Without getting into the broader questions you bring up regarding the role of porn and the commodification of sexuality, I want to express my lack of enthusiasm for Steemit's First Playmate.
I am not happy with the reward that dwarfs many more substantial contributions. I don't find that the content offers any value to the platform. I don't have any particular reason to believe that this person is going to be an effective advocate for Steem and help the platform grow.
I have not been among the crowd complaining about attractive women being well rewarded. In fact I've spoken in support of some of the women who have brought something to the table in addition to their sex appeal and those who have leveraged their sex appeal to benefit the community.
Having some number of fans on other social media sites is a possible avenue for promotion, yet in this case I doubt it is particularly useful. I have witnessed the quality of the engagement that can be found on fan pages for models and actresses, and that would have little to offer us here. I don't think it would be a smart way to grow the platform to reach out to social media users who are primarily interested in titillation and idle talk...
I'd like to see a little more strategic thinking involved in some of the choices that are made to promote content to the front page.
Like your article! Heres my post about it just 4 hrs after she posted she was already at 6,000.00!
https://steemit.com/steemgirls/@karenmckersie/steemit-welcomes-playmate-brenda-zambrano-with-open-arms-and-now-over-10-000-00usdusd-414-upvotes-and-climbing-how-do-you-feel
You can't see how someone with 1 MILLION FOLLOWERS can help grow Steemit? Surely you jest. The fact that she's a playmate is tangential. It's her followers that interest us most.
I see how it can, but I'm not optimistic that it will. Happy to be wrong here, though. I'll happily eat crow if there is any measurable benefit from this.
Thanks @bacchist! Check out @blakemiles84's thoughts on the subject, which he posted right as I posted this. I wonder too about the impact of various personality types on the long term brand of the the platform, especially this early in the game. Part of me thinks all attention is good attention since the ultimate goal is to be a large social media platform for anyone to enjoy. As to the quality of the conversations to come, time will tell. Maybe the incentives here could change this "idle talk" to something more meaningful.
You make good points, for sure. I'm just skeptical that it is going to be beneficial. Only time will tell, I suppose.
Connections outside social media matter too. Did you catch the comment in the Jeff Berwick interview with Dan and Ned that he knows Brenda and they have appeared on the same TV show?
Who else does she know? People with a million followers know other people with a million followers, or are only one-degree separated. Think this through.