Now must be the time to PANIC!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAhHHH!!!!
Ok, now I got that out of my system.
Let's have a rational discussion about the matter.
I've heard complaints from some talented up and coming authors on steem that payout is lower, and why aren't thier posts doing as well. I also have noticed that my posts don't seem to grow in value as quickly as they did a short time ago.
We can easily see from @paulag's most recent post that activity is down on the site, overall. So, in case you were wondering if you made someone mad, or what about the conspiracy against minnows, you can let that stuff go.
"The number of votes for posts on the trending page ranges from only 7 to 844. This is considerably different to that of the August report where the highest vote count was 3678 and there were 4 authors that received well over 1k votes per post on the trending page." @paulag - The Data behind the Steemit Trending Page
So... What Gives?
Is it the season? Is it the instability of Steemit.com? Is it the feeling that we are 'home alone' and the developers are off in vacation land, which some people seem to have? Is it the bitcoin frenzy that's going on right now?
Probably a combination of those things. It's hard to know, because we are so new, that there are no easy patterns to point to. Only calculated guesses.
From my experience on steem for the past 4 months, I am realizing that steem is one of the more stable cryptocurrencies around! We have ups and downs, but have stayed close to the $1 value for 1 Steem for that whole time! That's incredible. While bitcoiners are riding the rollercoaster, we experience a relatively smooth ride. That's nice.
What do to besides panic?
Mindset
First of all comes the long term mindset which is very important here. Anyone who has been here more than a month must have the long term mindset. Otherwise who would stay for pennies, or less than pennies a day?
It's wonderful when we get a quick return on our efforts, but if this place has shown me anything, it's that diligence and longevity wins the day.
Keep working, work harder, smarter, or be more patient.
The devs are working on HF20 to include SMT functionality, as well as more sustainable account creation. This will come with some changes to the steemit front end. Probably big changes. If you see that the devs don't talk much, and they aren't as focused on small things about our current front end, consider that they might be working on the "Big Change," not trying to plug every hole in the current infrastructure.
Let's not become gripers and complain a bunch.
Let us accept what we cannot change, change what we cannot accept, and learn the difference.
Many of those big whales you see today, were using steemit consistently when there was no value to the posts and the price of steem was down to pennies. So if you get too sad, try to remember how good we have it today.
Use our resources!!!!!
Off Site Editors
If you are having trouble with steemit eating your posts, use one these off site editors. I'm not sure why anyone would want to create a post in the steemit editor, so clunky. Here are some editors I've found useful in my time here.
- hackmd.io - Realtime collaborative markdown editor
- Saves text as you work.
- Allows multiple people to easily edit a document at the same time.
- MarkdownPad -Editor for windows
- Haroopad - My favorite editor for linux, but also available for Mac, and Windows.
All of these editors offer a side-by-side view of your post showing you the preview while you write it, as well as support for multiple coding languages! However, make sure to double check in preview how your post looks before you hit send. Each editor works slightly differently in the way it represents markdown\html
Other front ends for the Steem Blockchain
Many people do not understand, that while steemit can be malfunctioning, the steem blockchian is specifically designed to be safe against attack, computer glitches, or localized power failures.
These options will keep you Steeming, even when Steemit.com isn't working too well.
Don't Panic
Help New Users.
Finally, let me remind us all how much it takes to get started here. If you find a new user who seems to be lost, please help them learn some things!! This is the future, and it's in our hands... we must help the newbs find their way.
Since there is lower account creation, and retention rate has always been a problem, whatever we can do to help new users ensures the future of this platform.
I created this simple guide to help new users get started. Feel free to share it with others, and\or recreate it for your own blog.
REMEMBER!!!!!
If your posts are valuable, and worth more than you get paid, then they shall provide value for years to come.
Every post, I write so that it can continue to provide value, regardless of pay. This is an important part of the mindset which will help you to succeed in the long run.
+1 for Home Alone. Still an awesome Christmas movie. Holds up. One tier under "A Christmas Story".
love home alone
Under-rated super-classic.
First of all - great post @inquiringtimes! I have a few comments / thoughts...
The reward fund of STEEM should be fairly constant, so if there are fewer votes then that would mean that each vote would be worth MORE than it would be if there are more votes overall in the system.
Since that doesn't seem to be the case then maybe there are the same amount or even more votes being cast overall but they are being spread out among lots more posts. If that's the case then that's probably a good thing since it will help spread out the value more evenly, but it will make it harder than it was to grow a following and grow your rewards (which again I think is fine - easy money never lasts!)
The other problem of new users getting discouraged because they don't get much traction as quickly as they expect is really just an issue of unrealistic expectations. I see a few such replies in the comments on this post.
Sure if you got in super early this was possible, and the people who got in early and built big followings can post pretty much whatever they want and get a nice reward for it. Even though it's getting harder I think it's still REALLY easy to make money here as compared to anywhere else I know of.
Just need realistic expectations and you can't get discouraged by people who joined early and built a big following or have a ton of SP.
Thank You!!
Yes. All great thoughts. I appreciate your clarification! Votes being spread out amongst more users is definitely an upside I didn't consider, and a lower price in steem can definitely affect the percieved value.
Meanwhile, I'll keep finding creative new ways to get the type of traction I'm looking for, while aiming to create content "for the ages".
The number of active users may not be growing as fast as it used to, but it probably is still growing faster than the reward pool. Also, we're back near $1 Steem now versus to spike to $1.6x right after the SMT announcement.
Meh, I am in this for the long haul. What we are experiencing now is no more than a little bump in the road.
I'm right there with ya, buddy!
I wonder if new people are coming on board at the same rate they were a couple months ago. If there are less, could be because of that and many have stopped posting.
I say this because it looks like I have 1500 followers, but nearly half of them haven't been active in a month or more. The number of inactive followers has been growing.
This could explain the drop in vote quantity.
You provide good tips for the meanwhile. People who stick recognize this is a journey not a destination.
What is your prediction for the future of Steemit.com?
Can't say I could really make a prediction, but like most anything else there will be ups and downs. The price of steem doesn't appear to fluctuate like other coin, I'd guess that to be a good thing.
That's a good point.
No complaining here even though a recipe post I just did which took 4 hours only made me .04 cents :( I am having a blast so be it :) Thank you for this post, reminds me to keep marching forward!!! Love you Friend!! SUNSHINE247
keep on shining :)
Thank you Friend .. I appreciate this very much .. Life is GREAT and so are you!!! SUNSHINE247
Hi @inquiringtimes! @tattoodjay is sending you 0.1 SBD tip and @tipU upvote
:)
@tipU - send tips by writing tip! in the comment, get share of the profit :)TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP!!!!!!! Thanks for roaming Steem and tipping where deserved Friend!!! SUNSHINE247
People get too concerned with the monetary aspect of steemit. If I only get one penny on my last post, it's more than I would have gotten for posting on any other social media platform. And to me that's awesome! If you're here for the community and platform, then you have nothing to worry about :)
Maybe a SMT can be created to give credit to all those quality posts lost in the feed. To give them a payout long after the 7 days window. Like a tip.
I'm on steemit for the long haul and realise you get out what you put in. And I am willing to wait out the doldrums.
Holy shit THIS. I feel naive at times because I still don't fully understand a lot of things on Steemit, but you gave me a key visual that helps me better understand how Steemit is. I've also read that when Steemit first started, users posted in good faith with no payouts AT ALL for a month or so coming in.
We do in many ways have it easier as well. The stable price of Steem (and SBD) is a good indicator that Steemit isn't just going to disappear and fall away, if anything we should stick it out just as much as the platform does.
The slow down can be a good thing, a post may stick out, and it also leaves plenty of room for us to plan out our articles and how we want to go as well. No doubt that big things are coming.
The writers are meant to grow (in number and in ability) with Steemit together.
Real talk,, smile
I agree its not the value in payout from the post its also the value the post adds to the platform this was very informative I have slight attention span disorder so I make small post but I try to add some information and help to add to the platform. I like your discussion Here is my #discussion post.
Nicely done by discussion. This is real post.
Thank you and upvote @inquiringtimess
The money side doesn't concern me yet.
I use Steemit in replace of my Facebook.
The @teamaustralia crew have helped me love Steemit more.
I don't know what it was like in the early days, I read whale posts sharing their concern about the community.
I still think there needs to be more clarity, maybe incorporate some of the 3rd party tools, to make Steemit evolve into something more than a message board.
This reminds me of the early internet chat rooms, where the chat boards were raw and unpolished.
I am enjoying that rawness and will participate in the community as much as I can.
Thanks for posting. It gave me further insight into concerns about Steem.
Steem On!
A very interesting read, thanks for putting this together long withthe useful toools an sites
Appreciated
Tip!
thank you, friend. I'm glad you find it useful!
It was for sure :)
Here! Take 100% You deserve it. Now don't spend it all in one place. Hey, you. Nice write. refrains from panic mode
Thank you.
<3 thank you, love
You know it, baby. Anything for you. ;)
Thanks for the links and the great post :)) much appreciated.
:bow:
I had noticed things have been a little slower than they were when I began, but I hadn't thought too much about it until you said something. It makes me want to save my best posts for later!
Post the content you have! The best posts are yet to be imagined
busy.org
steemitstage.com
steemit.kr
Esteem Mobile App
Thanks so much for the heads up on the alternate sites for posting. During one of the recent hiccups, I did use busy.org and was glad to see that it took up the slack when the posts were freezing.
REMEMBER!!!!! If your posts are valuable, and worth more than you get paid, then they shall provide value for years to come.
To this, may I add:
When you’re tempted to get discouraged; IF, you’re tempted to get discouraged, just remind yourself of all the years you’ve posted blogs with ZERO possibility for a payout of any kind. Think about your coins adding value as SP, which may take the path of BTC someday.
Thanks again, @inquiringtimes for this uplifting post!
Peace.
system still seems shaky, steem caught in a funk... Stellar Lumens up almost 2x today / peace
tell me about these Stellar Lumens. <3
Another great and beneficial post. I've been plugging away at content-creation for my first month on Steemit, and reading this post has reassured me that I have every reason to continue writing and producing content for this platform. (Yes, I occasionally had doubts about continuing ...).
As for the formatting, I agree that the Steemit editor is clunky -- which is a polite way of saying it sucks. But I found a great solution, as follows:
After I began posting, I wanted to post a English vocabulary learning resource, but when I tried formatting it on Steemit, I realized each entry would take me about 15 minutes to format – and I have about 400 entries to post!!!
I was about to abandon the initiative, but then realized I could simply tweak the format of the original Word file, then take screenshots and upload them. That works wonderfully ... as you can see at this link (each separate screenshot is separated by a line) https://steemit.com/writing/@majes.tytyty/a-vocab-ability-a-more-powerful-vocabulary-this-post-includes-all-a-entries
This is an individual entry, of which I upload 2-3 per day.
https://steemit.com/writing/@majes.tytyty/vocab-ability-19-belli-bel-war-a-more-powerful-vocabulary
Good stuff - think I need to try those offsite editors!!
thanks for the mention @inquiringtimes. i am currently looking at more data because the platform even feels less active to me
steemit finally let me upvote and post...woot!
Please, what are HF20 and SMT?
Hard Fork 20 and Smart Media Tokens.
oh! thank you very much! :)
I think there needs to be a post like this once a day to remjnd all of us new minnows not too panic haha.
Too many useful information in this post. Thank you for sharing those markdown editors.
I agree that steem is the most stable of all crypto. Because of that, I always convert whatever SBDs I got.
Also, I could not agree more on this:
I like the idea of Steemit, but sort of gave up. It's really not worth my time to create a page long thoughtful and original article and make literally pennies. My time is worth more than that. I tried for about 2 months and then pretty much stopped bothering. The thing that demoralized me the most was seeing paragraph long garbage posts worth hundreds of dollars. There is obviously some rigging in the system and until it is fixed, I won't be bothering.
So where are you getting paid more then? Or paid at all. Negativity won't win the day, but quality, substance, consistency and positivity will. The dimes, dollars, tens and even 50 and 100+s I've earned on posts of a consistent high quality over the past 130 days or so here sure beat a bunch of worthless facebooks likes.
Nothing is rigged. Just because the rules allow things you don't like doesn't mean people are cheating. Make some solid relationships, use the communities to make friends. You have a rep of 44, and 106 followers since July. I have a rep of 59 and 1200+ followers since June. I did the work, every single day. Did you?
It's not a free money ATM machine, it's a blogging site and most blogging sites aren't profitable for their authors EVER, and if they do become so, it can take literally months and years. Your attitude in the comment is evidence you are looking for something that doesn't match your numbers to evidence the work being done.
You haven't published in 2 months, you never answered commenters on your blogs that I randomly checked, and you didn't build any relationships "social network" --- did you expect magic money from the sky?
Your response is judgmental and not even accurate. I actually did not come here looking to profit off of a blog and had no expectations of doing so. That being said I did work hard at first and published several quality posts. I did, in fact, reply to comments, and commented on other people's articles as well. That being said the use of self up-voting and use of bots was disheartening. It's not that I will never use steemit to post or read articles on - and I agree that it is a million times better than facebook - my point was that I had really just given up trying to monetize my blogging.
And I also found it disheartening that people would basically post a few sentences of dribble and a link to content that was not their own and somehow the post was worth a ton of money. While I see many meaningful and original articles, mine included, that are worth less than $0.10. My time isn't free and when there are more productive things for me to do with my time, that's what I'll do.
I am not knocking steemit as a platform, but simply sharing my own thoughts and experiences and I don't think that I deserve top be almost attacked for it.
It's really not worth my time to create a page long thoughtful and original article and make literally pennies. My time is worth more than that.
I actually did not come here looking to profit off of a blog and had no expectations of doing so.
Pick one
People who aren't successful in the world can either blame the world or look within. And this is a model of the world. It does indeed also run on money here.
Before I resigned from it, I was a leader in the largest community on the chain, with over 5000 members and I have onboarded thousands of users here. You quit in less than two months. You didn't do the work, and now you are here whining and making excuses. My response is not only accurate, I've seen it happen so many times I lost count. My response stands.
it's a tough crowd to please as the interest which most of us share is a narrow band. it can be difficult to try to find posts that will have a more universal appeal, while still staying true to what you want to create. Every niche is not yet well represented here, and it takes a while to make the friends and connections that will cause more activity on your blog.
good luck wherever you go. this is a beautiful community, and there is so much more to be had than an immediate pay from your posts. I have not been here much longer than you have.. but I found ways to improve my post payout. Important is to think of where steem will be in a few years. and when you go, you will wonder where you could be if you had stayed.
Also, if your posts are valuable, then aren't they forever on the blockchain for everyone to see? that part is incredible!
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by InquiringTimes [MSP-Waves] from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
Hopefully activity will increase soon however there are more members now
This post has received a 0.45 % upvote from @drotto thanks to: @banjo.
Beautiful word
Since steemit.com is at the beginning of the road
I am really happy with the way it works
Not complaining about Payouts
I am quite new here
But I love it
Keep it up
I have looked at the data further for this, please do check out https://steemit.com/steemit/@paulag/is-activity-on-steemit-slowing-down-the-truth-behind-the-data-steemit-business-intelligence