Greetings steemians! Lately I've noticed lots of people trying to copy other people's ideas and doing incredibly less-than-mediocre jobs of trying to compete with them. I've even seen some people try to copy the copies. They see a successful project and jealousy takes over. Their egos just can't seem to take the idea that someone came up with a good idea and is doing a good job of executing it. So, first they try to attack the idea out of egotistical spite. When this doesn't work they try to copy the idea which only leads to further bruising of their egos since they lack the dedication and technical and social skills the ones who created the idea implemented to make it a success.
Some of these people might even know how much time, hard work and attention to detail was put into the original idea but their egos make them incapable of admitting to themselves that they lack the proper skills and knowledge to create anything close to competition. Others feel threatened as they think that somehow the community that springs up around the successful project will somehow detract from theirs. The funny thing is that their actions are the only thing that makes this true. There would be plenty of room for both as people can be part of both communities but their jealousy and associated tantrums cause people to leave their community.
Successful ideas are generally the result of months or even years of careful attention to every fine detail. The people who implement these ideas have usually spent many years developing the skills necessary to make the idea successful. This gives the idea creators the ability to foresee most problems and find ways to correct them or possibly even benefit from them before they implement them. You can't expect to be able to copy what you perceive to be their idea because, for one thing, you probably don't even fully understand the idea. If you've only put 2 days worth of effort into your copy and don't even know enough about what you are trying to do to foresee the problems that will arise then your project is almost certainly going to fail. If your project fails because of this it is no one's fault but your own.
Copying a project after you have attacked it only makes you look bad. Since you've already stated what you think are the problems with it and you copied it anyway you not only look like a hypocrite but will probably not do nearly as good of a job at trying to correct those problems (if they are really problems) nor the ones you didn't see because they had already solved them.
When you see a good idea being successfully implemented there is no reason to compete with it or attack it. These are the actions of children. It is a much more sensible position to try to work with those people. In my experience, creators of good ideas are usually open to other use cases they might not have thought of and will usually be delighted to incorporate other ideas into it if those ideas are beneficial.
My advice is that if you don't have the skills or creativity to come up with a successful idea you have one of two options. You can either start to learn the knowledge and skills required to implement a successful idea as it is in the learning process that successful ideas are usually generated. The other option is that you can try to work with a successful project as your ideas and insights might be useful to those people. Anything else is madness. I really hope this helps some people in the future. Good luck and happy steeming!
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Good Post, We see copying in our everyday life. If for example, we take cryptocurrencies, which is the reason most of us are here for. Steemit and other projects would not have existed without copying Satchochi code in some way or another. Generally, copying something and putting an extra effort to make it even better is a good thing like with many crypto projects that started out of Satoshi code. But, the worst thing is those who copy something because of greed and see a post or project being successful, and they just want the same rewards. which basically is quick money. I think, most of them are brainwashed by getting rich quick and will eventually end up poor because even if they make money in one or two posts, they still did not get the taste of success inside them as well as long term success which is more important in this case. Unfortunately, some folks are like this, I will not say it is in their nature but mainly from their education and environment.
no sorry steemit is not a copy of bitcoin "satoshis" code (and noone named satoshi invented bitcoin) and you are thinking of Dogecoin and litecoin they are simple copies of bitcoin
But steemit and Steem Blockchain are completely new its NOt a simple copy and paste its brand new!
but remember good artists borrow great artists steal!
I am not saying steemit, ethereum, or NEM are copies of Bitcoin code, yes they are completely new codes, some of them are written from scratch. But without Satoshi blockchain and solving the double spending problem, you would be writing this article in Reddit or Facebook. So they did steal the idea and improve on it.
I agree there is no such person as Satochi and it is probably a group of people or an advanced intelligent agency.
Another example that comes to mind is Porsche company which was founded by Ferdinand Porsche, who was the chief engineer at Mercedes-Benz. and even made the VW beetle, do you think he did steal some knowledge from working with those two companies and went out to improve it and build what now we know as Porsche brand? I bet he did.
Ahh i see that you know alot more about this than I assumed!
I upvoted your analogy as it seems very helpful, peoplle need more analogies!
when i first came to steemit i thought new steem had to be mined and was then rewarded to reward poo, i asumed iit was a tem like Bitcoin Miners who just donated a part of the mined bitcoin to a reward pool, id idnt know we just had an inflationary currency which was simply locked by math and encryption, we still have a better system than fiat paper money, and I STILl am a litte confused
I know this has to do witth teh difference between proof of Work and Proof of Stake....
Can you help me undertand where new Steem is acually created?? Like ...i dont think you can mine steem the same way you mine bitcooin or litecoin or ethereum....
im wodnering...does each steem blockchain explorrer have its own reward pool? does steemit.com ad chainbb do they have different reward pools??
As a holder and investor in more than 50 crypto projects, i do know the basics of each and can't go in full technical details about each one as it will take me years to digest all the information out there.
I know that steem is generated by something called Delegate proof of stake, so basically you mine steem by creating and voting for contents. and the more steem you have the more you can get as with any other proof of stake coin out there.
Also, check any big account in steemit, someone with 100k or more and open their wallet, you will notice that each time you refresh the page their steem or steempower is increasing by a small fraction, that is also a proof that it is a proof of stake coin.
For more information about this subject what are delegates or full nodes, i suggest you read the below:
https://www.steemithelp.net/new-page-3/
Im sorry but i cant agree with you.. thats because not all of us have talent and i know we all have to start somewhere, but where ? If there is no example.. what we need is copy at first to develop skills.. even the great painter have to lear to copy first before they make their own painting.. it doesn't have to be the painting but also the technic of making the painting
What we can't do is completely copying othrs work.. and take the credit for us.. to that i can agree.. but if you copy just to improve your skills and not take the credit for it.. thats fine for me
Agreed. This is the basis of open source software and creative commons work. Ideas don't spring forth from a vacuum. Ideas are the result of a cultural experience, i.e., there are no lone inventors.
While I can agree with the point about copying without attribution, I disagree that copying an idea is inherently bad. Notice how 900+ cryptocurrencies came around after the first one, Bitcoin. Every successor offers an improvement on the original, some starting with original Bitcoin code with improvements.
The key difference there is that the successful ones make improvements. There's also a million tokens out there that didn't make any improvements or come up with any better use cases and are pretty much worthless. I'm specifically referring to people attempting to copy something and not even understanding what they were trying to copy.
Great points. I don't know you, but I wonder if something in particular has inspired you to post this...
I've been writing a bit about the Mimetic Theory of Civilization, as postulated by Rene Girard. He basically says that every social interaction of any social animal is an element of the same drive: Unsuccessful creatures & people try to become successful by copying success. We do this all the time, in every conceivable way. Babies learn how to speak by mimicking their parents. They learn to behave in society by copying those around them. They attach value to things not because of any intrinsic value, but because someone else values that thing. It goes the same for love. We become rivals with other people because we desire the same things or people that they do. When this rivalry gets out of hand, violence occurs. When the violence gets out of hand, murder happens. When an entire society becomes desirous of things to the point of violence, war happens.
The 10th commandment in the Bible says Do not Covet. Covet should be translated as DESIRE. Do not Desire anything your neighbour has, and you will be alright.
To relate to your post, people copy each other in cheesy ways because they desire what the original creator has achieved. Instead of giving credit and working to improve on the idea, they make a second rate copy, become unsuccessful, and grow to resent the original creator. We can only get past this and uncover the true meaning behind the 10th Commandment once we learn to appreciate others' work and give proper commendation. Props.
Great post, and thanks.
Well thought out reply, my friend and I agree with you.
I rarely copy anything and when I do I think it is important to pass the knowledge along.
I am thinking specifically about famous quotes that have an intrinsic knowledge!
Excellent reply and you touched upon the spirit of this post. Copying isn't inherently bad but if you don't even bother to take the time to understand what it is you are trying to copy and compete with then it will fail and people should be mad at themselves, not the ones they copied. IDK if you saw my green unicorn post but that is a parody of one of the things that inspired this post.
Never heard of Rene Girard.
The Mimetic Theory of Civilization sounds fascinating,can't wait to read more about it.
Have been reading the Bible lately,mostly Genesis and Revelations ;what an amazing book.
I am not creative , and i defenetly have big lac of imagination , but after i got to buy this Green Unicoins............... The power is in the magick ! Now i can do everyting , even seel some bacon :P
Yes the Green Unicoins are amazing! They can do anything.
обичам те! Ти си кралицата на сърцето ми!
great post @jphenderson... I really hope that more people take this to heart. Many often don't have a clue of the years of experience and hard effort it takes to make something "look easy".
I know you're talking of other things, but as one simple example, it's funny how some newbie 1 month old steemians complain about how unfair it is that their copy/paste jobs make so little versus others who've been honing their skills for years. There's just no concept of steadily building a presence and reputation over time. As with socialism, they seem to expect these things should just be handed to them on a silver platter, at the "expense" of everyone else...
Anyway, once again, terrific post, resteemed it too! :)
btw, you may also appreciate this excellent post by @donkeypong as well: "Reflections and Tips for International Steemit Members and Growth Communities".
Funny you mentioned that because I just mentioned people who think their unformatted, misspelled shit posts getting jealous of people making good money in my latest post.
well said @alexpmorris, I'm new to this blogging and social media game but think my idea is original, and takes a lot of work behind the scenes, but I'm happy to go slow and steady.
and yes, great post @jphenderson
Can i ..... can i .... can i .... copysomecats ?<3
Hi TheWalrus you are completly right, I one time had a guy that just copy pasted my entry for a contest. That's why I want to nominate you for this:
This gem of a post was discovered by the OCD Team!
What is Operation Curation Delegation?
OCD -- Operation Curation Delegation -- is a team of newly selected Steemit Curators. We are exploring the Steemitverse in search of those under-appreciated, under-exposed New User Posts. And then, we share them with the Steemian Community.
We strive to find the gems lost in the Steemit Sea and bring to them to the masses. The OCD Team wants to support new users on their Steemit adventure!
Your post has been selected for possible nomination on our daily feature.
Please reply to this comment if you accept, and are willing to let us promote your gem of a post! By accepting this, you have a chance to receive extra rewards and one of your photos in this article will be used on our compilation post!
Please follow @ocd -- learn more about OCD (transparency is key) and see other Gems!
Thank you! I'm flattered and I graciously accept.
Sry but because of the votes of offcialfuzzy and fuzzyvest I can't nominate you anymore because the post don't count as under value now. I am sorry. The Nomination will go to a real undervalued post.
No problem
I always try to make this platform a better place.
Your efforts are appreciated
This is an awesome post.
Yes, the smart people will copy something good, the not so smart will copy anything and everything. I think it is human nature to do so and in many ways it is how knowledge is spread.
Thanks!
....upvoted followed and resteemed
in that on the comment about not so smart people, it is more of the lazy and greedy who wants to get to the top quick will plagarise everything to the core of creators.
Some who immitate probably just wanted to make it more accessible.
but for Steemit sites, i think it is more of the greedy lazy folks who wants to get to the top quick and usually theu just take and go and do not give back. That would be my take.
cc: @jphenderson
Good Post,
Good Post!
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Good read. I noticed the same thing. This is why the trending page will be full of essentially the same article written by different people.
Yes it is pretty much the same thing over and over. Kinda ridiculous.
The good ones will win out in the long-term buddy
hummmmmmmm
Well, nice post i must say, its always good to be creative. There is absolutely nothing wrong in learning from other people's style and trying to improve on it to get something refined and unique. After all isn't that the idea behind learning?
Don't I indeed have an idea and for you to think of your own
There is sometimes a thin line between being influences and coppying something. You can still use other peoples ideas in your projects just don't coppy them but bring them to your "repertoire" in a small quantity. Often we do it without even noticing, in music for example a lot of artists go trough so many changes in their style and sound until they find themselves and you can often vert easily hear and find what their influences are. It is the same for everything. Be yourself and use your influences to guide you and build you up to be a better person of YOU!
i have the feeling the copying the author meant is more of plagarism?
It is that is why I wrote about using it as an inspiration and influence to add a flavour to your own thing you are doing. :)
Interesting post. Some people are naturally creative and others have to "fake it until they make it" I guess.
nice post, nice job
Wow brother, excellent post charm me! Vote for my comment, you would be helping me a lot, thanks
Hah, 311! Loved them in the day. Unfortunately they aren't very good in concert anymore =/ Just got booed out of a venue near me.
"Your move, creep."
Yea they definitely fell off since the mid 90s when this song came out. It was the perfect song to go with this post though.
Down and All Mixed Up were my jams.
Amber was pretty sweet too.
All Mixed Up is good stuff... all of those are really.
We are kinda trending each day to a Copycat mentality in society -generally speaking...and its kinda sad. Creative people need to start pro-creating quickly!
nice post and interesting your post, thank fir sharing.
Nice post @jphenderson
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I'd be tickled pink if people started copying me.
I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing here, but more importantly why my bandwidth is broken.
On the flip side, if no one copied anything, we would never advanced in technology or art. We wouldn't have cars, but a carriage;there'd be no modern art or realism, but primitive drawings, if we weren't taking notes from each other and copying.
Now don't let me start on games ! :)There was a a big debate on how strict the law should be when it comes to protecting game mechanics and such - imagine if a health bar was protected from copying! How far game industry would evolve if a studio could copyright one useful thing they came up with but weren't able to implement hundreds of copyrighted mechanics?
The reason why we all progressed so much in a last century is because of the tv and internet - people have access to new ideas that they can learn from and improve upon. Copying is part of the progress.
Copying is not theft
Someone once told me if you want to be a better player you don't play with the minors you play with the majors. Seems to work pretty well here. Some people don't know how to play at all and just want instant gratification. There is a difference. Thanks for a good post. 🐓🐓
I would like to see specific documented evidence of posts that are copied. Not saying it doesn't happen but this post comes across as accusation without specific evidence.....
Totally agree with your words but this pseudo content creators never going to stop so you have to see the good face of this.
If they copy, is because what you done was great.
If they do it better than you... well, it serves for you to make even a better job.
And to be real... when they copy what you have done, you are doing other new thing.
Creators are always some steps away.
So please don't get angry with this. Copycats always existed and will...
Coke-Pepsi, Aspirina-Alka Seltzer Bbc-Cnn Trump-The Muppets...
Keep on your way and don't loose you time thinking in this please! And great post by the way...
hey its good post but human nature copy of others.and they learn defference...every people can leatn copy others. and make new to newer. thats good.
Great advice,I haven't done as much original stuff as i would have liked too because i'm new to all this and i'm still learning by reading and commenting on other people's post's. What an amazing platform this is,everyone seems so helpful and the things i learnt are simply fascinating yet sometimes scary as well.I just never realised just how serious the current economic situation is. Something needs to be done,before it's too late.
Internet with social media created this copycat culture and we comply. But I agree! Be creative or stop thinking about yourself as of creative person. Let's face it - we all cannot be so creative, people have different skills, focus on yours.
Have you had issues with somebody ripping off your content @jphenderson?
Who is copying what.....
I also don't like people forgetting to cite their sources. Very good post!
This is so true! I think if you are praised by people for the stuff you copied from someone else, you won't be genuinely happy. Yes, you might be successful but it's a shameful success. :( I hope people try generate their own ideas... I believe we are all creative, we just have to enhance and put this creativity to work. :)
This is the frustration outcry of the original content makers when minnows who one just want to "take the fast road to riches" and break the fundamentals between following by examples and outright infringement through plagiarism .
I understand where you are coming from, but as content creators, I agree with other comments here because creativity comes from you, and you take the lead of making new ideas.
The only sad thing is that not many innovative originators are here to create new paths to create better content to attract readers and voters.
It's funny only 2 weeks ago, though as a minnow, I already detected this flaw and "lashed" my frustration here:
Steem Dollar "Counterfeiting"?
hahaha...
this is a great post. enjoyed the post and the comments too. thanks for sharing @jphenderson
Right. Copying is different from just getting an inspiration or example from a work. Copying is considered illegal while making it an inspiration could be one of the goals of the creator. :)