For the past week or so, I've abstained from posting. In fact, I considered leaving the platform altogether, as stated in my overly-angry post. But instead of flouncing away like the drama queen I might seem like, I decided to take a step back, talk to people, and rethink my approach.
I've read some very interesting posts on the topic of voting bots, power distribution and the importance of curation. Posts by @acidyo , @aggroed , @rhondak , @reggaemuffin and @beanz (just to name a few) - all leaving me with a lot of things to think about. I also spoke to dozens of people from different steemian communities on Discord, which might explain why in my week of absence my number of followers rose by over 100.
No actionable or even discussable solution came to mind. So I refrained from posting anything and kept reading, asking, commenting and listening.
Today, I finally had an idea worth sharing and breaking my no-post diet of a week and abit. An idea that might help raise the value of steem, increase reader traffic on the website, and do it all with a voting bot.
Image Source: Coin Telegraph
Disclaimer
I am not a mathematician, economist or cryptocurrency specialist. I am a marketer and content producer. And as such, I view steemit a bit differently than most. It also means I might not have a clue as to what I am talking about, and it's up to you to correct me.
In addition, and I've said this before, Steemit can't currently produce the income my day job does. And so, it's not my main income. In fact, I personally prefer to treat STEEM like monopoly money. It's pretend money, sitting on the blockchain to present value on content.
The Circlejerks Killing Steem
Voting bots are a natural evolution of the platform, brought on by HF19. Stakeholders who don't want to spend time curating were given an option far more profitable than trailing curation accounts - vote selling and SP leasing. There are many issues with that (half my feed is people trying to come up with solutions to them), but @beanz drew my attention to one I didn't consider while focused on content quality and abuse prevention: STEEM's value will not rise as long as many stakeholders continue to power down and withdraw funds from vote selling. The inflow of value into STEEM will continue to be low as long as people don't buy STEEM.
And who's going to buy it? And how will they pay for it? I'll get to it.
The second type of circlejerking on steemit is the limited monetizable audience. Since the only people who can increase the payout for content on the blockchain are minnows and the few whales who curate manually, those are the people you need to target with your content. This is very bad for authors and creators who want to use steemit as a content publishing platform they can profit from, and market it globally.
Here's an example:
Let's say I am a creative publisher who can choose to do one of 2 things: I can publish my creative blog on a platform like Patreon, and market my profile there in order to receive rewards from my audience. I can even let them set the rewards. And it's all in (what they call here) FIAT that doesn't need converting to pay the rent.
Alternatively, I can publish my content on steemit, and hope to impress the locals. Sure, I can send my audience to my posts on steemit or busy.org, and hope that one or two of my fans will register on the platform, and someday grow enough SP to truly reward me. But Patreon just offers so much more, allowing for a much larger monetizable audience.
The hurdles a reader must overcome on their way to a Steemit account to reward their favorite author is usually not worth their effort.
But there might be a workaround.
(Image source: Pixabay)
The Voting Bot Solution - Curation for the Masses
Currently, voting bots charge platform users SBD to upvote their content for increased visibility and some added payout value. But what if we had a bot that did something smarter than that, and helped bring in money into the ecosystem? What if let Internet users without a steemit account and wallet pay for upvotes of posts on the blockchain?
Example:
Let's say Jimmy Bob really likes my stories. He wants to support my creation but unfortunately for us all - knows nothing about cryptocurrencies and pays online with his PayPal account. Jimmy Bob is not a content creator. In fact, he rarely posts anything online.
In an ideal world, when Jimmy Bob is done reading my post on steemit, he can click the "Tip Author" button, and be offered ways to buy me an upvote using FIAT or cryptocurrency.
Jimmy Bob then picks the sum in Dollars or Euros or just about any currency to reward me with and pays the bot with his credit card, PayPal or some other online payment solution. The voting bot then uses this money to purchase STEEM on the market, and upvotes my post as if I had sent the sum to a voting bot in SBD. Investors delegating to the bot get paid in STEEM, freshly purchased on the market. Authors get the SBD and SP in payout because their fans love them without having a steem account.
That "Tip Author" button will be a perfect replacement for the unused and neglected "promote" button. It'll be impossible to ignore as authors will very likely to encourage readers to use it.
(Image source: Pixabay)
Your Turn, Steemit!
I am not an economist, or programmer or crypto expert. I mentioned that in the disclaimer, and it's worth mentioning again. So there's a pretty good chance that this whole post is me talking out of my back side, and I have less of a clue than I think I do. In that case - feel free to downvote this post, but please take the time to enlighten me in the comments.
-=-=-=-=-
Note: I am not back to posting regularly, but I couldn't help myself when this idea popped into my head. So sue me.
Quick note: I'm not sure but I hope I didn't word my comment that way because there is a mistake in there. The stakeholders selling votes are not powering down while they are delegated to these bots. It is just the reward pool going to them instead of something that brings more value.
You're right. I meant selling SBD they get from leasing SP. I forgot how long from publishing I can edit, but it looks like I can't fix it now. Bollocks.
It is a cool idea, but unfortunately any time you start talking about creating a way to go from 'fiat/regular' money into crypto, you enter the regulation game. Right now creating any way for users to easily get 'regular' money into STEEM would be a huge win for STEEM, but unfortunately the regulations to allow someone to do that would probably require them to have around $1,000,000 (guesstimate) to cover the legal costs to get started.
You have a good point. My idea would essentially make this bot into a kind of exchange, which is where it all turns too legalese for me. I should have added "I am not a lawyer" to the disclaimer. :)
This might be a stupid question, but shouldn't Steemit the company invest heavily in such an endeavour? Shouldn't ways to bring money into the platform be a top priority in development and business development? Or perhaps, partner with an existing exchange that can maybe process these conversions without steemit having to deal with the legal headaches?
Just throwing ideas around here. Thanks for commenting! <3
It was one of the top priorities that I suggested for the 2018 roadmap. There may be regulatory issues with them getting involved, but we’ll see.
I do believe I heard @blocktrades say during they Growth Forum they are working on a solution to easily move fiat into STEEM, their success may well open the door to implementing this interesting idea.
This was my first thought; an exchange like @blocktrades is incentivised to fix the fiat to Steem problem. I hope they will.
This is a really cool idea but it would need to be integrated into steemit platform. Also it requires a payment processor that could "swap" any (crypto)currency into steem on the fly. Something like blocktrades.us but it takes quite a big fee :(
It doesn't have to be "on the fly". The bot can hold a certain quantity of liquid cash and swap piles instead of crumbs to save on the fee. I think.
What if it's not integrated into the platform (at first) but is a clickable image link authors can just add at the bottom of their post?
And thank you for taking the time to read and reply! <3
And thank you for the reply!
I though about it some more and it's possible, but it needs an experienced dev to make it work. Also the fiat -> steem part is really tricky, there are really big crypto exchanges that don't even support fiat.
My idea for it would be to use Bitcoin Lightning Network - are you OK if I make a post about it? Of course I will link to your post :)
Absolutely! Please tag me so won't miss it in my messy feed.
Sure thing!
The idea is valid. It is similar to supporting opensource by donation. A lot of opensource software has the gift option, or 'by me a beer' analogy. It should be dead simple for everyone, not only steem blockchain or cryptocurrency users.
I have no idea if it could work but it would certainly attract capital and increase the value because it creates a demand for steem.
Of course every other bot discussion argument still stands as this would still be a bot.
It would be a bot if it was a massive account giving you an upvote and paying that massive account in fiat
another option might be
not this as a bot per se, it could be:
basically an exchange buying 0.5 cents of steem and depositing 0.5 sbd in your account
It exists. It's called Flattr, and it has gradually moved from a 'tip button' to a subscription budget distributed among sites. Because at heart placing the button assumes that people value the content they create, which often is a unilateral vision not shared enough by the reader/friends to actually tip on content.
Steem(it) as a network is much more advanced, an a both easier and better method, than the noble thinking that is a tip button/bot/whatever. That idea has been tried over and over in the blogosphere for a decade now. Before, popular especially in German online media, there was the ''pay to access truly old content' click & buy.
Unless you're the Guardian, or an already long established media entity/creator [online] the donation model doesn't work. Not beyond beer or coffee money, and that for non-addicts of both beverages only.
Which is why Steem is so truly revolutionary a blockchain.
The beer or coffee of other platforms is exactly what I am talking about here. Sure, it might not be wildly popular (people are stingy), but it might cause content creators to funnel more traffic to their steemit blog, knowing that these visitors can potentially increase the post value without being steemit users.
Even if 1 of 100 viewers who reach a steemit post from Facebook or Google brings in 5 dollars? That's more rewards for the author, more rewards for the stakeholders, and a good reason for content authors to market steemit. The 99 that didn't tip in FIAT, are still traffic, and perhaps one or two of them are content creators too that might take interest in the platform and join.
Big problem to solve ( typical platform) conundrum: first of all you need to create a solution/app/mechanism which is trusted by Jane and Joe. The app they would use to pay with, think PayPal/Stripe/FB payments/Flattr. Trust, perception and credibility are key here.
Then you need to expand the interface with your button, which would mean whether a browser extension (narrowing down the reach of your button to niche, most likely those who already participate in several crowdfunding markets and on patreon too). Alternatively you create your own interface, which is tailored specifically to upsell the tip option. And has less competition with Steemit's user signup CTA.
Oh wait... you know how you can solve this and make it all easier? Without needing a bot? Paypal.me.
Everybody can create their own links, donation amounts and even buttons to improve CTA. They can even run it through a link shortener service to track performance (but that's advanced use already). No need for a bot. Also: Patreon links.
The question isn't would your bot improve the platform by bringing in tips? The question is what does the content creator offer that deserves a tip?
People aren't necessarily stingy, people want a return for value tho. Which is why Patreon works [just about]. Which is why FB works for theme and plugin sellers and SaaS apps but not for advertising based media. There's nothing on offer to spend on.
If I come... what do you have to offer. Tips are charitable. You interrupt a user experience thus you need to solve the chicken/egg conundrum in order to get something. The tipping economy is a unicorn. Not a tech unicorn btw just a unicorn. Ask hundreds of active and popular WordPress developers how much they get from their donation buttons.
On a side but related note, I think you may like my two of my most recent posts (flagging and bots). Until the last section most definitely the most recent one.
That depends on the tipper. I once got a 10 SBD tip from someone for a really good comment I made on steemit. I've been known to tip authors and content creators I support. Even bought minnowbooster upvotes to help bring exposure to a new artist I discovered. So perhaps we unicorns exist.
Nobody said it doesn’t happen. The number of tips is not viable for (commercial) operation though. It’s something which has been tried over and over already. With additional complications in this case. Additional step in hindrances when there’s several available viable and trusted options already.
But by all means... go ahead and make it happen if you think it’s the solution.
It's an idea, not a solution. So far, I got @tipu interested as he's already halfway there. Since he's still at it, there might be more viability than we think in expanding the tipping service to support fiat contributions from readers who aren't on steemit.
It's funny that I saw your reply at the time I did. I just woke up to a successful kickstarter campaign by a friend who has a local publishing company for scifi and fantasy translations. The kickstart wasn't doing too great all month, and he was about $2,000 away from his goal 24 hours before the end. He was bitching about it wildly on twitter, and an old acquaintance came to the rescue. Said acquaintance? Neil Fucking Gaiman. So Neil offered a kickstarter reward - his own copy of a special edition of Stardust. It sold for $4,000 or so within a few hours.
My point? Kindness exists. You can build a commercial service on kindness, and people will surprise you.
I also am a complete techno programming noob. I feel very proud to be here on Steemit as a frontrunner (so to speak) and I understand the general blockchain concept but thats as far as it goes.
And what you are sugesting actually sounds amazing and warrents the programmers looking into, if they have not already which they probably have, and if they havent, they should
so I am really curious to find out what our tech minded folk here on steemit have for an answer.
amazing suggestion
Yeah. Perhaps I should have posted this on utopian to get the right attention.
The irony is, being a consistent blogger I may go check out this Patreon platform you mention. Never heard of it but sounds like it may be a value add for me....I know kinda of the opposite result of what your post is trying to accomplish...LOL.
I do love your general idea. There's got to be somehow we can draw fiat into steem from readers.
Whoops! :)
I know a thing or two or too many about content monetization online. Worked in the field a couple of years back. Patreon is amazing for musicians and video art creators with a dedicated following.
I've written for a couple financial websites and do have other outlets I could pursue but with my radio show on MSPWaves and my consistent posting on steemit the past year.....I'm too entrenched to let it go. If anything I would post in multiple places in addition to steemit.
Steemit sometimes feels like the equivalent of having a bad girlfriend though...lol.
Steemit, my needy yet abusive boyfriend. Yeah, I feel you. :)
Don't know about PayPal and credit cards, but if instead you would say 'other crypto currency's, then, yes, excellent point. I've had a PayPal donate button on my author page for years but frankly never got a single donation. PayPal and credit card solutions in general are a truly bad fit for micro donations. Other than the PayPal donate button,the dogecoin donation link though did really well. Low transaction costs on small payments made it much more suitable for micro donations and thus, eventhough doge is just a minor coin, a much bigger success for me than fiat payment options. I thus think if the platform would take your idea but use crypto currencies instead, it could make for a true winning combination.
I have a little crush on FUCK tokens. It's brilliant and their video made me laugh so hard!!! Effectiveness depends on the type of target audience you have. If your readers understand crypto - awesome. If they don't? Well... better give them an alternative if you want their support.
To @techslut reference your reply to @amirl:
I think if the money went to the "POST" which is the only way a person would get a boost in payout and post visibility is a very dangerous idea. If the $10 went directly into a person's wallet and bypassed the "Post" then a good idea. To remind you why the money going directly to the post all I need to say is @transisto and @berniesanders. They downvote thus lower the value/payout of post on larks and whims. So anything that comes in from outside of steemit needs to go directly to the users wallet until such time as the communist on the platform that just want to redistribute the wealth are voted off the steemit island.
Hmm. Good point. Amusingly enough, @berniesanders and his bot army his this post with all their might because... because that's the only way he knows how to communicate, I guess?
You're right. There's no point encouraging investment in STEEM as long as a significant percentage of the coin and power is in the hands of bully assholes who may or may not be managing their accounts from a closed asylum ward.
:sigh:
Investment is okay, but direct in to the persons wallet the investor wants to invest in. Then it will not matter how much the payout is adjusted, the author would still get the reward that an investor felt they should have.
That... that might work! Like @tipu with fiat to sbd conversion built-in. But there would have to be a moderation effort to prevent abuse. Like, only verified accounts of a certain age can accept these and the tip rewards are limited at a reasonable daily sum proportionate to platform reputation. Otherwise... I can see a lot of bad stuff done with such a system.
This is a good idea, as it would allow people that aren't on Steemit to support your work, but would this be enough to overcome the nameless people that are just looking at the profit margin from voting down your post?
I've tipped my favorite authors directly, but I don't see the tip button anymore. I wonder why the devs removed it. Don't you?
I hope your last goodbye post will not influence anyone to leave steemit. Thanks for your great decision. Hope you will have great time here again and I really love they way steemit helping people to make many organically with great interactions. your writing inspire lot though I am not good writer.
<3
Yeah, I was angry. But I am still here. As for other people - I guess the bullying problem is something they should know about when joining so they can prepare mentally.
I hope everyone will have nice journey here. Yes. I followed all your response to him and his reactions like may be thousands of users. Well, I am really illiterate about steemit blockchain when these guys are giving 100% of their effort to make it better so far I know. I really waited for something better and I was following your Fb group posts too. I am still learning how to cope with steemit system. Have nice days ahead :)
hi @techslut, this idea reminds me a lot of this idea that acidyo posted i time ago, which is exactly the other way around :)
https://steemit.com/tipbot/@acidyo/looking-for-a-tipbot-developer
but i agree with @timcliff, the idea is good and i would use it most likely quite often, but there are a damn lot of problems in the way. In some countries much more than in others but still ...
Kind regards
Jan
Hi @techslut, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
If you’d like to nominate someone’s post just visit the Steemit Ramble Discord
Sounds very interesting and your idea is excellent,
Too bad I do not understand too much about it,
This is an area that is not clear to those who do understand it.
Hmm, that's why I love being angry at times. It brings out my creativity too. It's a great idea that you've thought out here @techslut. Let's wait for the experts to give it a thought.
Let's also hope that the experts who see this can actually use this insight to DO something.
Thanks for replying!
The main key for steem the currency growth is the growth of steem ecosystem, that being all other platforms based on steem, Smart Media Tokens and at least a million of daily users. Voting bot is a cute idea, but isn't the main idea of steemit that more accounts get created, why keep people out of steemit? It could be a nice feature, but it would clearly not be as growth inducing as the things mentioned above.
Obviously. It's not INSTEAD of, but in addition. Sure, the idea is to grow the platform and steem userbase. What better way to advertise the platform and bring users than to make the AUTHORS promote their posts knowing that ANYONE can contribute to their rewards? A percentage will surely choose to join the platform, but those that won't? Can still increase the value of steem and reward authors. It's a win win situation, the way I see it.
I see, from perspective of newcomers not versed in ways of cryptocurrency could be noice if they could easily donate, they can't do that now based on current steemit functionality. Ok, we would then need to have some heavy hitting bloggers capable of attracting massive audience to pump the price for real. Small donators would also be nice (for certain bloggers only). Cool little feature, might be interesting to explore it more.
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This isn't my area of expertise, so I may be way off but what if it were done as an anonomys pool. You could join a team that has a tip bot, then the tip bot paid out towards a project effort that spanned across multiple people. Sort of like money laundering I think though. A tip goes through then sits off shorevthen is cashed out on a regulated time period to purchase steem and delegate it equally to whoever participates with the bot?
It might just be very morning (just woke up), but I have no idea what you mean.
Hi. I am new to the community and ran across this post and after reading it decided to esteem it. I dont have many followers yet but I do think what I read is a good idea so I do what I can.
Thank you!
I need your help.
I know you have great heart
I disagree. It's not even a little easier.
Let's say your friend on Facebook really likes your post, and want to upvote it by sending $10 to a bot. That would give you a nice boost in payout and more post visibility, resulting in more upvotes and followers on the platform.
If your Facebook friend opens an account, he'd have to purchase SBD through a trading platform that accepts FIATs, then send it to you just to say "awesome post, it helped me a lot".
That's a ton of work and good luck explaining this process to your average Facebook user who has zero clues about cryptocurrencies and think FIAT is only a car brand.
I propose some kind of built-in mechanism in the blog post page to save people who do not create content having to go through all that trouble. If they do create content? They're welcome to join the circlejerk. :)
Why would it be bad for steem is people pay fiat for it?
No, I don't. I offer converting FIAT to SBD. Currently, people pay SBD for upvotes, and get the value in return in SBD and SP. The investors get SBD. There's no more fluidity that currently exists.