I agree with you @nonameslefttouse.
The average user simply doesn't have the chance to invest in Steem on that scale, and selling it as the ultimate driver to success is patronizing.
I'm sorry Joe, but you're drawing a completely wrong image of this network, telling people that they can only succeed here if they buy themselves in. You may want to consider the Steem White Paper where the Sweat Equity Principle is defined as one of the fundamental principles of Steem:
All forms of capital are equally valuable. This means that those who contribute their scarce time and attention toward producing and curating content for others are just as valuable as those who contribute their scarce cash. This is the sweat equity principle and is a concept that prior cryptocurrencies have often had trouble providing to more than a few dozen individuals.
We need to respect those who can't invest money but time.
Hence, your video is not made for all new users, but a tiny minority of blogging investors. Only few would be able to step into your shoes and follow your example which is why this here can't actually be called a beginner's guide.
You've put a lot of efforts and also money in the system @joeparys which is definitely worth to be mentioned. But please do one step back and try to look at it from the perspective of someone who doesn't have thousands of dollars in their bank accounts. Maybe you can do a real tutorial the next time that is effectively addressing the large majority of new users that join our wonderful community.
We don't want this place to become a rich-people-only-club.
Hi surfer! I appreciate your comment... you make some great points! First, I never said that the only way to succeed was to “buy in”. What I communicated was if you do buy in... you will have a significant advantage. I think you will agree with me that since MOST do no buy in, buying into steem or sbd will give you a much better chance of success here. If you want to try and create great content and just posit it from scratch and "maybe" (huge maybe) get recognized... by all means do so... there are many ways to succeed here. I was just showing what I did... because my followers and students ask me all of the time "what would you do if you had to start all over again"
You quote the white paper 📝 where it says all forms of capital are equal - the fact is this simply isn’t true. A whale with millions is Steem power can wipe away any piece of content by downvotIng if he chooses. OR a bunch of Whales can do this to a users content. This has happened to many users here actually and they have left steem.
I was also not disrespecting anyone who can’t invest... and I do think a lot about the new users experience. The fact is you don’t have to invest more than $50-100 to hit the top of the trending on the introduce yourself page. I don’t feel that that is a lot of many to a majority of users... from that small investment you can reinvest earnings and keep posting if you apply the strategies correctly. I am sorry you feel that Steem is a “rich persons club” but the reality is that Steem can only exist if NEW money comes into the platform. If it doesn’t...Steem will inflate and go to 0. I appreciate your comment and opinions! @surfermarly I hope this helps!
Hey Joe! Thanks for getting back so quickly :-)
From my own experience I can tell you that there are many different ways to succeed on Steem, and one of them is to create great content.
I am one of those who started from scratch (in July 2016), not having any money to invest, but plenty of time. My first ~25K Steem were exclusively earned by blogging, neither using any bid bots nor participating in any voting circles, but simply engaging with the community on a daily basis.
It's possible.
You probably wouldn't remember it, but the only time you commented on one of my blog posts was when I announced that I had just bought a piece of land with my Steem earnings :-)
Yes, $50-100 aren't much neither for you nor for me, but ask one of our users from Venezuela or Nigeria what value $50-100 dollars have to them. I'm just politely asking you to be a bit more open-minded and include these people in your thoughts.
I admire your journey and am really impressed how far you've come in such a short time. Your success story is a great showcase to pitch Steem to investors without any doubt.
Yet, on a top trending position the members of this community will hold you accountable for your doings, and if you present yourself as a role model then you shouldn't only do that for those who have thousands of dollars in their bank accounts.
I agree with you on the fact that Steem needs further investments to succeed, but that's not the only contribution needed to make STEEM become valuable. Without these thousands of users creating content here on a daily basis and engaging with one another, this blockchain would be nothing.
My comments were not aiming to bruise your impeccable story at all, but to inform those who watch your videos that the way presented here is not the only one.
Steem on 🤙
Respect ✊ @surfermarley and I was not aiming to take anything away from your comment above. When you joined in 2016 I am sure things were way different back then. I bet the way to earn Steem and Steem dollars 💵 was also different as well (I would actually love to hear how you were able to earn so much Steem back then!) congrats on your 25k for real! The reason I posted on your post was because I was genuinely inspired! And I think being able to turn great content into property is super cool 😎
When you try to be a role model and help others it’s going to be 💯 impossible to serve everyone. I understand your point with Steemians in other parts of the world - if you believe there is a better way to serve them I’m open to suggestions for sure. And I appreciate you holding me accountable. Steem on
Maybe we have the chance to talk about blogging strategies at Steemfest³. I am still not sure if I can make it, but I'll let you know.
Steem on and happy weekend!
Hope to see you there!!
how you reached to 72 i am still in 25 and i want to know how this number used to increase ?
Name ten.
Since you're so keen on spreading misinformation today, I decided to downvote your post. Majority of the downvotes on this platform have been handed out to help stop abuse, not used as a weapon.
I guess the downvote I've given you today is there to help prove people also stay after receiving them. I've received downvotes, I didn't go anywhere. You're still here as well.