemit to easily set up shopfronts and sell products. People could buy products with their hard earned Steem, or could 'star' (favorite) products via by upvoting. This might also give boutique shops an additional revenue stream.
@pkattera54
It is, in my opinion, one of the key ideas of long-term future success. If we want to create the economic system, we need a market for goods and services, that is infrastructure. This infrastructure will make Steem Dollars valuable.
2. Open Source Ecology and tests for beginners.
By the way, I live near that Open Source Ecology location. And I studied the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage model to learn how to live peacefully among others. They use a very healthy technique which is this: you live there for 6 months and then the people who already live there get to decide if they want you to live there or not. This is necessary to keep a group free of dangerous elements and those who would do harm, since the isolated nature of the group makes people more vulnerable. That system works well for them I believe, since most people who are not ready for such a commitment, end up leaving anyway. I followed one guy who was mentally unstable, and watched how he ended up leaving Dancing Rabbit because he felt he was not mentally able to deal with that kind of new life.
@stellabelle
This is a great topic. These mechanisms of adaptation is natural and useful. It would be great to somehow use them in Steemit.
3. About the content quality. "To create the burger and sell the burger".
First and foremost, I can't stress enough the importance of quality content. Additionally, I think it's critical to educate people to the basics of steemit etiquette before trying to teach them how to monetize the platform. I encourage whales to support this idea, or we'll forever be dealing with a massive learning curve from new users.
@xvickx
Yes, this is a great topic. This is exactly what I'm talking about. Human society - a society in which the strong help the weak. And this is education.
However, the quality of the content is not the most important thing. As you can obviously see McDonald's does not do the best burgers. Many can do much better. However, who can sell as good as McDonald's? Many Steemians are creating amazing content, but it remains unnoticed. But those who have gained a reputation who has created a brand, receive a substantial reward sometimes for a very ordinary posts. In any case I don't claim it's unfair. No. This is fair, because to build a reputation, to build a brand - much harder than to write good posts.
Your definition of 'social justice' is more palatable than most and your proposals are good overall.
BTW I usually cringe at the term social justice because it comes off to me as just another facade for socialism and forced wealth redistribution. That to me contradicts how I see 'justice' as something based on natural law. Instead of 'justice' I would use words like 'compassion', 'humanity', 'volunteerism', 'community services/community', 'charity', 'family', 'mutual aid' etc. all of which are important fabrics of society....
I believe perhaps the real change that is needed lies in the whale's and orca's, dolphin's time spent on cultivation of the minnows. The mentorship idea is something that I already did in the first week on Steemit, as I was approached by a writer who was familiar with my work outside of Steemit. This relationship helped me as well, realize that I have value beyond just a whale upvote. I have value that I can pass along to another. I think it's time to form another bond as this writer is now doing well, but he found his own voice. I didn't give that to him, he found it within....
A VERY good reply that I agree with and also see so often. It is so common that "minnows" don't like being minnows and ask to be taken care of or DEMAND FAIRNESS. I can see why they feel this way but ultimately that is WHY they still are the way they are. If you want something great then you have to step up and do something great.
With that being said there are without a doubt improvements that can be made to this platform, but that is why I am here and many others is to contribute valuable content/perspective and hopefully influence the whole in a beneficial way for all!
I just totally agree with this statement!
Thank you, @quinneaker!
"It is so common that "minnows" don't like being minnows and ask to be taken care of or DEMAND FAIRNESS."
Yes, agree with you. Life is not fair. Get used to it.
Yes, actually I believe the truth is simple. Or at least, it should sound simple ;)Thank you for encouraging words, @steemrollin!
Yup keep it up @omfedor!
I totally agree.
This post is terrific. You have really delved into the issues but kept it extremely accessible for readers. And I also appreciate the respect you have shown to @stellabelle and your open-mindedness towards others' perspectives.
@stellabelle has proven time and time again to be one of the most considerate and good natured people on here and deserves the respect!
She is one of the most valuable people of this Steemit community.Definitely, @quinneaker!
Largely thanks to your participation, I already feel that I was heard. And that for me is the most important now.Thank you for your support, @donkeypong!
New ideas to help boost entering people into Steemit are great. Adoption is key for success of the platform, lets continue to work together to create a fostering environment for all
Pleased to go ahead with such as you!Thanks for this, @thebeachedwhale!
Yes, the mentor idea, well, I became a mentor in week one on Steemit. The person who asked me, well, he is now teaching me a lot. I was initially uncomfortable with the idea since I view myself in humble ways. That is and was a problem for me, as I consider myself a perfectionist and unworthy. I believe that making friends and being passionate will yield the results of a mentorship situation. Finding strong bonds is an essential part of this ecosystem. There are lots of whales that I still do not know......just being a whale doesn't make you a good teacher though.
Thanks for your feedback, @stellabelle.
Time is the most valuable resource. Thus everyone spends time on something that is really valuable to him. Thank you for spending your time on these topics. I believe that it is useful for everyone.
Me too. However, I've realized that perfectionism often stops the flow. In the end, mistakes are normal. There was a time I was so afraid to make a mistake, that I didn't do any action at all. And that was stupid.
And now I believe that from the absolute point of view, mistakes do not exist :) From that point of view everything is always perfect :) And it helps to be in the flow!
Great ideas, just don't think about the money part of Steemit.
Well, I think money is quite important part of this project. Money is time. And time is freedom. So to achieve freedom we need some money. That's why money is always as important as a freedom.Thank you, @acassity!
Dear @omfedor, you just might have made my day. Because I am seriously thinking about leaving this ship of fools. Or better said boat of sheep :)
I will go through your post later. I will read it slowly and several times. And then come back with some more meaningful reply, I hope :)
This is for you - thanks:
OK, I am more into rock than pop but the title applies :)
I think if you leave now, you will not know what you could have gained in the way of friendships.
I believe making strong bonds with others holds the key to a lot of life.
True.@stellabelle
That is the one thing that is still keeping me here.
Ps: Thank you very much for paying attention. You are really good :)
everyone has more power within them than they believe they do. Recognizing your own power is the first step to gaining real freedom.
True again :)
Last few days were a bit up and down for me. I am on an up curve now although I feel tired and sleepy in a good way. I should be tired after a day at the office and the 17K run through the woods.
I came home with a lot of new ideas. Now let's make them real!
Not to mention being an early adopter, it's amazing to feel at the forefront of a revolution.
There were 11,409 other early adopters when i arrived in steemit. I couldn't relate to most of them. It would have been easy enough for me to give up and claim that I can never gain traction. I refused to give up. Giving up would have equalled me having to exist in the 9-5 world. That is the true reason I had a fire under my ass........I never want to go back to that deplorable existence, for it contains illness, both in body and mind. I will claw and scratch my way out of any cave that tries to enslave me. I will die trying.........
I am pretty lucky that I love my job and the opportunities it provides me, but I love the idea of financial freedom more, that my job could be managing my own investments part time, and spending the rest with my family.
I would not have found out about bitcoin and all the other things that stemmed from it such as steemit if I hadn't had my job.
I will print out this speech of yours with a big font and put it somewhere where it will sting me in the eye all the time :)
Thank you and good night.
I already really appreciate your contribution to this.Thank you, @ervin-lemark! :)
Very interesting post. But you forgot one thing in your argument.
All else being equal,the more "talented" would enjoy more sucess. All else is not equal, however. If you are a great thinker,but your parents are drug addicts,or you are indebted, or all your friends are depressed working class people.. etc,etc, then your chances of self-realisation very much decrease.
A simple fact of life.
Yeah, they do. Just when I said "talanted" I meant those who could have realized their talent. Anyway, thank you that you care, @kooshikoo!
I am definitely seeing a trend here on Steemit. It does appear that there are entitlement issues within the despair/gratitude spectrum. I believe that people that are from affluent countries expect to make money while I feel that people of humble means are grateful for every cent. For me, even though I fit into the affluent country model, I was quite poor as far as money goes. So, I expected nothing actually when I joined. I worked hard because I was nervous about going broke, i had been working myself to death actually for years. I continued at that pace, and just never stopped.
Yes. This is generally a global division of the people as far as I see. Those who are complain and wait until the situation changes. And those who make decisions and acts. The first are doomed to depend on the second. And always lose.
Probably the most important thing I learned in the last 10 years - never complain. I strongly believe this is one of the first steps to start your journey to success.
This is an excellent post @omfedor - as it has forced me think, to actually use my brain in an almost completely different way than I am used too. I am new to the steemit community and thus a minnow. My first post, which I was very proud of, has to date made about $1.38 -- monetarily, to myself and I would imagine to everyone else on steemit is a disappointment. Especially, as we see others, like mentioned in your post, come in and with their first post make as much as $10,000. And I can understand that! But to me.., my post was extremely valuable, as it was my first foray into the world of writing that could be critique. And much to my surprise... The comments 'blew me away...' The generosity of my fellow steemers was much more than encouraging -- they were heartfelt, inspiring.., and human. But what caught my eye about this post was the mention of 'humanity.' I fear, from what I see in the world today, is a great lack of it... The 20% seem to be devouring the the 80% at much greater lengths or speed, than in the past. Im a bartender in NYC and I've had a chance to see quite a bit of humanity standing behind the bar.., but as time goes on I see less and less of it! I listen to stockbrokers, hedge fund guys, money manager bitchin' about how they are only going to make 3 million dollars this year and how they have to start looking for a new job. When, if you go just back 25-30 years 3 million was a huge amount of coin. Now, if work down on Wall St and you don't crack billion dollar mark -- you are considered a chump, there to make the higher ups richer. If the steemit community is to not just survive, but thrive -- we need to hold on to that humanity... We need to nurse it and encourage at every level -- minnow or whale! The presence of humanity must not fade away, as I fear it has in our societies... CHEERS -- And Thank You For Such A Thought Provoking Post!
Thank you so much for your meaningful comment, @macksby!
I see the same trends you're talking about. And I'm also alarming. I hope that here we will be able to put into practice these ideas of social justice. However, in order to do this, we must first be very well versed in this matter.
So I really appreciate everyone's contribution to this debate and am very glad that I met someone like you.
Following you from now on ;)
I appreciate your words, more than you no... And I to, am very glad I've had the opportunity to meet and engage with someone like you. As I believe this sort of engagement can only help steemit to evolve. Thanks again @omfedor :))
Congrats on making some money! I too was stoked to get 6 cents for my first post :D
I would like to think that if I was a whale, I would prefer to give my vote to somebody with great content who has not been noticed.
Here is a post I made earlier today. https://steemit.com/steemit/@pheonike/the-reason-why-minnows-vote-power-sucks
I've read you post, @pheonike, good ideas. However there are nuances. You highlighted the role for the Minnows - vote and show valuable content for the whales and dolphins. And I agree with that. This is a really important part of community life.
However, there are two points.
However in general, I like your vision.
Thank you for your thought!
Yeah man I honestly don't care about the money. I would never let money control me or change me. I would stay humble and blessed, cheers.
This is good - to be humble and blessed :) However money is quite important thing. If you have money, you can manage your time. And this is the essence of freedom.
To be under control of money means to believe that money is the source of happiness. To be free from the influence of money means to have another source of happiness. But that doesn't mean not to think about the money and not to have them. At least, this is my vision.
Thank you for your thoughts, @dmacshady!
I agree completely. Having an adequate source of money allows me to be free to follow my passions and help others with theirs. This is the definition of freedom, I think.
Definitely! The rich man has much more opportunity to help others.
Once you have financial freedom, what else is there left for you to do? Most choose more wealth, others realise that they now have the freedom to help others.
Most people would agree that 50% of the worlds wealth being owned by 1% of the population is bad. But then, put us all in here with the lure of riches and how do people respond? Exactly the same as those 1%. I feel in my heart that if humanity does not get this right soon, we could end up facing some very troublesome times.
I pay out Steem Dollars to people every day. I am looking for ways to empower more people, to help them, even if it is one by one. Each person is unique and requires a unique approach. Some people have lost faith in themselves and that's where they need assistance. Others are talented beyond measure but lack self-esteem. Some are not consistent and others are selfish. There are so many combinations, it's insane. I think there is a solution for everyone if only each person knew their own strengths well. Steemit allows us to cultivate our own unique strengths, it allows us freedom, which we are not accustomed to. This is the central issue I think. There are things being done to recognize writers. But it is certainly best to be original, unique and authentic, or humorous, whatever way is natural to you. It does require work, constant work, though. It's not a free lunch on here. The ways to stand out are many, if one puts their mind to it.
Yes I totally agree with what you are saying. Having money does create freedom and it is nice to have it on a rainy day. Ok maybe I lied saying it wasn't important lol. Either way I wouldn't get cocky if I got rich overnight. :)
Блестящая статья. И прекрасная инициатива @stellabelle Brilliant article. And a great initiative of @stellabelle.
hey, thanks for the SBD. I am not sure what I did, actually, but thank you kindly.
Thanks for your kind words! ;)
@omfedor in my short time here, you have quickly become a favourite of mine. I like the way you think, and emphasise our personal responsibility in creating the kind of society that we would like to live in. I like the Steem community so far, but I am far more interested in how a huge online community with morality towards their fellow humans would start to translate in society as a whole.
I strongly believe that all of us who complain about the corrupt state of the world, should try our best to act in the "real world"in a way that improves and builds others up. Obviously without being naive!
I also agree with what you have stated. I feel kind of cold when people talk about the bot wars. Sure, the bots will exist and be interacting with us, and that is undeniable, but it is still the personalized response that we all crave. We need to emphasize this quality inside of us, and really become more human, as the world becomes more automatized. The thing we have to give eachother is our deepest, most honest responses, encouragement and once this type of thing exists in mainstream, then, I think our world will look quite different. The thing, is, it just takes a few dedicated people to start spreading this idea, then it can spread further. @omfedor woke me up to some ideas that had lain dormant within. He's a bright light that can help a lot of people. He deserves to be more and more influential. I see some positivity within him that is a rare trait in humans. He does not seem greedy to me at all. These are the people who are worthy of influence.
Well, @onetree, now you become a favourite of mine ;)
I have great respect for each person who wants a responsible human life. So I am very glad to meet another like-minded personality. Thank you!
I'll follow you from now on.
:-)
Wonderful post. I will keep my eye on this issue and see if there are any ideas I come up with.
That's really inspiring for me! :)Thank you for appreciation, @soulsistashakti!
I did have an idea that I shared with my Steemit writers group on Facebook. Keep an eye on the topics trending on Steemit and keep a list of the topics you are interested in. I have a list of both on my wall called Things I hate (trending) and Things I Love (my favorite topics). Then combine 2, This is called idea sex. I wrote and article called The Magic of Flow and Why Hacks Are Bunk (Flow is my topic, I hate hack articles) and it did very well! :)
Yeah we can't fight the 80 20 rule but your efforts and the feedback you are getting is awesome. It is really great that you want to encourage and support new content creators.
I also would love to see a system where new emerging and quality content creators could be spotted easily.
I featured your article in my daily picks because it is such a good cause!
https://steemit.com/dailydiamonds/@asuran/daily-diamonds-from-authors-worth-to-learn-from-4
Thank you for featuring my post, @asuran! I do appreciate it! :)
Sharing is caring!
It seems like instead this 80/20 of Pareto rule, this goes down smoothly, more like a water funnel (since Steemit is an ocean) - where the narrow tip is the most talented and intelligent ones.
However, the word "family" and the idea that we're so far from animals in our motives makes me skeptical.
Let's see where it goes anyway.
Thanks for your thoughts, @zaebars!
Well, I mean, it would be good if the strong help the weak. That's what makes us human. But, unfortunately, this is not always the case.
I believe that we will reach a point where many whales will begin to power down at an alarming rate and there will be a re-distribution of wealth to those who are willing to pay for it.
Say a whale has $1,000,000 worth of steem power that they want to cash out. 1,000,000/104=$9615 per week. Now think about all the other people cashing out at the same time and if the supply is in far excess of demand and the growth rate of steemit, then the time to buy will be then IMO.
I think that as steemit grows to a point where it is not possible for whales to keep up with the rate of new posts, the narrowing down of content a user is interested in by way of tags will become much more important. So eventually the many dolphins which exist will become the main voters and I believe that it’s likely that much more content will be paid what it is worth over time due to the much more evenly spread votes.
People could still chase high paying, trending content, but the pool of people chasing will be so large that getting anything out of it may be more trouble than it is worth. Something akin to winning the lottery. It might not be feasible to try to keep up with the fast rate of replies and lead to people looking for other good content in someone else’s blog.
Based on my belief that the amount of dolphins will increase dramatically. I think another possibility will be that as the steemit community grows, the amount of high quality content will increase dramatically and the average user (like myself) may just find that there is not much to be made from posting a blog. Perhaps a better move may be to comment a lot on other content that is not as popular and make small amounts of money by commenting a lot. There is always the interest earned from holding onto steem power too. It is crazy high.
Steemit right now is so very much about getting rich quick. I think that it’s likely that once this gold rush diminishes and people keep coming back here not only for a bit of money, but because the actually love being here. The perception of being able to get rich quick will fade a great deal because it will be hard to achieve when you have such high calibre bloggers to compete with.
Should that become the case then it can open the way for a much more positive community where everyone gets paid to contribute to the steemit ecosystem in ways not motivated by getting rich quick. Honestly, voting is like giving people free money, it’s not hard to do and if everyone can do it, then the focus can be more about community and helping others.
Sorry about the massive reply, once I get going, it’s hard to stop :D
Yeah, maybe. I think if we make selection of tags more convenient, this will be so. Now you can see only a few trend tags.
Well, yes, if we consider Steemit as an opportunity to get the money. But if you forget about money at some point, the blogging process itself can bring you joy :)
Yeah, maybe. But again, there are positive aspects. You can learn to write better. Overall, the content will become more qualitative, and therefore will increase the capitalization of Steemit. For those who hold Steem Power or Steem, it'll be good.
So you're a born blogger and should not be afraid of "the star bloggers" :)
Thank you for this comment, @skum!
I'm putting some of the finishing touches to launch a mentoring program to help up and ideally retain more users. The image you used to start this article is just perfect. Would you mind if I used it for my post to launch the mentoring initiative? maybe in future posts on it as well?
I'm yet to find anything even close to use but didn't want to just take yours without asking.