Hi Everyone,
This video is directed at current users of Steem. I have uploaded the video to YouTube and attempted but failed to upload to DTube. It is quite a pity as I believe DTube is probably the ideal application for this video as it applies to all Steem viewers. Instead, I have posted on busy.org with a link to the YouTube video.
Prelude to the video
I believe most content creators on Steem want their content to reach their desired audience. I also believe many content creators would like to be rewarded fairly for their work. The rewards pool exists to support content creators, curators, witnesses, investors (passive), and developers (Steem.DAO to be ready soon).
Most rewards (pending) are contestable. Witnesses require votes to earn witness rewards. Content creators require upvotes to earn rewards. Curators earn rewards through upvoting content. The extent of the reward depends on the amount of stake used to upvote or downvote the content before or after the curator has voted. Curation rewards are higher if a large amount of stake is used to upvote after the curator has voted. Curation rewards fall, if the content is downvoted. If the content is downvoted to zero, curation rewards are also reduced to zero. Interest payments on holding stake cannot be contested and is distributed as a fixed percentage.
The Steem ecosystem is designed such that the community determines the distribution of rewards based on the amount of stake they hold. This is a reasonable approach as those with the most stake have the most to gain or lose from how the Steem ecosystem operates.
The YouTube version of the video is available in the link below.
To watch the video, click on the YouTube link below
Summary of the video
The Steem ecosystem does not have an official government or authority. Users are free to use their stake in whatever way they please. They could use it for purely downvoting others, they could use to purely upvote themselves, they could use a coin toss to decide what to upvote or downvote, or any other criteria they wish to use. This choice is entirely up to the user. Users could ignore the actions of others or they could counter these actions with votes. For example, a user could give themselves 10 full votes for 10 five-word comments. Another user could choose to downvote these 10 comments to reduce rewards for not adding value to the platform. Other users could choose to do nothing.
For the Steem ecosystem to operate in its current form. It requires a sufficient number of users who hold stake to act in the best interest of the ecosystem, which also happens to support their own long-run self-interest. Instead, most users are acting to support their best short-run interests. It is easy to blame those that appear to be just taking for themselves with apparent little concern for the community. I do not think blame should be thrown at these users. These users are just simply acting according to the real world paradigm that is typical of most societies.
I mentioned two paragraphs ago that Steem has no government or authority. Steem is close to a virtual anarchy. Many people have dreamed about such a place. This does not mean that everyone can actually adapt immediately to this new world of freedom. In fact, I would expect most people to struggle greatly as it is a very different world. Many will still expect some form of authority to step and do something. That is not going to happen on Steem. Instead, the community has to act in order for change to occur. If you want a larger say, you need to acquire more stake. More stake also equals more responsibility and greater risk. Irresponsible use of stake will harm the ecosystem and therefore yourself.
As a community, we can help the Steem ecosystem to operate more effectively. We can educate and influence others that are new and still adapting. We can support those that need help. We can also penalise those that abuse the system. We can also use our stake to influence the mechanisms for distributing rewards. When Steem.DAO is complete, users can use their stake to determine which projects to support. These changes can help people transition from their own authority-dominated world to the free world of Steem more easily.
For many of us who are working hard to make this blockchain great, it is difficult, frustrating and sometimes painful to see people show up and just grab what they can with little or no input. It is easy to get angry with these people. Many of those that are taking do not grasp or understand Steem. They are merely adopting actions that have become normalised through lack of action when the problems originated.
Steem is still very new; it is only three years old. There are no other similar ecosystems to learn from so we are starting from scratch. There will be mistakes made and there have been mistakes made. Nothing has happened that cannot be corrected. We can work as a community to make the Steem ecosystem a place that works well for a sufficient number of users so that Steem can grow into a large and inviting place. I must emphasise that if we want Steem to thrive, it will take a community effort.
Before I leave, I would like to share a gif I made using my whale friend ‘Squirt’. This gif takes a glance at the users that are earning the most and the source of this earning. The methods of vote buying, self-voting and circle-voting are very apparent for almost all of these top earners. Are these the best methods of rewarding content? If the answer is ‘no’. What should we do about it?
I hope you enjoyed the video and gif. I welcome any feedback or comments.
More posts
If you want to read any of my other posts, you can click on the links below. These links will lead you to posts containing my collection of works. These posts will be updated frequently.
Steem - The Future of DApps
