It's definitely a good question, and a conclusion I agree with. For the most part, people who say they want freedom or liberty to do as they will don't want all of the additional responsibility and accountability that comes with it, especially the younger one is.
DEFINING LIBERTY
The way I look at it is: unless what I'm doing is demonstrably keeping someone else from living the way they like, I should be free to do as I please. As long as I'm not infringing on someone else's rights or ability to enjoy them, I'm good.
To me, that means things like I can't go around killing people, stealing their stuff, or otherwise doing injury or harm to their person, their loved ones or their belongings. I find that to be rather self-explanatory, and well within reason, though there's bound to be some who disagree.
What it doesn't mean to me is, if I want to build on a piece of property, or live a certain lifestyle, or listen to a certain type of music or believe a certain way, just because it contradicts with someone else's ideas or ideals, I should be stopped or kept from doing them. People might not like it, they may even think it's wrong, but unless it's provably dangerous or limits others abilities to do as they please, it's fair game.
CONSEQUENCES
It also means to me that whatever decisions you make, you live with. If you can get others to help you out, great, but no one should be coerced into helping you, or compelled. Nor shamed into helping either, even if it might be the right thing to do, or the popular sentiment at the time. Each one of us should be an agent unto ourselves, free to act and think for ourselves without infringing on others rights to do the same.
Which means, we need to take responsibility for what we do. We need to take the consequences, good, bad or indifferent. It means paying the price for them, if needs be. It means there won't be someone automatically stepping in to take on the burden of cost, or judgment, or restitution.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Without all the regulations and the manpower to enforce them, we become responsible for everything. We need to know what we should eat, what we should avoid, when it's dangerous to go out, when it's not, what products are safe to use, which ones last, what risks there are to certain activities, how and when to invest, etcetera, etcetera.
When we somehow mess that up, it also means there's no one else to blame, or to run to for reparation or help. We're on our own. We're truly at the mercy or goodwill of others, and in a society where such is firmly established, sympathy might not be the easiest thing to come by, if what can happen on STEEM is any indication, even when it's likely warranted.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
It isn't cheap. It probably would take more time than we have, which is why we end up with the type of people representing us, the kinds of laws they pass, and why we find our rights more and more infringed upon. We tend not to take care of even the simplest of matters, but leave them to some other authority to sort out. We can't have our a cake and eat it, too. We can't say we're for freedom while we're taking someone else's away. We can't say they should ban this or ban that without expecting that someday, something we cherish will go the same way.
Liberty is a double-edged sword. It cuts both ways. Are we ready for true liberty? I'm afraid most of us are not.
That's a very good question, and it's pretty universal. We all hit that STEEM wall at some point, and maybe more than once. The problem is, there's quite a few things combining against us when it comes to getting eyes on posts, and most of them are out of our control. Knowing all that might help, or it might have the opposite effect and make things worse. For me, knowing what I can control and what I can't is most of the battle, so I'll walk through some of the issues first on the way to potential solutions.
VISIBILITY
This is probably the main issue. Getting seen. Some on STEEM will insist that they're flat out being ignored. I don't believe it's so intentional as that, but the result is more or less the same. Fewer eyes translates to fewer comments and fewer upvotes.
To get around this, some people self-upvote, buy votes from bidbots, lease or otherwise get delegation so they can at least increase their curation rewards, and some just plain give up, go looking for greener pastures, etc.
INCENTIVES
Curation is based on upvotes. Currently curators are supposed to get 25% back from whatever amounts they allocate to a post, but that's not always the case. Sometimes it's more, and I believe it can be less, depending on how many people curate the same content, how much they upvote, what voting weight they put to it, and when they upvoted. That's a lot to keep track of.
People seem to think they should all upvote the most popular posts, based on the $ amount under the post, when really, that might not be the best. Not all curators are going to win that game.
So, for some people, it's more about the ROI (return on investment) than it is about the content. Autovoting, curation trails, etc., all take eyes, and thus interaction, off of posts.
WHAT TO DO
Well, the first thing to remember is, for most of us, an audience doesn't come built in. All those now famous bloggers and YouTubers? It took a minimum of two years, for the most part, to get them there, and in some cases, up to five years. That means a couple of things were necessary in the interim:
PATIENCE
Which is the last thing we want to have, or the last thing we feel we can have. Time isn't often a luxury we can afford. But really, unless you're a celebrity with a ready bunch of followers that you can take with you wherever you go, it's going to take time be seen. Period.
CONSISTENCY
That means posting, even when you're not feeling motivated to do so. Which also means fighting through it on some days. It can also mean avoiding over posting, until your audience is building up. Otherwise, posts are just going out to the void.
KNOWING WHAT PEOPLE READ
There's nothing like doing a little bit of market research, if it matters that much, to see what people like to read. It may not be what you like to write, but mixing in something like that on a fairly regular basis probably won't hurt. Most people want to talk about one or two things tops to build brand, and that's fine. But to do that, again, is going to take awhile. If you're getting eyes on some posts but not on others, it might be best to work on some more of the relatively succesful posts, or at least alter the ratio a bit.
BETTER NOW THAN LATER
Most of us are here to post to some degree. That means our posts are competing with everyone else's. And that's during a period of low activity, compared to where it was at the beginning of last year. It only gets worse when STEEM value goes up and more people get interested in earning rewards. That means now is the best time. Having a sense of that urgency can help motivation.
BALANCE
Usually demotivation occurs when one's expectations are higher than one's reality. The two need to come closer to alignment, at least enough to provide encouragement. If after six months, say, the expectation is to be far wider known than what's happening, that probably means that the goal is too big, the effort is too low, or some combination of the two. Knowing how that's breaking down will help.
It takes time and a lot of effort, more than we might have, or think we need. It just does.
COMMENTING AND CURATING
The best way I know to organically get readers, other than consistently posting to some degree content people want, is to go to them. That means visiting their own blogs, curating their posts and leaving comments. Their comment section can act as your calling card. If people see you taking time to curate them, there's bound to be some who will reciprocate. Especially if you share interests.
TIME SPENT CREATING POSTS
There's definitely a time spent versus rewards ratio that needs to be maintained. If you're spending too little time, people will probably not do much with your posts. If you're spending too much time, most people won't see the effort or time involved, just the end result. So, spending a lot of time on something that people may not see, let alone care about, is not a good way to stay motivated.
Spending enough time to churn something out someone will read is good enough. They shouldn't be junk posts, but they don't need to be masterpieces.
FIND YOUR WHY/RATIO
Knowing why you're here and what you hope to accomplish can help with motivation. If you're getting hung up on one aspect or another of STEEM, it might be time to take a step back and take a deep breath. Spend a little time a way.
Then, when you're back, look at that ratio of effort to reward, and find the place you feel most comfortable with. Over time, it can be adjusted to suit, but it needs to find equilibrium first, or expectations and reality will always be out of whack, which means motivation will suffer because of it.
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It's definitely a good question, and a conclusion I agree with. For the most part, people who say they want freedom or liberty to do as they will don't want all of the additional responsibility and accountability that comes with it, especially the younger one is.
DEFINING LIBERTY
The way I look at it is: unless what I'm doing is demonstrably keeping someone else from living the way they like, I should be free to do as I please. As long as I'm not infringing on someone else's rights or ability to enjoy them, I'm good.
To me, that means things like I can't go around killing people, stealing their stuff, or otherwise doing injury or harm to their person, their loved ones or their belongings. I find that to be rather self-explanatory, and well within reason, though there's bound to be some who disagree.
What it doesn't mean to me is, if I want to build on a piece of property, or live a certain lifestyle, or listen to a certain type of music or believe a certain way, just because it contradicts with someone else's ideas or ideals, I should be stopped or kept from doing them. People might not like it, they may even think it's wrong, but unless it's provably dangerous or limits others abilities to do as they please, it's fair game.
CONSEQUENCES
It also means to me that whatever decisions you make, you live with. If you can get others to help you out, great, but no one should be coerced into helping you, or compelled. Nor shamed into helping either, even if it might be the right thing to do, or the popular sentiment at the time. Each one of us should be an agent unto ourselves, free to act and think for ourselves without infringing on others rights to do the same.
Which means, we need to take responsibility for what we do. We need to take the consequences, good, bad or indifferent. It means paying the price for them, if needs be. It means there won't be someone automatically stepping in to take on the burden of cost, or judgment, or restitution.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Without all the regulations and the manpower to enforce them, we become responsible for everything. We need to know what we should eat, what we should avoid, when it's dangerous to go out, when it's not, what products are safe to use, which ones last, what risks there are to certain activities, how and when to invest, etcetera, etcetera.
When we somehow mess that up, it also means there's no one else to blame, or to run to for reparation or help. We're on our own. We're truly at the mercy or goodwill of others, and in a society where such is firmly established, sympathy might not be the easiest thing to come by, if what can happen on STEEM is any indication, even when it's likely warranted.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
It isn't cheap. It probably would take more time than we have, which is why we end up with the type of people representing us, the kinds of laws they pass, and why we find our rights more and more infringed upon. We tend not to take care of even the simplest of matters, but leave them to some other authority to sort out. We can't have our a cake and eat it, too. We can't say we're for freedom while we're taking someone else's away. We can't say they should ban this or ban that without expecting that someday, something we cherish will go the same way.
Liberty is a double-edged sword. It cuts both ways. Are we ready for true liberty? I'm afraid most of us are not.
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That's a very good question, and it's pretty universal. We all hit that STEEM wall at some point, and maybe more than once. The problem is, there's quite a few things combining against us when it comes to getting eyes on posts, and most of them are out of our control. Knowing all that might help, or it might have the opposite effect and make things worse. For me, knowing what I can control and what I can't is most of the battle, so I'll walk through some of the issues first on the way to potential solutions.
VISIBILITY
This is probably the main issue. Getting seen. Some on STEEM will insist that they're flat out being ignored. I don't believe it's so intentional as that, but the result is more or less the same. Fewer eyes translates to fewer comments and fewer upvotes.
To get around this, some people self-upvote, buy votes from bidbots, lease or otherwise get delegation so they can at least increase their curation rewards, and some just plain give up, go looking for greener pastures, etc.
INCENTIVES
Curation is based on upvotes. Currently curators are supposed to get 25% back from whatever amounts they allocate to a post, but that's not always the case. Sometimes it's more, and I believe it can be less, depending on how many people curate the same content, how much they upvote, what voting weight they put to it, and when they upvoted. That's a lot to keep track of.
People seem to think they should all upvote the most popular posts, based on the $ amount under the post, when really, that might not be the best. Not all curators are going to win that game.
So, for some people, it's more about the ROI (return on investment) than it is about the content. Autovoting, curation trails, etc., all take eyes, and thus interaction, off of posts.
WHAT TO DO
Well, the first thing to remember is, for most of us, an audience doesn't come built in. All those now famous bloggers and YouTubers? It took a minimum of two years, for the most part, to get them there, and in some cases, up to five years. That means a couple of things were necessary in the interim:
PATIENCE
Which is the last thing we want to have, or the last thing we feel we can have. Time isn't often a luxury we can afford. But really, unless you're a celebrity with a ready bunch of followers that you can take with you wherever you go, it's going to take time be seen. Period.
CONSISTENCY
That means posting, even when you're not feeling motivated to do so. Which also means fighting through it on some days. It can also mean avoiding over posting, until your audience is building up. Otherwise, posts are just going out to the void.
KNOWING WHAT PEOPLE READ
There's nothing like doing a little bit of market research, if it matters that much, to see what people like to read. It may not be what you like to write, but mixing in something like that on a fairly regular basis probably won't hurt. Most people want to talk about one or two things tops to build brand, and that's fine. But to do that, again, is going to take awhile. If you're getting eyes on some posts but not on others, it might be best to work on some more of the relatively succesful posts, or at least alter the ratio a bit.
BETTER NOW THAN LATER
Most of us are here to post to some degree. That means our posts are competing with everyone else's. And that's during a period of low activity, compared to where it was at the beginning of last year. It only gets worse when STEEM value goes up and more people get interested in earning rewards. That means now is the best time. Having a sense of that urgency can help motivation.
BALANCE
Usually demotivation occurs when one's expectations are higher than one's reality. The two need to come closer to alignment, at least enough to provide encouragement. If after six months, say, the expectation is to be far wider known than what's happening, that probably means that the goal is too big, the effort is too low, or some combination of the two. Knowing how that's breaking down will help.
It takes time and a lot of effort, more than we might have, or think we need. It just does.
COMMENTING AND CURATING
The best way I know to organically get readers, other than consistently posting to some degree content people want, is to go to them. That means visiting their own blogs, curating their posts and leaving comments. Their comment section can act as your calling card. If people see you taking time to curate them, there's bound to be some who will reciprocate. Especially if you share interests.
TIME SPENT CREATING POSTS
There's definitely a time spent versus rewards ratio that needs to be maintained. If you're spending too little time, people will probably not do much with your posts. If you're spending too much time, most people won't see the effort or time involved, just the end result. So, spending a lot of time on something that people may not see, let alone care about, is not a good way to stay motivated.
Spending enough time to churn something out someone will read is good enough. They shouldn't be junk posts, but they don't need to be masterpieces.
FIND YOUR WHY/RATIO
Knowing why you're here and what you hope to accomplish can help with motivation. If you're getting hung up on one aspect or another of STEEM, it might be time to take a step back and take a deep breath. Spend a little time a way.
Then, when you're back, look at that ratio of effort to reward, and find the place you feel most comfortable with. Over time, it can be adjusted to suit, but it needs to find equilibrium first, or expectations and reality will always be out of whack, which means motivation will suffer because of it.
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I agree!
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