To compare Facebook and Steemit is not a fair comparison at all.
I have been active on Facebook for ten years now and have invested a lot. There are thousands of posts, two serious relationships, one marriage, a baby announcement, travel pictures from all over the world, hundreds of parties, possibly thousands of tagged pictures, many photos of drinks at different stages of empty, updates from new jobs, a new business founded, dozens of long-form posts, shared links, Instagram connects. The list goes on. Plus 732 friends.
Even though I have put in a lot of work, the investment sunk into Facebook by themselves dwarfs the GDP of most small countries. Comparing the work of thousands of professional developers, hundreds of UI specialists, app creators and a swarm of behavioural psychologists against Steemit in Beta is a little irresponsible.
Call me irresponsible. It won't be the first time. But the fact of the matter is, Steemit has left Facebook in the ashes already in my opinion.
I am not a fanboy of anything. I am not blind to the numerous obvious problems at Steemit, the many more subtle ones and will not pretend I can actually identify them all. There are some issues I would really like to address here but I am likely be labelled a 'whiner' by some that are more intent on padding their own pocket than actually developing here. When I say problems, they are what I see and from my perspective and may actually not be problems at all with a little more information provided. Some of the things I see are definitely not problems for everyone here but they are other posts perhaps.
But the first beauty of Steemit should be that it is open to raise these issues. In fact in Beta, it should be welcomed when it comes freely, and encouraged when it does not. If used well, it will help the platform dominate into the future by not making the mistakes of the past.
When Facebook does stuff, they just do it. All of the complaints are posted to various platforms yet, Facebook don't care one iota. The change is always made for their gain, never the community's, no matter what their marketing says. And they know, due to the sunk cost fallacy and developed reliance on their system, no significant number ever quit.
The next benefit is obviously the reward. I cannot pretend that I don't get any rewards, but I definitely am not going to appear in trending anytime soon. However, it is nice to get some recognition occasionally and support for the amounts of work I put in. It would be great if I could manage to make it a little more balanced and consistent at times however. This is by no means a perfect system though and needs a lot more tuning in my opinion but, a small reward is better than no chance of a reward at all. But even that attitude only goes so far.
Facebook pulled in 8 billion in revenue in Q1 this year. How much flowed back to users? I think that answers that one.
As much as I would like to be able to somewhat live off my rewards, I can't compete with the big names here and the gap seems to be widening as more users flood in. This is a risk in my opinion as if there is not enough support for content providers, in time it will devolve into a sharing platform like the others where professional viral content companies and celebrities compete for the lions share and the average user posts pictures of lunch and gets 2 cents from their aunt's upvote. Out of pity.
But reward is not where Steemit burns Facebook either. There aren't too many posts of party pics, not too many selfies, lots of experts, many discussions, many people trying to offer their view. There are many trying to turn this into Instagram, Twitter and Facebook all rolled together. In my opinion, that would be a mistake. Some people are failing here too with poor engagement, low-quality posts and sharing rehashed words of others. And others are getting frustrated and disillusioned by the lack of attention anyone pays to their work.
But, the reason I think Steemit is killing Facebook? I will give three key reasons instead.
Firstly, I am more honest here. Surprising isn't it? I am an honest person generally in real life and on other social platforms, but here I feel comfortable enough to give deeper views. I am able to open up and take the hit if necessary which doesn't seem to happen. I get supported to develop instead. This means that I am increasingly willing to put more of myself out there. If you knew me, that would mean something but since only one or two of you overlap in my walking life, you will just have to trust me.
Secondly, I am willing to invest my time and even potentially some external money at some point. I spend a lot of time and effort writing posts like this that I am not overly comfortable writing, in the hope that it will somehow make the platform better. The number of times I complained about Facebook? Never. It is not because I think it is awesome, quite the opposite. I know it would fall on deaf ears, so why bother? I feel that there is still a chance here that posts like this will be read by someone that can do something or say something. Perhaps a witness or a whale or somebody. Even though I am a little fish, I feel I can still possibly get a message to the big ones.
Lastly and most important of the three, I am developing. I am not here to brag about a holiday or tell what an awesome restaurant I went to (although many do that here too). I am here to share my experiences with the aim of helping others. It isn't very easy at times. For all involved maybe. But here I am every day spending time inside my own mind, exploring my memories, facing long hidden pains, questioning myself and the world in which I live and looking for different ways to improve both. It is like therapy.
I never felt like Facebook was helping me be better. Here I do.
Since joining Steemit, my Facebook posts have almost dried up and now consist of a few photos of my daughter to keep people somewhat in the loop. Twitter has also dropped off though I didn't invest as heavily there. Instagram has turned into a random post every week or two. And my Premium account at LinkedIn will be shut down soon I think. I no longer watch any TV series, the only movies I watch are the ones I go to the cinemas to see and I have stopped almost entirely watching or reading any form of news. So far, I haven't suffered from these events. Actually, I have benefitted greatly.
This is obviously just a personal account and actually a very poor Facebook v Steemit post but it is something that I have been meaning to approach for a while. My hope is that Steemit will lead others away from the nonsense of that which is social media and be something new and different altogether. Somewhere where people, groups, communities can grow and develop and make real differences in each others lives, while sharing the wealth and benefits that normally only the few get access to.
It has a long way to go however and the long-term success will take a reevaluation by some of the influencers and controllers of what is important to them. Short-term gain, power plays and draining of our resources by those in influential positions is why many of us ended up here at Steemit in the first place. Will this go the same way? I don't know. Are people looking to hijack the incomes and centralise power here also? Probably.
I have spent too many years investing my time into different platforms with the promise of something better. I have high hopes that Steemit can deliver. But like I said before, I am just a little fish. Even though the pool looks large for some it is not for everyone. I think though with some deep thought and planning, we could make it an ocean that provides for us all.
Just a few thoughts to add to the blockchain if there's any room left.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
I took a little poetic licence with the Steemit logo.
Upvoted, resteemed and shared!
Steemit makes you smarter!
Great post! Really worth reading from the beginning til the end.
Really well said, tarazkp - many of us feel exactly the same way. Followed, upvoted.
Thank you for the support. It is appreciated.
Steemit has immense potential.
It does indeed. Hopefully it is supported to fulfil it rather than bled dry.
Very good post. I having been going through a similar process since joining Steemit. Barely posting to Facebook, no more tweeting or Instagram. This platform has been helping me with self growth, appreciating beauty, more focusing thinking and learning.
It has been quite amazing. With the right curation, imagine how far you could go. We could go.
@abit @smooth ?? Downvotes?
Facebook Who?
Never heard of that term before. What language is that?
Here is a comparison with numbers 😊
https://steemit.com/steemit/@lighteye/trends-of-things-big-and-small-and-stat-comparison
Excellent post my friend, I share many of your perspectives regarding facebook and the narcissism that pervades it's very algorithms. I even felt compelled to write a poem about it, but that's another story. Upvoted and followed!
Did it take you long to write or did Facebook provide a 'memories' tool for it?
I upvoted it ;)
It was a way of saying farewell to my friends, I was simply going to say goodbye but that's not really my style so though I'd condense my words into some form of poem/rhyme. I'm genuinely excited for the possibilities that Steemit offers it's users, a glimpse at a possible future where we help each other whilst at the same time empowering ourselves. This may be just the beginning but I sense a change coming where the power to liberate ourselves is placed within the grasp of the common man/woman. Exciting times. Again excellent article and thanks a million for the upvote, it's much appreciated.
You are most welcome.
I have family and close friends on the other side of the world and we stay connected through facebook. It is necessary for the time being anyway.
Value added with every post Taraz.
Maybe my assessment was wrong. I have been very conflicted these last few days and reading what you have to say has helped me work through some things. I can be quite emotionally responsive at times as you can perhaps tell.
Hope you are having a great day! :)
These are all aimed at you. ;)
I am not emotional but only through practice. All the emotions are there so I acknowledge and work them through. It is part of my process and I am glad it helps you too. Stay or go in the end, give it a bit more space and time first. Even if just watching for now.
There is potential here but there are going to be many learning curves. Remember that this is in its infancy and primarily driven by tech based thinkers. To become a true community it will have to develop past algorithms eventually.
If trust is something that can be gained simply through online interaction and without physical, real world interaction, then you have mine Taraz. :)
That is a pretty amazing thing to hear. Thank you.
Thank you. :)
a lot of spam is in facebook, and a lot of crazy spammers I block them everyday !
CENSORSHIP HAPPENS HERE TOO!
EXPECT MORE!
“It’s not a copyright infringement, I’m reporting the news!”
What can be categorized as the 'reporting of news'?
In considering whether a work has been used for the purpose of reporting news, it will be important to consider whether the main purpose for the use of the work was for the purpose of reporting news, or associated with, reporting news. If it seems that the primary purpose for the use of the work is something other than reporting news, then it will probably fall outside the exception.
The Courts have held that the reporting of news:
includes the reporting of recent events and can extend to information relating to past events not previously known; is not restricted to the reporting of recent events, provided there is a genuine news component; can relate to long term reviews or commentary.https://www.artslaw.com.au/articles/entry/its-not-a-copyright-infringement-im-reporting-the-news/
That was a very civil rant, and a good post! I still use FB but not as much. When you know the reader/watcher/listener expects value, and you expect to receive some value for a post you worked hard to make, it does change the nature of social media.
It is very much like when one works in some service industry or in retail. When you are at work (Steemit) you are more conscious of how you come across to people. When you're just with your friends, you are less focused, and more prone to stick your foot in your mouth or babble about trivial things.
It is interesting you say it this way. I say to my wife that I am going to work when I post. I have a snall business and home office so it is normal to say things like that. This work is not about the money as much as the meaning.
Thanks for taking the time to add a decent comment.
Hear, hear. I hardly ever posted to Facebook, and felt ostracized for trying to warn people about the state of the economy. I also didn't like that the NSA or CIA own part of Facebook.
Steemit has been great to me. I've been sharing it with friends.
It is amazing at how fast FB has fallen by the wayside. Hopefully manu others follow the way out. Thanks for commenting too.
Good. Upvoted and followed
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