Are curation rewards part of the problem?
After watching the drama between a couple users unfold this past week, I have come to the opinion that curation rewards are a double edged sword; harming as much as helping to the platform. Curation rewards provide financial incentive to upvote a post and make it more popular in the hopes that others will follow and make the post even more valuable. The end result (dependent upon when you voted) is that you get paid a small percentage of the posts total earnings. While this is good in theory, does serve to get some authors noticed, it is also one of the most abused functionalities of the Steemit platform. This abuse manifests itself in a number of ways. Low quality users that primarily rob Youtube of content create bot armies that continually upvote their posts as a result they garner a small profit from the spam article they upvoted as well as the curation rewards that will eventually filter back down to their bots.
In many ways I see it as similar to the pump and dump scam found in the cryptocurrency market. A user creates a garbage post, uses bots to upvote (pump) it so it appears popular, regular users see it a post with a lot of votes and join in hoping to make curation rewards in event the post explodes. The post does mediocre at best, and the rewards are distributed (dumped) with the lions share going to the original author and his army of bots. The regular users that joined in get a penance of the rewards and essentially wasted their vote on a scam.
The other and more insidious way in which I think curation rewards hurt the platform is that they entice users to upvote content that they either disagree with or downright do not like based simply on the fact that it’s a guaranteed payday. For example take the posts by @berniesanders and @haejin regarding the great Steemit Feud of 2017. Both of these authors are consistently making $300 or more per post regardless of content. In fact many of the highest earning posts consist of nothing more than bitching about the other user. To that end I don’t particularly like either user and I think they have both acted in a transparent manner indicative of greed and crowd manipulation.
That aside I too find myself tempted to upvote their posts at the 30 minute mark out of sheer greed and to grab some SP as I know they will go up. I think that when you have a system in place that entices users to upvote based on greed regardless of content it needs some looking into.
Thoughts?
I agree, curation can be used in a greedy way (and I've been guilty of that myself when I started curating on steemit!). But from what I understand it's either that or no curation rewards at all :).
For now I think it's a necessary evil. It seems impossible to avoid without killing the incentives for curating stuff. But I would be curious to know if you Pawsdog or others have ideas on how it could be fixed or at least attenuated.
That is an excellent question.. First I think that what I have come to learn and what others miss is that unless you have around 1000sp.. your curation rewards are negligible at best and sticking to content creation and commenting would be the more lucrative endeavor.
That aside, I'm not so much sure that the curation process needs to be fixed as much as the fact that strict policies need to be brought about that prevent abuse of the system through bot accounts or one user transparently using other accounts to substantially increase their ability to either propel or crush content at a whim.
I also think that the relationship SP has to power should be reduced substantially and more weight should be given to reputation. I think that the reputation thing was brought about to limit the ability of a user whom consistently shows bad behavior to continue doing it. This however, is a mute point is the user has sufficient wealth as their SP far exceeds the impact their Rep has in the grand scheme of things. I could also see a limit being applied of say no more that $150 or so for a post or something along those lines. I think that would even the playing field a bit and may slow some abuse of the system. Until then I will just continue trying to play the game as good as the rest of them...
Thanks for this valuable yet often overlooked bit of information. Many newcomers such as myself are merely learning the ropes on how to create content that will increase our earnings and don't fully understand curation. I am resteeming this post in hopes that someone who hasn't found your content is helped by the info you provided here. Upvoted, too!
Thank you so much for your kind words and the resteem. I do know one thing that irked me a bit ago. That being to comment, take my time, convey my thoughts and be ignored. Not the case here.. have .04 :)
I thank you, too! I agree it is important to reward those who are putting forth an honest effort instead of participating in the usual spam. It motivates many to do improve, at least it does for me. I want to help others in the community even if my vote isn't worth as much as I wish it were, in due time it will be.
Happy new year, @pawsdog!
I signed on here because it was touted as a free speech platform At first I was over the moon excited because I can see the potential and the absolute need for a free speech platform but after getting on, I realized if a couple (or even one) whales in here doesn't like what you're saying or doesn't like you or whatever, they just flag and down vote people into non-existence. One flag and no one will ever see that post. How can anything be a community decision if only one whale decides that no one else will even see it? This also stifles free speech and no one will play the devil's advocate (which society desperately needs).
Spending hours on a post that isn't even being seen is a complete waste of time. Have seen several people say they're giving steemit a break for this reason, I believe.
Seems to be the same people on the hot and trending lists every time I click it and not sure if it's simply because people aren't posting anything of interest to me or if I just never get to see the great posts but my upvote is basically worthless anyway and my excitement for steemit has waned to the point of rarely even logging in. Perhaps following you may change that for me. If you like dogs and cryptos you should have a look at dogecoins chart! I am loving that coin!
Yes! I said the same in a recent post in regards to downvoting and flagging content. In my opinion, down voting is akin to censorship. I do not down vote anything on Steemit and I cannot comprehend the value of being paid to down vote content on a platform that is as you said, "touted for being a free speech platform." Putting the two together simply doesn't make sense.
I have also noticed that the same people are on the hot and trending list as I'm sure most people are observing. It doesn't seem fair to those of us who spend a great deal of time supporting, promoting and doing what we can to help Steemit newcomers.
I spend an exceptionally great deal of time on Steemit so for those of us who are actually online interacting with others where is the incentive if all of the attention is going to whales and the same people over and over?
Hopefully your hard work and dedication will serve you well. You have a new follower here, though I haven't been spending much time on steemit. I sure have plenty of great topics to blog on but not sure if it's worth my time yet.
Happy New year
Peace and blessings
Thank you so much! I value each and every follower because I know that's is what being a part of a networking should be all about truly.
I hope you find the time to be more active here on steemit, and I cannot wait to read some of your own content.
Happy new year to you, too!
Nice pun.. dogecoins dog-e-coin.. I agree it has become an issue. I think much has to do with immaturity and the like. Anytime money gets involved there are going to be problems. Well I'm here.. and if you have a solid article the I like reading..Here have .03
Awesome! thank you kindly. I also don't understand what I'm even doing with steem dollars and steem power or the upvoting times or payouts or the default rewards or anything and I think I've read all the rules and searched for posts that explain it but can't find anything that lays it out in lay mans terms yet....Maybe you could break that down for us!
Peace and blessings
All things considered, I am really just starting to do what I want on this platform. It has definitely affected my numbers, and potentially slowed my followers, but while I want to make money on here as much as anyone, I also want to make friends, and meet fans. I want to see what I want to see, and like what I want to like. I like to follow you and upvote your things because I think you are smart, and determined, and want to try to find a way to break through a flawed system, and I will support you in any way I can. I hate rewards voting because it is senseless. I am no longer interested in giving people kudos, even if it means financial benefit for me. Imma do me from now on...and maybe if I keep putting out quality content consistently, if I ever get out of this damn hospital bed, I can still rise up without all that business. Nicely done, as always! :)
Well here are some kudos from me. excellent response, and I agree. The system is flawed and I think that it is an issue that needs to be addressed. 6 a.m. here.. I'm 40 was just woken up by my 6 month old daughter and only on 1/2 cup of coffee so my writing and wit are at 40% for the moment
A 6 month old? God bless you. haha. I have a 6,4 and 2 year old and I loved them all as babies, but the first year with all of them was a special hell that I would not wish on anyone. I think society at large tends to paper over the difficulty of children, because if they didn't, our population would die out! Of course, as the sayings tend to go, it's all worth it in the end. A tiny little smile and coo is worth hours of crying, and seeing your children begin to succeed in life is worth all of the trial and tribulation with them (which I am just beginning with my oldest.) But man, it's hard. So. Damn. Hard. Good luck to you, and drink lots of coffee and get in a nap when you can! :)
I think you are partly right. So there is an additional variable to take into account as well and is the number of people upvoting the same post.
If you use a bot in order to upvote automatically authors with a high number of upvoters, the curation that you receive is very little since you have to divide the amount destined for curators between the number of upvoters as well.
BTW, good post.
True, I think that perhaps those on the lower end of the food chain as of yet do not realize how low curation rewards are for an account with under 1000sp.. accordingly they upovote in the hopes of getting a winning lottery ticket that will never actually pay.
I have to agree with this. I have felt the same way myself about a lot of the post that I see. I am torn between voting only for content that I like and voting based on trying to be a "good" curator i.e. being a curator that is astute at spotting "good" talent.
@originalworks
I agree and and I think that the term curation here, has become perverted in that it has little to do with good content and a lot to do with folks just trying to scrape a nickel from a post with high earnings.
Yes, questioning the meaning the of word curator gets at the heart of the point. In fact, I would have to question the word author as well.
I have to say I agree with you on both points. Especially in light of the fact that many posts are not "authored" as they are either copied from another source, consist of Youtube links, or have failed to show the creative sustenance one would need to in order to claim the "authored it"; brought it to life, created it.. etc. Good points..
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I love how you've gone about all of this.
I was just reading all the comments on your 'Comma' post and man, is it entertaining.
I haven't seen it for a long time, but I feel like you're in the Game of Thrones tv show. All these kings and armies have spilled over into your village and you're in the middle of it all... but secretly you're a king in hiding without an army, and all these other players don't really understand what they're up against.
Your rep and account value have bounced all over the place, but your followers have dramatically increased so I'm excited to see the positive effect on your quest.
Anyway, thanks for making my Steemit ride so entertaining and insightful and intelligent. I knew you were going to be good but I had no idea it would be this amazing!
I could not of done it without you Mate..
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2014/05/23/sun-tzus-33-best-pieces-of-leadership-advice/#2cc5dbf75e5e
I am very excited that we are so much closer to being able to help out others.. I am going to update that now.. and I will be back primarily on analyis and other stories when all this blows over. I'm a decently intelligent guy and play my cards close to my chest. Above all I just want to see others succeed..
I've always loved Sun Tzus book. My dad gave it to me when I was 13 and I've gotten value out of it every time I've read it.
I've sure you would have done just fine without me, but I'm very pleased to have been able to help out and support where I can. I believe in your quest on a couple of different levels and have no doubt it's journey and conclusion will be an important moment in Steem history.
I think you may be correct. I certainly hope you gather some traction from all this as well. That said I do not want to repost my parody of you as that may put you on the target list as well. I will just leave it in the blog and maybe someone will find it there.. But commenting certainly does not hurt...
Oh yeah, I feel like that parody was amazing to everyone who knows us well... but would probably be lost on anyone new (or quick on their flag fingers). I'm happy for it to be in your blog as the most hilarious post I've ever been involved in, and treasure for anyone wise enough to go through your backlog.
It'll be interesting to see if your new followers become readers... or were just in town for the drama. I absolutely hope they stay... especially once they see the detailed analysis of your market watch... you've been providing a lot of unseen value...
Thank you.. I will be back on that analysis thing tomorrow.. Ideally I try to do that and one other article of interest each day. As it is to late in the day to do an analysis.. I think I may pump out a non drama article over the next hour, that deals with platform ideals, leadership and general best practices to make friends.. I have yet to decide. I will let my fingers do the walking.. Think I will get a shitty US beer not a xxxx gold and contemplate it for a few before I begin writing..
I'm actually hoping that curation will play a much stronger role going forward. I know it did in the past it it created problems. But I agree with one of the comments that a social media or any people powered platform should not be controlled the way it is right now by a wealthy few. There should be some weight adjustment so that a post with lots of votes can rank really well even if the dollar value is low.
Yes and know as that would encourage bot voting to simply boost that number. It could be done if say, only votes above those with (rep 50) had significant impact as it would be a real pain to create a bot army with a lot of reputation.
100% agree, doesn't seem that the bots are being taken as seriously as they should from my time on here (which admittedly has been limited) - not even two weeks. But if i can realize the problem in less than 2 weeks then one must ask why it hasn't been addressed? Are the site creators not worried about it or just personal gains?
That is the question, are they interested in long term health or just simply sitting and waiting to cash out?