Thoughts on blockchain activitites, good content, and voting
Hi, folks. I guess it's time for another post about Steemit, following a post by 
To be honest, this "social network" has been more rewarding to me in terms of meeting people than any other English-speaking network I've been on, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It seems like people on Steemit are more willing to communicate, and the conversations seem more sincere. I don't know why it's like that. Is it because everything on the blockchain is forever and once you say something, you can't really erase it (so you better behave :D)? Is it because people get rewards for their communication? Is it because we truly are active creators of the blockchain content (and not just users who bring the money to corporation owners)?
It's true - we are the ones who keep this thing alive. Without us, there would be no Steemit network. Being active here, we are like the little blood cells that bring oxygen to all parts of its "body", but unlike on other social networks, we get our rewards.
On the subject of getting paid for your writing and socialization.
I've met people who said, "Well, you're just there for the money, so it's not genuine."
Excuse me?! How are rewards making it "not genuine"? It's a bullshit statement. We, human beings, get rewards all the time. It's just that sometimes they are not monetary. Sometimes a reward is "feeling good", "having a great time", "being healthy", "being happy". And none of these makes us think we do something immoral, right?
Your friend comes over for a cup of tea and you spend some time conversing with her, and you make each other feel good, needed, loved. Well, guess what? Those feelings of goodness and comfort are what drives you to be with that person. Of course you'll stay with her when things are bad as well (if you are a good friend), but it doesn't deny the fact that you both get something out of your friendship with each other. And it's normal. When you feed the homeless, you feel good about doing it. Does the fact that you get this reward (feeling good about helping them) make your help less valuable? No.
But (!) I think there is a very thin line between being genuine in everything we do and being whores. Get rewards, but don't ever be a reward whore no matter where you are - on Steemit, at work, in a romantic relationship, or in life in general. Being a whore is not nice. It sucks. It's bad for your body, soul, and energy.
How do we know where that thin line is?
You've got to feel it and think hard. It's tricky. This brings me to
Voting on good and high quality content instead of voting out of pity or to get more SBD
I've been watching Steemit for a while. I see lots of people creating great articles, magnificent photos, amazing drawings, poetry, and music. I see lots of people having meaningful conversations, inspiring each other, and striving to make this place a great source for inspiration, making new friends, and finding people and communities that can work with each other, develop further, and give back.
I also see lots of people who don't bother writing quality posts and comments. Some of them probably spend as little as 10 seconds making their "posts". And it's not my right to judge them for doing so because there could be different reasons for them being on Steem. But, personally, as I keep watching how Steemit works, I am inclined to become more choosy with distributing my votes. I think it's only fair to give high upvotes to good content AND/OR to people in need (like real charities, people in need of medical help, etc.).
But how the hell can we determine who is truly in need and who is just lazy and registered here to get lots of $$ for nothing? This is another tricky question, and maybe I am thinking too much. Maybe just go around and upvote everything you feel like upvoting, and that's that. For now, I vote for everything I like or find interesting, and I think it will remain that way.
At this point, my voting power at 100% is only $0.01, and as you all know, it takes a while to bring it back to a 100% or keep it above 80%. And I think that's the beauty of it. To be thoughtful about distributing your votes, to give your votes for good content or good, thoughtful, inspiring comments. And then - just talking to people in comments without any votes simply because you want to talk to them) Because I hope that we comment each other and talk on this platform because we want to share and learn from others, not just to gain monetary rewards (going back to the reward whore thing again:).
Honestly, I believe that GOOD CONTENT is a must for this platform to survive and strive. I think that eventually I will get into this curation thing to help discover it. There are many high quality posts that simply go unnoticed. As for myself, I am very grateful for those several times when people curated some of my posts (and they were exactly those which I wanted exposed to larger audiences!). They helped with three things - exposure itself, a nice SP boost, and meeting some new people on here.