money is probably the only reason steem is still somewhat relevant.
however, advertising this aspect only lead to disappointed newbies, they will never earn a single cent without investing. yes, there are some exemptions, but the majority won't earn.
further, this will only encourage even more bots, and they're a already a huge pest.
It is not really saying "join and you will make money". I understand the argument about not using rewards as the primary recruitment tool, but that doesn't seem like what this message is doing.
I disagree on that point...MONEY is very clearly placed foremost with the by line about quality content lowered in importance. This will lead to a huge increase in users, who ultimateley be disappointed with the rewards they get...leading to bad word of mouth which will really damage this awesome platform.
"Money talks" is different than "earn money" or anything along those lines. There is nothing in "money talks" that makes any implication of earning.
Again, as I said about Stellabelles idea, this might be hard for first time visitors to grasp.
I think even just the word MONEY, in an average person will immediately start them thinking about this socmed platform paying them...it is just human nature, if we see the word money we think either of losing it or having it taken from us, or earning/getting more of it. Steemit is a platform where we can potentially get more of it (money/rewards) but it sholud not be placed foremost in peoples minds when being introduced to this great platform.
This is far from the truth and I'm sure curie and other curation projects beg to differ. There aren't just "some exceptions", a big chunk of users start from scratch and earn their way up by being active.
There are good bots and bad bots, the bad ones often get countered by the good ones or users that notice them. The majority of users don't join and think "how can I create a bot for this?"
You are correct, anyone has the potential to earn rewards at a reasonable level, but it does seem to be those who invested real money that are now whales and have huge earning potential, some may say an unfair advantage...but those whales quite rightly can expect a return for their investment of real money which is in many cases 10s or more of $ into STEEM and powering up increasing there ROI even more...is that unfair, NO.
About the bots, the bot population seems to be exploding more and more every day, you are correct in that many are good bots..although operated as a business, and a business main aim is to make a profit. Why are so many of these bots using an auction bidding process instead of flat rates...profit pure and simple. Is it wrong some say yes many say no (by using the services offered in their search for more rewards/money.
Even what many consider miniscule rewards can make a huge difference in a persons life depending upon their geographical location, this is a great thing about Steemit, it is socmed that truly gives back, the focus on money is hower=ver wrong and will backfire badly for Steemit when bad word of mouth spreads if users are not earning. People pissed off with the platfrom will tell many more about that than those happy with it. It is a marketing fact that people who believe they have been "taken" will talk a lot more than happy users.
There is randowhale that has flat rates and most followers, but yeah, each user has the freedom to use which bot they like, in the end supply for the bad or unfair ones will die off.
Agree 100%, there are only a very small percentage of daily users actually making any real rewards, but the really great things is there are no ads, and they don't use all your data to make more for Steemit Inc.
Focusing most on the money will bring many more users who eventully get pissed off when not earning what they expect (believe they were promised?) which will lead to bad press or bad word of mouth which will be very detrimental to Steemit as a platform. Focussing mostly on money is wrong, really wrong.