In the course of the past week, I have seen a good number of posts here about a new content site called WEKU.
When Steemit became unavailable on Monday, I found myself visiting a couple of Discord communities and the name came up again.
Having nothing else majorly in the works, I checked it out... and want to pass along the following (important, I think!) observations.
But first this:
TL;DR:
- WEKU is a new Steemit clone.
- Scammers/domain squatters have been registering Steemit user names there.
- YOUR name could be misused to copy your content for their profit.
- YOUR name could be misused to run scams.
- Go "claim" your name there, so it can't be misused! Do it NOW!
- Here's a link to sign up: Register on WEKU (I think you'll still get an early signup bonus!)
End TL;DR
Towards new horizons?
Now for the long version:
OK, I'll Bite, What's a "WEKU?"
WEKU pretty much presents as a carbon copy of Steemit, but more like a pre-hardfork18 Steemit. It looks, feels and acts pretty much like a Steemit "clone."
I won't get into the details of how it's different from here, although I might put up a more thorough review once I have explored it for a few weeks. Because it IS different, in some ways.
At a cursory glance, it does appear that too much thought and effort has been put into it for it to just be a "scam." Besides, if you don't have to pay anything, it's hard to call it a "scam" since you are not at risk.
However, it DOES present an interesting conundrum for Steemians: It's both an opportunity to become a very early adopter (as in, "first couple of weeks") of something new and possibly beneficial, AND there's a "threat of risk" there that I suggest you act on as soon as possible!
Scammers are like dandelions: They show up EVERYwhere!
RISK? What "risk?" I don't even KNOW this place!
As I said, WEKU is a Steemit clone.
Unfortunately, a few of the world's less scrupulous "domain squatters" immediately rushed in and have been making accounts in the name of many of Steemit's more visible members.
For example, well known Steemit community member @papa-pepper was one of the earliest Steemians to mention WEKU... and also one of the first to discover that the domain squatting opportunistic buttsmiles had already taken "his" name. Same thing happened to @berniesanders. It has probably happened to others.
You might think that you don't really need another thing like Steemit, but here's why you really ought to care:
The people taking "good names" are interested in ONE thing only: MONEY. Your name has "value" attached to it, because you've built a reputation with it. But they don't give a shit about that.
View across the bay, late afternoon...
A Couple of Pretty Sad Scenarios for your Consideration
The base idea behind "name squatting" is to sell your name. For profit. YOU are the best candidate! Because you already have a body of work and reputation attached to that name.
But that's not the most negative scenario.
Scenario ONE: The domain squatter either USES your "appropriated" account to copy/post your Steemit content, pretending it's you, and pockets all the profit from your work. Alternate version: they just sell the name to someone who copies and profits from your work.
Scenario TWO: The domain squatter sells your misappropriated WEKU account to a scammer, who runs scams or phishing attacks using your good name causing a lot of damage because your name has trust attached to it. Even though it's not YOU doing the scamming.
Like these guys, stake your claim!
What do I Suggest?
Take a couple of preventive steps that will consume all of ten minutes of your life!
At the very least, I highly recommend to everyone to at least go to WEKU and make an account there just so you can "claim your name."
Now, you may not use the account ever again, but you can make sure someone else can't misuse your good name and reputation. And can't copy your stuff from elsewhere and profit from YOUR work.
Maybe this is just a form of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt), but isn't it better to be safe than sorry later?
I felt that to be so. I have had too much damn content copied and stolen over the past 20 years! And it still irks me that someone else took "Denmarkguy" on YouTube, before I tried!
So I basically made an account, and then added an introductory post declaring myself "me," in a public way. Pretty much the same procedure as when I created my Steemit account.
Peaceful northern sunset
What to Expect of the signup process:
It's quick and easy to do.
There's little "new" to learn, if you know Steemit. WEKU basically looks and feels like an older version of Steemit. Basically, a clone. Easy peasy.
UNlike Steemit, signup is quick and painless. No waiting for several days to be approved. You'll be asked for an email address to verify, and then you'll be sent a second verification via SMS text. End of story. At least that was true on Monday.
Good Luck!
Truth in disclosure: The links in this post will list me as your "referrer." I'm not sure if I get anything for that, but I'm pretty sure using the link means you'll get a signup bonus of 100.00 Weku, which is the local currency over there, kinda like Steem. And I think I can "see" that you joined, so I'll be able to connect with you there, as well!
Think of it as something similar to an "airdrop;" it'll be posted to your account automatically, within about 24-48 hours. You don't have to DO anything to get it.
As for Weku — the tokens — they are just "Monopoly money" for now; they don't have any cash value; not tradeable... but there's allegedly going to be an ICO in 3-6 months, and who knows... the little bonus now might end up being 50 or 100 free dollars. Who knows? No guarantees, there.
And hopefully all will be peaceful from here on in...
A Few Final Thoughts
In poking around while Steemit was "off the air" WEKU was an easy to use (because there is no learning curve) "fallback option" for those times when Steemit is acting up. Or is just annoying you, or whatever.
In less than a couple of days, I've already connected with more than 50 Steemians I know. That part is kind of fun.
I have NO intention of stopping on Steemit in favor of WEKU... this was simply a defensive move to get a "toehold." I hate that life is so full of scammers and opportunists... but so it evidently IS, with these gigs!
I might explore WEKU it a little further in the next couple of weeks and post a "proper" review, because there ARE some fundamental differences from Steemit that could make this a viable social content venue.
But for now you should just "stake your claim" before a scammer takes your name!
(I really didn't try to make that rhyme... seriously)
So one last time, here's that signup link again.
And if you've already done this, good for you!
Comments are always welcome! You can always leave me a link to your new WEKU account or intro post, and I'll go connect with you. Or if you're already THERE, drop me a link, too!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180919 13:31 PDT
Posted via SteemPeak.com
This is the third time I've come across Weku now and twice in as many days @denmarkguy.
I can't imagine having the enthusiasm or energy to post there as well as here but when I've got some time I'll have a look around and see what others I know are doing.
One person, for example is only upvoting for now. Someone else said they were going to copy their posts from here over there. But I notice they have now got a Weku Cleaner and I'm wondering whether it would pick copied posts up and think they are plagiarised.
Anyway. i look forward to hearing what you find out about it and whether you use it or not. 😊
Hi Gill,
I wouldn't have known about it, were it not for Steemit going offline and my poking around a few Discord Channels for an answer. Then came across several people talking about the "names" thing. As I said in the main post, I've been using "Denmarkguy" for 20+ years, and it still annoys me that someone else is using it on YouTube... grrrr!
I did have a brief interaction with someone who was "official" and he said it was fine to copy over "old" Steemit posts AS LONG AS they were clearly marked as YOU being the content owner AND with a clear "previously published on Steemit" message somewhere prominent.
We'll see what happens. On some level, it was a nice "diversion" when Steemit was down... and I don't mind having an "Alpha Site" to play with when I am not here.
That's good to hear @denmarkguy.
If I can find some time maybe I will start doing that.
i'm not sure though because, as you know, I'm decreasing my time spent online so not sure where i will fit it in.
I am probably going to start a new account for Steem Monsters posts but that will depend on whether I actually play or not. I'm not sure how much opportunity there will be for "little" players. People are buying thousands of cards and levelling them all up so, even with different levels of tournaments, I'm not sure just how many people will be playing with just a few cards.
I've bought some as a bit of speculation too since we may be able to delegate them.
anyway . . . I digress. Thank you for the additional information. 😁
You're welcome.
I don't know about SteemMonsters; I love the concept and am in full support of it. But it seems to be heading down the eternal track of life: Everything is dominated by a few "600lb gorillas" and everyone else pretty much gets to sit on the sidelines, figuratively speaking. I can't afford to to even hope to keep up with the Big Guns.
For the time being, I have just been collecting, and that's where it ends.
Seems to be that way.
Are you collecting under a different accounts? I went to take a peep but there weren't any cards under Denmarkguy. 😂
I'm planning on opening another account for my Steem Monsters. 😁
I like that, "Alpha site."
I found a user @gillianpearce on Weku; it that you yourself, the original?
Yes it is @orcdu. I just signed up and then left. Are you actually using Weku? Any tips? 😊
I am posting and looking around there, yes, mainly out of curiosity. I have no idea where Weku is going, to be honest, but it is somehow fun to see things happen as they unfold.
Tips? I don't know. It's much like Steemit in its workings.
OK. Thanks @ocrdu. I'll look you up if I return there. 😂
You can follo my back!
That goes without saying! 😂
Thanks for that - I signed up and had a look - it sucks!
https://steemit.com/steemit/@frot/the-competition-to-steemit-is-here-but-it-just-bored-my-pants-off
It has no interesting content, and none of your friends will be on there. In New Zealand we use Trade Me for selling stuff, while Americans have the totally inferior but still functional Ebay.
But this is more like Steemit trying to be Ebay. I hope they realise having no pants can be fatal.
There is a New Zealand bird called a Weka. They don't fly either!
Hah @frot! Another flightless bird, indeed — I like the implication! Just a shame we have to engage simply to protect ourselves from potential scams and abuse.
But hey, the world of anything crypto related seems to be "The Wild Wild West."
You Kiwis managed to be one of the ONLY places in the world whose own internal sales sites told eBay to go fly a kite. The only other country I can think of that did that is Sweden, with their "Tradera."
I'm guessing it will end up with a bunch of spammers, a HEAVY Asian contingent and a "core" of some ambitious Steemians who can keep up with multiple blogs.
Wait...
You've cloned yourself at least a couple of times... nevermind...
I think it's good for us to check out these "alternatives to Steemit," simply to have more appreciation for the fact that we actually have it pretty good here, relatively speaking.
I read once that there are seven countries that don't use Ebay - Aussies do but they all keep trying to sneak onto Trade Me - it really is way better (we use it every day for our business) - it's been a big deal here since 2002.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/Members/Listings.aspx?member=6020648
I'm not going to bother setting up my other account names on Weku, one will do, I'll never use it anyway.
Although we are having a bad run at the moment, I really do prefer Steemit to anything else I've seen (yes even Steempeak because the feed is so hopeless)
Whereas I do spend a fair amount of time with SteemPeak, it's mainly because I really like the "drafts" feature... and the way I write, I often have 10 posts in the works, at any one time. I still access Steemit directly.
Steemit still holds a great "first to market" advantage. Even though Dan was talking about running a "Steemit 2.0" on EOS, the longer getting that going drags on, the "stickier" Steemit will become... people will be more and more reluctant to leave here, or to use any other site as anything more than a "Beta location."
In some way, though, I encourage people to join and explore these various "alt" sites... mostly because it WILL show that Steemit is actually far less screwed up than we think.
I’ve been a bit reluctant of doing so since I really don’t want be dealing with a few sites. Since quite a few people seem to be talking about I thought might as well just claim myself.
Not like I would be worth a lot camping over there. I just hate to see someone steal my hard work and re-post it over there. I hope you got something nice from the referral. Thanks for being the one that finally got.
Hey @enjar, I actually had ZERO intention of starting a new "anything," but I just don't like potential "trouble" hanging over my head... I've had content stolen from a couple of other sites and it was a massive pain in the ass to file DMCA takedown requests through Google, etc.
So I'm a little gunshy on that kind of stuff.
I don't even know if I will get a reward for referrals; I just know they were giving new people a $100 bonus for signing up through a referral. I reckon if that ends up being worth $30 next year, I'll buy myself a dinner and think "Yeah, well, that was interesting...."
Looks like some people are picking up easy coins over there. Tempted to put some of my gaming posts over there. I wonder how long till someone comes knocking all angary that it was not created just for that site.
That is the wonder of gaming content. I can share it anymore without to much thought going into it. Even more so when it already is an older game and nothing has changed.
I can actually give you a "real" answer to that.
An exchange with one of the WEKU principals on some post (or maybe a Discord?) stated that it was "acceptable" to cross post your own content AS LONG AS you made it patently obvious that it was YOUR content, and clearly stated "This was previously published on ______ web site," somewhere in the text. And a link to the original source would be nice but not required.
It wasn't exactly encouraged, but at least it was a not prohibited.
They do have their own version of Cheetah, SteemCleaners and Spaminator, though.
Nice, those are my plans! Really does sound like a clone of Steemit. Well lets hope they get the ball rolling on some different ways of doing things in the long run over there.
It was at least nice to see my vote worth something over there as well.
Thanks for the info!
Hi. I've signed up just waiting for verification email. Not that anyone would want to copy my name but best to be safe than sorry :)
I think it's a good idea, Karen, just to be on the safe side. I'm by no means "famous" here, but I figure anyone with reps 66+ and 10,000+ posts to their name are "at risk," at least a little.
The way I look at it, I claimed my name, and who knows... the free 100.00 WEKU dollar bonus might be worth a bit, once this thing goes public!
Besides, it's a "very familiar feeling" alternative for when Steemit goes offline for this reason or that.
Can you copy your posts over?
Its a good idea to keep your name safe. You never know then could be as good as Steemit one day :)
Well, according to one of the WEKU marketing peeps, it is OK as long as you clearly include a statement that you OWN the content, and that it was posted elsewhere, preferably with a link to the original.
They have their own versions of "Cheetah" and "Spaminator" over there.
Not sure i could keep track of 2 sites but you never know for the future. Thank you :)
Just signed thanks to your link, so I "claimed" my username, just to be sure to be safe from scammers ^_^
Maybe I am just being overly careful Silvia, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Again, you have a good name here... so it's just "protection."
Plus, I figure I can always "experiment" with posts there that I wouldn't necessarily put on my blog here...
It says "Unknown Account" when I look for @silviabeneforti on Weku. Hasn't your application been confirmed yet?
Edit: Never mind, there it is!
@denmarkguy excellent point of view dear friend, what you mention is very true, when registering I did not think that way, but now that I think about it you are very right.
Thank you very much for sharing all this thought.
I wish you a great day
I just see it as a good precautionary measure @jlufer.
I'm glad you secured your name... not everyone was so lucky.
A great day to you, as well!
Created my account but I am waiting now for the approval main.
Haven’t received it yet. Will something for tomorrow morning.
Always a good idea to claim my famous name 😂
Well done for claiming your name, Peter!
It's not entirely a joke, though... "fullcoverbetting" is a pretty well known name, and you are involved in a lot of activities. they immediately took names like "football" and "tennis" and so on...
Anyway, I will look you up, "over there."
Still waiting on the email for the account approval. Is it normal that it takes this long?
Thanks for the warm words!
Cheers,
Peter
Actually that's unusual @fullcoverbetting. Assuming it didn't end up in your spam folder, it would seem there might be some glitch.
I know there's an official Weku tech support group/chat on Telegram; I'll see if I can find a link...
I did try to sign up again today and now everything was done within 5 minutes. Probably they had a glitch!
Username is assured now :)
Man...I just joined this Weku and take a look after in the posts comments...wow...that place is a "spammer land".
Yes, you are quite right @jsantana; a lot of the spammers who float around from site to site moved in early.
I don't think the creators of ANY of these content sites fully understand just how MANY people do nothing more than copy-past garbage on social media.
But good for creating the account, you have a pretty high reputation number, so that would have put you more at risk.
Yes, I already did my account and my intro post. 😁 Thank you for the tip!
I also have signed on WEKU after hearing from few people here on steemit, and glad I did and thank you @denmurkguy for explaining it again why
we should all join WEKU
I think it's a good idea @joalvarez... a "just in case" move.
I'm not sure how many people will be "active" there, but I will keep looking at it for a couple of weeks, at least. If nothing else, I can always use it as a "satellite" to encourage people to come read my stuff on Steemit!
Time will tell!
I totally agree with you and there is absolutely nothing to lose but only to gain.
Well I guess I would have to do a Fred Flintstone on them then....
Okay ,I went there and thank goodness no one was squatting on my user. So I grabbed it. Signed up under you as referral ( not sure if that means anything to you ?)
Thanks for this heads up @denmarkguy