I'm Just Taking a Look Back
I've produced hundreds of images since I started blogging here.
Maybe you've noticed a new avatar beside my name. I thought it was time for a change. Probably long overdue but I tend to grow attached to things. I liked it but I like this one more; so yeah, deal with it!
"There aren't any real content producers here."
Does anyone else get sick of hearing that?
I think I've seen those and similar thoughts being published to the trending page at least three times within the past week alone.
People applaud this nonsense. They vote for it.
Hooray! My hero!
I'm sick of hearing it and I will not be apologizing for standing up for the thousands of people here who do produce superb quality content.
The entire time I've been here, I've heard people saying that nonsense. It's getting old and it's a lie.
All of my art is exclusive to Steemit.
It has always been that way.
I've spent countless hours producing content for this platform. I've voted for many others who do the same.
Why do I value my work? Because I believe in myself. Plain and simple.
What am I bringing to the table?
Recently I responded to a random comment that I found to be quite disturbing. Even though it wasn't directed at me, I still felt the need to stand up for myself. My response went something like this :
Are you saying I have to start paying so people look at my work, or leave?
I came here to help prove to the world that you can be artist, earn an income, and not sellout all at the same time. Patrons come to my virtual online art gallery(my blog), I don't charge admission, they can view my work and talk to me about whatever they want, and many of them leave with more money than they had before they arrived. It's the exact opposite of selling out and I'm 100% independent. I'm one of the first in the world to do what I do, the way I do it.
You're telling me to leave? I should go work for nothing?
That's right. After all this time and all of the work we put in, people are saying we should leave.
What happened to that sense of community we all used to hold so dear to our hearts?
Well, it's still here. At least, I still have it, and I know of quite a few others who still hold onto it as well.
To be honest and to speak on the facts, it's clear, many who don't share the same passion for this place, and the people, are a loud minority. Nothing more. They buy their way to the top and mislead people with their poor attitudes and the sheep who don't know any better follow that fabricated lead.
What more is there to say?
I'm not pissed off. I'm not feeling defeated.
I want to be here. I've heard it all before. Most of these whiner types don't last.
We hear rumors of competition. New platforms, like this one, on the horizon. I honestly look forward to the day all of these disingenuous crybabies go running to those places hoping it will cater more to their pathetic needs.
What a great place that will be, right? Good riddance!
There's some content for you.
We didn't see that art on the trending page.
Most people here don't even know I exist. That's fine. I prefer to be discovered rather than forcing my stuff down everyone's throats.
Remember going to the music store and picking up a random album because the cover looked cool? Never heard of that performer. Didn't know what to expect. Take it home, pop it in, have a listen, and it turns out to be the best fucking sound you have ever heard in your life.
That's how I prefer it. Most of you found me in a similar way and I'm not being arrogant when I say I'm well liked. That's the vibe my audience puts out. Sometimes I'm confused. What the hell do these people see in me? What the hell am I doing right? I can't answer that shit. I don't know what I do, I just do what I do and I'm fucking grateful for every single one of you.
That's all. Enough ramble out of me.
Have a nice day.
Whereas it doesn't have all that much to do with your post, it actually does, as well.
Humanity's "Greed Gene" is alive and well, and perhaps doing better than ever; it's close buddies with the "Entitlement Gene." I know this from starting in the art gallery business in 1985; from being a "serious" writer since the late 1970s and from having spent many years in Network marketing of various kinds.
In spite of all its idealistic aspirations, Steemit is showing itself to be little more than another microcosmic representation of the greater world; replete with greed, whining, exploitation, manipulation, idealism and more.
The bulk of humanity wants "something for nothing" and has zero care about what it takes to get something for nothing. And they HATE being faced with the argument of "something for something" because it flies in the face of their particular construct of How Life Is™. Variety is definitely NOT the "spice" of their life.
I came here because I really dig "social blogging" the way it was around 2001-06, and Steemit is somewhat emulating that. It's a shame that the "Money for Nothing Seekers" have invaded Steemit in force, but it's also inevitable. In a sense, it's funny to watch... in the same tragic-comic sense its funny to watch a crowd scramble and fight each other other if you throw a handful of coins in their midst... even getting VIOLENT, although none of them can pick up enough to materially improve their lot in life.
The sense of community is still here, but perhaps the greater truth is that the "city" has split into smaller "villages." We end up with our subcommunities who follow certain people and interests. And maybe that is as it should be. Beats me. Just free-association commenting, here.
I appreciate what you shared here today. During a brief, friendly exchange under a blog post here, one thing led to the next and I was offered a video of shoppers lined up and waiting for their chance to grab one of those tv's on black friday. Fighting, pushing, shoving, screaming. Some of these people are so dense, they're fighting each other over the opportunity to spend those coins you mentioned. It is funny to watch.
I've only been here a few days, but I've already found far more interesting small creators on here than on Youtube or Reddit. So far, it's been a good experience and I remain cautiously optimistic about the whole platform.
I've noticed the top posts on the trending sections are often some of the worst content or they vibe with the general negative attitude infecting some of the people on this platform, and so people glob onto them. Since I have such little power on the site right now I wouldn't dare downvote some of that content, but I think in the future it will require some community engagement to deal with bad content.
That's why I've been sticking to the new and hot tabs to try to discover small people making good work instead of getting bogged down in the nonsense. It's certainly true there's a lot of not-so-great-content in the new and hot tabs, but when I find something of quality in there it excites me much more than trying to get comment recognition on the trending posts.
If you're looking for a positive Steem experience, I would recommend doing the same until you're big enough to do something about the bad content :)
If I walked up to you on the street and said, "Hey man! Follow me!" Would you go?
I've been active on here only about two weeks. I think I've gleaned the bulk of my Steemit ethics from you and another guy I follow. Actually, I think I found you because you were going after a trending post that wasn't quality. Anyway, I'm about to go to sleep now and "I'm Melting" is probably going to show up in my dreams, whether they are good or bad. I like "The Gift". Looks like a combo of relaxed and hyperactive energy.
I'd prefer to go back to just minding my own damn business but at the same time, some of those posts bring our property value down. It's like having bad neighbors. Most of the time they'll clean up their yards if you say something.
I'm Melting was one of my first "hits" here. I got more attention than usual when I released that. The Gift is everything all at once. I agree with what you see.
Well you didn’t buy any votes here and your post made more than $20!
I never buy those votes. I leave it up to the people. If they're around to vote, they're around to vote. If they like it, they like it. If I screwed up, I screwed up. I worked to get this far and will continue to do so.
Hey,
Crazy old man wearing a straw hat holding a paint brush and yelling at the clouds, I really like "the gift" would you be willing to send me a high resolution version? I'll happily pay, it looks great.
If I can find the main file that allows me to save it in other formats, I'll let you know. I wasn't the best at keeping things organized when I got started. This one actually has quite a few flaws that I didn't notice until after, but that's life. I think I produced it at 8k(7680×4320) and that's where it sits right now. I didn't shrink it down but I do lose quality when I mark it and share it here.
Awesome. I'll be sure to print it out nice n big.
I can't comment on how it was because I still feel fairly new and sometimes I get a history lesson here. Today, I really enjoy the happy art. I'm trying to remember how I found you and I assume it was under the art tag.
Maybe it's those fancy covers I make. Some people I can't remember meeting either but there are quite a few that I can. I'm really good with names though. I remember everyone, usually.
Good morning, Mr. Himself.
This time I will only write about your art.
Gotcha and The Gift are the type of things I like. You know I love details and veins and miniatures that drive me crazy.
I see a lot of shaking and moving around in the Gift and I love the choice of colors.
Those two are nice. People liked them back when I released them too. I can actually remember some of the comments I got, things like that.
I don't even remember how I discovered you. But you are by far the most unique person I follow on Steemit. It's always a joy to read your blogs.
Nice passive aggressive rant against the naysayers.
Have a good day, sir.
Thanks for following along though. You're one of the many I got to see start out small, grow, now you're busy, I don't see you as often but when I look I see you're kicking ass, found your groove, that makes me happy and I don't feel like such an asshole for telling people that you can start out at the bottom and work your way up. You're just another one of these thousands of content producers who does a good job, your own way and it's working. I see it. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with these people who don't.
You have a good day as well.
Thanks, man. That means a lot, seriously. I believe true artists will always surface to top eventually. At least the ones that stay true to themselves.
Catch ya!
I define quality as:
The more I look, the more I like.
Here I have seen innovative art, great humor and spot on commentary.
Everything I could want in quality. My appreciation only grows with time.
Well thank you very much. Keeping it fresh is one of the biggest challenges I face here so it's good to know I'm doing well in that department, at least for some people. Thanks again.
My friend your have nothing to say always but you end up saying a lot. Anyways your art is different and beautiful. I vote for your not so shit posts.
Thanks again. My non-shit posts appreciate it.
Not everyone in this world thinks theseame. Some just want to sale out, I love the response you gave to that person. Let people love you for what you do and what you been able to give. I know whenever I visit your blog, I always leave with a plus on my earning. I thank you for that
I certainly don't expect everyone to think the same. That's how I think though, so that's how it is, for me. I do enjoy giving out a little something to those who come. It's to boost curation rewards, but it's also like me offering people a cup of coffee. That's how I see it. Unfortunately, some days I have to charge up the vote power and today is one of those days. Can't give out too much. Maybe next time it'll be a full cup of coffee instead of just a sip.
Lol. It doesn't matter how little the tea. Even the sip is widely appreciated. My people do say "Half bread is better than None".
This is so beautiful and so encouraging. You have said all. With what i just saw on your art, its amazing, you guys doing good jobs and making this community feel the originality of stuffs deserves to be notice and i know you will definitely achieve that. I really love your artwork. Awesome
well said bro !!
Your comment here was encouraging. What goes around, comes around. Thanks for those kind words.
it is really creative work i wish i could have that creative skill in computer., im good in pencil and oil painting ! and in the future im planing to introduce a d-tube channel. for art tutorial . art is my natural talent and i really want to share some skill with other so everyone can have the creativity. for more please visit to some of my art work .
https://steemit.com/@expressionism
my art show
I just had a glance at what you're up to, I'm following along and I do see some cool stuff there. I'm going to offer some random advice. People don't necessarily want to follow 'art'. We like seeing cool stuff, but there are literally millions of images here to look at. Add some of your personality to your posts, write a little more. Allow us to follow the artist, not just the art.
thank you so mush for your valuable advise!! im new here im walking like baby, and u just send me to a new level of thinking i appreciate it, im trying to walk straight and run soon, im working on it. i followed and upvoted but worthless. thank you again
[ Controversial Artworks X5 ]
Resteeming to the [ TRENDING PAGE ]
You heard it from the horses mouth Steemians... @nonameslefttouse
Keep STEEM N ON
Frank
P.S. He saved the grateful Fbomb for last! ;)
Thanks, Frank. That Fbomb probably cost me a few votes though. That's life. Oh well!
You make some great points my friend an I love your artistry. Thanks for sticking around. What is the back story on your insignia at the bottom right of the art work? Thanks. @nonameslefttouse
Well, I used to sign and date my work. It's just my tag, but the year stays at 17 now, because it means something to me. Everything about it means something but for the most part, that's personal.
Good ramble haha =]. Also great artwork. Favorite is Gotcha.
PS - I see the same avatar as before...
Gotcha was one of the first ones where I combined the old shitty software I used with this new high tech fancy stuff. That is an old one. I've always liked it too.
As for the avatar, maybe try reloading? Other people noticed the change so I'm sure it's working.
Nice =]. I see the new avatar now, that's odd.
Damn, I tried also to be an artist like you, but it's nowhere near as your masterpieces.
Sensei please give me a pointer.
Your first tip is to find your own style, and own it. Don't compare, don't copy; just do your own thing and be proud of it, even if you don't like it. Someone will always like it.
I cut my sleep time, wasted around 4-6 hours per post and tried to combine it with my study schedule. I was so proud of them (because I was writing them in almost dead corpse condition) that I decided to boost them and reward myself.
Sad that you left.
But I'll keep coming here time after time, hidden. To have a talk.
I'm following you. Do whatever you want to do. Deal?
It's natural to do whatever we want otherwise it would be boring, deal :D
I agree and I can confirm it. And not art only, writing as well.
Your story regarding the random album reminds me of the famous violinist in NYC that played in the subway and only one person stopped to appreciate it. Anyway your art is amazing as always. I hope more steemiens jump on @nonameslefttouse’s board.
Resteemed!
Thanks for that resteem. As for the violinist, that's what it's like to be a busker. It's not much different here. Thousands of people will walk past this post. That's life.
Hello! I find your post valuable for the art community! Thanks for the great post! ARTzone is now following you! ALWAYs follow @artzone and the artzone tag, and support our artists!
Your art is so incredible, it can melt anyone, worth thousand words.
Yay new avy. Feels like wearing new clothes right?
Also, it's ironical how people say this website's not gonna last etc. but then end up promoting their posts by coughing up $200-$300. lol
Hey man I came here from a comment you wrote out telling another author that he was incorrect about some statements he had made about Steemit. The guy seemed pretty pessimistic about the whole direction this thing is going, and as a new Steemit user that bummed me out. Just wanted to say thanks for holding up a light to the other side. This platform really does seem pretty cool so far, here's to hoping I'm not wrong!
Every new service will have their own doomsday Harold Camping people "The end is near"...
Hmm, reading this post (the record part specifically) made me wonder if there's a way that an algorithm could be created to somehow suggest similar posts at the bottom of a post, sort of like YouTube does? I dunno, it's probably super impractical, but I have found a bunch of cool music on YouTube from following suggestions after videos. I think this place needs more people using more tags, more specific tags could be one way to make it a bit easier to find better more directly interesting content.
Have you tried busy dot org? Seems like they suggest content on the side. Perhaps not perfect but better than nothing. I don't think it's that hard to find good content. Find awesome people just and see what they comment on since they already have good taste.
The exciting part about being a creative person is to have people randomly discover you. Since we believe in our work and that we are doing amazing stuff that has artist integrity. My YouTube channel has over 1 million people that has clicked follow and they all did that without me having to tell them to do it. They did just because they enjoy the value I was creating. I feel that buying to get attention would destroy the beauty of just having people found you just on their own time.
Wow!Cool! )
Wow amigo me gusto mucho la primera imagen, simplemente arte no es así? me llamo mucho la atención mas que las demás, creo que esta mucho mejor hecha por ti, saludos :D
Your art is so colorful this time!!!!
I just discovered your blog - and art - today. I love the variety of colors and expressions you use in the your pieces. Just the ones in this post all tell a different story.
I'm fairly new to Steemit, only been here about a month and a half, but I don't think anyone has the right to tell anyone else they should leave. You have content to contribute to the platform, and you choose to share it here. You don't have to, but you want to. And other users cannot stop you.
I don't get why they would even want to? If they have something against someone's art, words, videos, etc, just click away. No need to leave a hateful comment telling someone to leave!
Just you being genuine you. And your original content!
That is what does it, what keeps your followers around and happy, so F who ever said to leave. Ups and Downs come and go right?
I feel you certainly have been gaining recognition, but perhaps not.
I think I stumbled on your blog from someone's comment and I've been checking your stuff since then. Sometimes, I'm so busy I'm late to get to your stuff but I still read it even when my upvote doesn't count anymore. You're right, there are some really good contents on here that goes unnoticed. I'm actually amazed at some of the writings and art. One of the artists I'm following now (Eddie Martinez), I saw on one of your comments so I checked him out and he's really good.
Thank you for continuing to add value through your writing and art and also supporting those who have good content.