Besides the blockchain and the pool of Steem, steemit runs on engagement. It is a social environment where community, as always, is built upon the interactions of its members. Inter-actions which implies reciprocity.
Yesterday, I had an interesting conversation after flagging a cut and paste comment claiming to support quality content by upvoting and following posts and their creators, and thanking them for making Steemit better. I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that the post had not been read and subsequently flagged for cut and paste commenting and lying as to their motivations.
Normally when I flag, there is very little reaction as they accept they are playing a numbers game and are going to get flagged occasionally at least. But this time, there was a response, explaining their position and process which I still do not find satisfactory and the chain went on.
In the end however, I removed the flag and we came to an understanding as the conversation we held provided an understanding of each other's position and possibly changed actions or approach in the future.
The problem for me with those trying to help Steemit through upvotes and cut and paste comments is that it breaks the connection to further conversation as it is essentially an automated bot response, from a human curator.
The initial comment does not take into consideration the content of the article itself and leaves no room to reply anything other than 'Thanks'. This is not engaging and for someone that spends time developing original content, not very motivational for future content development.
I appreciate the upvote and the attempt to support quality but I think that the attempt does not actually support quality content very deeply. If for example a poster was only here for the rewards, quality is likely not the focus and the numbers game of spamming will be. But, for someone that is trying to create interesting and engaging content, feedback and interaction with the audience fuels the engine.
With all of the nonsense spam claiming to support this and that with very little, if any follow through, commenting in the same way does not inspire. The intentions of a cut and paste comment cannot be truly known as there is no relationship developed between the writer and the one commenting.
This relationship building is the social glue that turns a group of random people into a thoughtful and growing community. Growth is not only a numbers game based on membership figures, it is a deepening of the level of relationship between members and a development of the structure and willingness to engage.
Steemit is a marriage between hundreds of thousands of people who all give and take from the relationship. With so many taking only, it is important for those genuinely looking to give to be thoughtful in where they give and how they give. If their process mimics the behavior of the takers, they are going to be treated in kind as there is no option otherwise without a conversation to develop understanding.
And like a marriage two people, without engagement, conversation and the intimacy of sharing, the relationships wither and die or, never have a chance to grow in the first place.
This conversation I had last night after a very long day was interesting and pleasant despite its beginning and made me feel like something I did may have a slight difference in creating a better, stronger community in the long-run. As, if like the claim, this person is reading and supporting quality content, there are many authors such as myself who are very grateful for the financial support and the chance to have more quality rise and nonsense fall in the eyes of the community.
If anyone is interested in the long-term view of building Steemit, it is the community itself that requires development as it is from the community that both the content and the support comes. So, understanding what individuals commonly require to be an active and useful member of the community is crucial. This means understanding how people work and what incentives are required for motivation.
Yes, the money is a very important factor and one I like nearly everyone here needs but, it is only a part of the story. What are the other parts? Well, what do you require to do anything long-term?
From a marriage or relationship analogy standpoint, physical intimacy is often a very important component of the foundation but is unlikely to sustain the relationship into the long-term. The reason is that sex is like money, there are many sources available so to maintain interest, a depth of relationship generally needs to be developed also.
Otherwise, the relationship generally ends in divorce.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
If you are interested in this idea and want to further it:
I love it! I'm going to look back at your comment chain that you're discussing here and see what transpired. Having a general idea of how you feel about Steemit based on the many posts I've read of yours, I think I have a good idea of how everything went :)
We need to support growth in the community and the only way to do that is to build genuine relationships across the community. This means having original content creators, and genuine content curators (who provide more than a copy/paste comment on articles).
Thanks for continuing to be one of the strong supporters of Steemit!
I don't know if I handled it well but it ended well enough. I was very tired after shooting a wedding but still wanted to post a little here.
I was following the exchange last night as it was happening and was gratified to see each listening, and hearing the point of view of the other, so that both were able to take something positive from the conversation. As it should be, but rarely is.
Oh, that is pretty cool.
I wasn't very impressed by my beginning and tiredness is not a good enough excuse but I think that it ended in the right frame for both of us.
It sounds like you handled the situation well. You're right that in 95% of cases, cut and paste commenters are just spamming and collecting miniscule payouts from the occasional upvotes they receive.
But hey, if someone follows up and is able to demonstrate that they read the post and really do appreciate it - no harm, no foul? Even then, I might suggest that they stop copy and pasting because it just comes off as spam.
Absolutely and the exchange ended amicably. I don't mind the idea of it but the execution required work as there was essentially no difference to any of the other comments. I wold say that if someone wants to do this, cut and paste part of the comment and write a part for each post. I know it would take a little longer but these accounts aren't large accounts and by doing this they can either get more followers, comment upvotes or maybe even designated SP from supports to give them more weight to curate.
That's a reasonable idea.. I'll keep it in mind for my own conversations with these copy + pasters.
Spent two hours creating a post and got a "Nice post" comment! - so much for 'intimacy' :)
However, it's good you managed to talk to this user...maybe from now on he'll learn to really comment on something.
I am sure you felt connected on a spiritual level, perhaps even venturing into soulmate territory. I am following you now so when I have an opportunity, I will try to steal you away from 'Nice post' :)
I thought Steemit didn't allow cut and paste. I tried creating my articles in Microsoft Word and then tried coppying and pasting my creation here on Steemit and it didn't allow me to.
?
I am talking about cut and paste comments however, I write my content in WordPress and cut and paste from there no problem. The reason I do this is that the Steemit platform sometimes loses ongoing work.
This post is about people cutting and pasting spam comments rather than actually commenting on the article.
Oh sorry, it's a shame. How long does it take to write a comment? A few minutes. "if you can't do it properly don't do it at all." That's what I say.
You told the truth in this article I have on a few occasions put pretty good effort into my own posts and granted I didn't expect to receive awards and riches from them how ever the cut paste as you say such as "thanks" or "up voted" or "followed" just almost seems as bad as a thumbs down you put your time and effort and have added value so for that thank you @tarazkp. If we can read the post the person deserves a little more then a one word comment in my opinion.