At the start of the year I began a new full-time job on top of my own business, which was already near full-time hours anyway and I knew it would have an impact on my Steem-ing. I asked @abh12345 to pull some numbers for me now because with Harfork 21 on the horizon, things will lose the consistency so seeing the impact of the job before makes sense.
| Year | Char. count tot. | approx words no spaces | approx. 200 page books (50k words) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4072720 | 678,786 | 13 |
| 2018 | 6312466 | 1,052,077 | 21 |
| 2019 | 3268668 | 544,778 | 11 |
| total | 13653854 | 2,275,641 | 45 |
These are top level posts only - a total of 3164 so far
Also as suspected, year to date I am 234 posts down on my count for 2018. Today is the 230th day of the year which means that in comparison to 2018 where to the 18th of August I had posted 921 posts (1395 for the whole of 2018), I have posted 687 posts so far for 2019.
So, having the job has cost me a post a day. Luckily, I earn a little more each day in my job than the few dollars my posts are likely to get so, I guess I will make up for it. Also, I have likely bought-in about 1000 of my posts worth of Steem this year alone which means that the job has more than covered what I am missing here.
People often get caught up in the earnings of Steem without seeing the other variables of value here now and in the future. Yes, for a good writer there are other places to earn, but that doesn't always come with the freedom of being able to write what and when you want. It is actually incredible that anyone earns anything here at all by estimation.
For me, I am not a writer though and I am not planning on ever making a living as a writer however, I do love writing and what better way to do what one loves than get paid for it also? On top of that, I am supportive of other people's push into self-sufficiency by engaging in activities they enjoy.
I hear people talk about powering down because they don't get enough support here yet, that is pretty short sighted in my opinion especially considering part of the reason they likely don't get support is because others have powered down their earnings as well.
This project is so far from being an immediate earning vehicle for most people, but for those who actually want it to be that in the future, the only way is through powering up, interacting, earning/ buying some stake and supporting the development of the ecosystem into a place that can support many. However, I do not expect many people to actually understand that because most people in this world have never built a business from scratch and likely zero have done it in an industry that is only 10 years old.
One of the problems that Steem has is that it looks like familiar industries out there, social media, publishing and application development yet, it isn't the same at all. While similar on the face, the base of Steem and the operation and governance of it in a decentralized community makes it fundamentally different to anything else that has ever existed.
We can see at the difficulty other platforms like Whaleshares and Scorum have had to govern and retain users and they splintered off from Steem to show us "how it is done" and all they have become are cross-posted content sites with most users still on Steem. This is more telling than most give credit as they have been able to start from scratch knowing all of the pitfalls yet - still failed thus far.
The likely reason they fail is because they pander to the earning potential of the platform, not the investment potential and like I keep pushing, for social blockchains to be able to build a working ecosystem fitted with an economy, all four pillars need to be balanced.
Again, the economy of this is something people seem to take for granted because no other platform has managed to do what is going on here today. Yes, you might be able to earn a crapload more on Patreon or YouTube if you get traction, but you will not own one piece of it, and definitely not the space your content resides upon, if the content even at all.
The world is entering into a new stage of digitalization and that is the ownership of our zeroes and ones and, how and where we allow them to be used. This is just the beginning of this path and the first order of business is to paradigm shift the general understanding that the internet is free. It is not and never has been a free resource, it was just made to look that way by not having to pay directly to use it, other than the connection fee from a TelCo.
People complain about the health of Steem without recognizing the sickness that is inherent in the very platforms and processes that people want to go and earn upon. There seems to be a "won't happen to me" attitude when it comes to the way the platforms treat their contributors, but what they are essentially doing is pushing individual creators continually out and driving their own preferences to the forefront for consumption - Youtube, Spotify, Netflix, HBO, Medium and all the other content delivery platforms are doing similar.
The thing is, you can complain all you want about shadow-banning, demonetization, censorship, data mining and all the other questionable bullshit they do with the knowledge they have on us but, you can't do shit about it while you are a user of them. These are centralized businesses and wthey can do the fuck they want because we empower them and monetize them, to do so.
Ownership is the only way to have a say in what happens with development, the rest is just whining to Mummy and Daddy and the answer is always the same, "While you are under our roof, you will abide by our rules".
This is where Steem is going to come into its own because while everyone can be on the Steem blockchain, the way they use it, the communities they build and the SMTs they use to incentivize or monetize their users is completely open to preference. OWN your community is more than lip service, it is literally true where people will be able to own their digital experiences, the good and the bad of it.
The technology we are dealing with on Steem allows for a massive amount of variation in topic and approach for usage and, these are only growing. With the coming SteemDAO is possible that even more development takes place that flicks the lights on in new rooms and perhaps, the lights for an entire city to be built into, to be developed and of course as I can never stress it enough, to be owned.
I do not expect average people to understand what is actually going on here because average people will rarely take the time to understand new technological advancement or social considerations that broach economic and governance issues. Average people are average by definition and while the average person is highly affected by these things, they do not dive deep into understanding them. The average person is a user, not an owner.
What people should do is start tallying up all the value of the things they own that can't be taken away from them and work out what they actually hold. I will give a hint - not much. But when it comes to what we create, that should be ours and, we should have control over it but when you are creating for a company, they own and control what you create and all of these centralized experiences are companies. Sure, you can take your YouTube post and upload it somewhere else - but who the fuck is going to pay you for it when YouTube is the only game in town and they own your audience's attention?
But, it doesn't really matter if people see the potential here or not, it doesn't really matter if people come and go because it doesn't fulfill their expectations of experience. What is interesting is that if Steem fails there will be a whole lot of people saying "I told you so" and laughing, while they will continue to be slaves of the centralized media, being fed scraps and having their lives monetized for no personal gain.
Jokes on those who stay with Steem though.
This is where there is a difference in mindset with investors in Steem for monetary gain and those looking for ownership. Monetary gain requires selling into a centralized currency owned by others, ownership is holding and using it in the state it appears.
New Zealand has just passed a law allowing for salaries to be paid in Bitcoin and that means, living costs can increasingly be covered with Bitcoin. This will eventually push-out to other cryptos and soon, the average person will be comfortable earning and using cryptocurrencies to pay for their goods and services - as well as their online experiences and the content they consume.
The thing that most people on Steem are complaining about now is soon going to be inundated with people wanting to do exactly what is possible here, earn crypto through doing what one would normally do elsewhere for free. And once people are actually earning it in their workplaces, they are going to want places to spend it and, they are going to learn exactly what the value of digital real estate is, and how they have been kept disenfranchised from it for decades.
Just like the people who are at the beginning of every new technological revolution, the people of the future will say, "I wish I had the opportunity you did" of the very opportunity that most people right now complain about as if they are slaves.
Steem is always Opt-in and Opt-out in nature. I wonder though as the the world pivots and the way people manage their online lives shift, how many people are going to opt-in to the positions for everyone who opted-out? Remember the name Ronald Wayne, the average guy who sold 10% of his stake in Apple 12 days after it started for 800 dollars because he feared loss -
most of us would do exactly the same thing as him.
A lot of words wasted? I think not.
Add another 1792 to the tally.
Taraz
[ a Steem original.
Simple really isn't it. And why it's a good idea to try and work out who's sticking around.
New Zealand companies now paying in BTC? Pretty cool.
When you talk about ownership, it's more about the space than the content? Just checking, I'm tired, and only wrote about 900 chars today :)
Yep, pretty interesting move. I feel that the smaller countries are going to lead the way on this, as are the poorer.
Ownership of both really. The content can be owned on YouTube, but they can shut that shit down and delete it in seconds, you have no guarantee that it will stay there. On Steem, you own what you post as well as the space it holds on the chain for digital eternity. In time there will be more uses for the ownership and with communities, this can be very important.
Thanks.
Well on this evenings news I'm happy no more is leaving my account and it could well be the other way. I'd like a space here :)
Grats! :)
:D Thanks!
:) Be nice to get an advance at these prices :D
Yeah, watch it start to motor now :)
Stay on the rice and tuna the first months
And a bit of milk of course.
It looks likt it is not just for BTC either, they just require that it is pegged to something and can be used somewhere.. yada yada. Not sure if Steem qualifies yet, but too tired to work it out :)
Your writing has made me realize how damn lazy I have become when it comes to putting down words...
Ownership over our own content is a beautiful thought ranking right up there with earning for the value we bring, our time and effort and even for playing games.
It's something that while I understand the basics of, my monkey minds still questions how something like this could be possible. But everyday I see the possibilities more and more. and I want to help spread the message to those who will listen. even if it is in less technical details.
Ownership is something we have been convinced to give up without recognizing that what we have done isn't stopped ownership, but become slaves to those who hold the deeds to our lives. These companies are so integrated into our experience that we are controlled by them and think they are doing us a favor.
Even if steem is flushed down the toilet it's not wasted because stuff was learned and you probably got something out of all that writing. And from the comments on all your posts so did other people XP
And, even if it was it is still a place to engage and do stuff with the Steem Power held. Most crypto projects are nothing without the earning potential - I think Steem goes beyond that point.
My idea of success is similar to yours @tarazkp.. it's being able to survive while being completely natural.
Enjoyment is one thing, but being able to just be natural, as I am, and as I will be is even better :)
I think that as the place diversifies into communities people will find it easier to be themselves.
I thought about what you said @tarazkp and I think you are right.
I have a small Steem-based community via @tokenbb and I find it easier to express myself there since it is specifically tailored to my interests & ideas 😄
This made me laugh. It's a bit like a self fulfilling prophecy.
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Much of what people predict ends up this way and then, they think they are right even though they never put in the resources required for a successful outcome.
Yes, a lot of words, but if waisted lies in the eye of the beholder and how much you yourself value what you publish. I read it with interest and came up with a comment:
The voluntariness with which people distribute their content on the major platforms is based on the fact that uploading is free and on the hope of being discovered. This market works very differently than when someone wants to make an individual contract with a media company for their content. If I want my life to be monetarised, as you say, then don't take the first step before the second according to the classic previous model. I then already created a good story - previously unpublished -, a unique work and brought it through several phases, worked hard on it, revised it several times, presented it to talented people for evaluation. I handle my intellectual property carefully and lovingly, I protect it and only release it when I have signed everything. Quite different today.
A media company tends to know or thinks it knows what its customers want and they want to give it to them. The statistics speak for themselves and mass is what counts. It's not just their own preferences that youtube, Netflix & Co put in the foreground, it's the cycle that exists between user and supplier. From my point of view, the preferences are much less political or conspiratorial, but merely capitalist. What attracts the most people is pushed. Therefore it is the preferences of the users as well as those of the distributors or providers of the platforms. The data will play an even greater role, because they will determine more precisely what the individual prefers. It is even possible to build in a random algorithm for whom this is too determined. It would be nice if the user could adjust this himself. I don't know this in detail with the providers and what is possible there.
The question that arises to me is therefore the following:
Should my intellectual property always yield a monetary profit, regardless of its quality?
Should what I distribute on the channels always be rewarded, no matter how good or bad? Simply because every time I post something online, I automatically produce data?
For me, there are two spontaneous attitudes:
One is: Why not? I live, so I produce data. This data should not be subject to any quality control, but should only be treated in such a way that, through its use by large media companies, it can yield a share of their profits. One could say that I want to share financially in the profits of the big companies, because I am valuable as an individual. Why not? It is like a kind of unconditional basic income, which would work on a similar basis. The proponents say: A person should not be judged by the value of his work, but has a right to life and dignity. Everyone fulfils an important role in life, no matter who they are. In my view, there is no need to veto this. I am a philanthropist.
The other attitude is somewhat more critical. It asks: if I were to receive a guaranteed payment for the production of content - i.e. data - would everything in the future not be geared towards pure consumption? Would I just blow pure nonsense on the Internet, just to produce content?
Isn't the most important thing then that I continue to buy things and as a buyer for all those who have their services and web shops on the Internet, reduce myself to my existence as a pure consumer (having in mind environmental issues)?
How much of the profits from using my personal data should I then receive? How should the value of my data be measured? On company profit? The number of daily accesses to all content of the operators? In any case, one could say that your demand that everyone owns his data and has a copyright on it, so that at the same time a right of determination should hold, to profit financially from it.
The tip of the iceberg is: How much? Should earning by providing my data secure my existence and guarantee me so much that I can finance food and shelter from it? At least that's what the UBI advocates demand. I see it in a similar way. But what I think is dangerous is that if the financial participation in the dissemination of my data goes beyond the existential.
I am against the fact that passive income covers the majority of my existence, i.e. serves my luxury desires beyond the existential. I think my attitude is a blessing for many people, because in fact others see it differently and are in favour of a passive income, the more the better. Maybe I am even in a minority, who knows? But there must be people like me and fortunately there are, but of course I don't know any numbers. My dearest one, for example, is all for a passive income and we are completely opposed to this, but otherwise understand each other perfectly well.
This hope is encouraged and sold by the platforms who monetize it, knowing that it is they who direct discovery.
A rush to the middle of average that incentives average content to be produced because it sells.
The preference of the user indeed, supply and demand. Demand that 0.1% of the world owns everything, that is what will be supplied.
You could try, but this is a supply and demand world, so if no one demands the nonsense that you produce, there will be no return. I don't know where you get the idea of guaranteed return on content from.
Owning data doesn't mean profiting from it.
I am not sure how you see this as a passive process.
How can you be certain about that?
I have some other impressions. The channels I watch are maybe only for niche audiences but it looks as if those people meet the taste of many others, which can be interpreted by the comment section. If youtube pushes here or there some users: why bother? You think they shouldn't?
there is obviously the most money to be made. When it's too mediocre, I can just switch to someone or something which holds more quality for me personally. People with different tastes and contents are still there in plenty, aren't they?
If 95% of the people buy their products and messages from the 1% of the rich, then those who see themselves as a minority can still do something different. The masses, like the rich, thrive on innovation, ideas, the charm of those who do not fit into the picture, who at first glance have strange views, or who otherwise appear different or convincing. You can choose to be mainstream or occupy a niche. But you can't have it all: belong to the 1%, adapt to the masses, feel accepted and comfortable and at the same time do or represent something special or unique.
Also ... it maybe so. It may be different in the future. Who can predict that? Working against the mainstream always is kind of difficult but worth the time. But you won't find many mentors or supporters because it's not mainstream. Once it becomes mainstream it had changed and will do so further on. I don't know whether cryptocurrency will be a game changer or be incorporated in what is accepted right now. It's still uncertain where the development will lead it.
It was a mental game. I got it, as I said, from UBI (unconditional basic income), I thought it's a known term but am wrong, as I see now.
The passive income also was part of this.
I am confused because on the on hand you seem to be okay and not seeing yourself in disadvantage or being a slave to the big ones but on the other hand you appear complaining about the so called one percent?
Algorithms. They can do what they want but what they are doing is maximizing their own choices while programming the masses as to what is popular. You might like that idea, I do not.
You can have nothing unless you own something.
UBI has nothing to do with content creation at all. It is an income provided for doing nothing. What people do with that income could change things slightly as a stop-gap, but most people will use it to consume from who already own everything and, the cycle of disenfranchisement continues.
The one percent exist because the 99% have chosen not to own their experience but rather rent from middlemen in a constant debt cycle. You might be okay with that, I am not.
Depends if I see an algorithm to my disadvantage, being manipulated or if I see it as a private assistant which supports my preferences. I do not see myself as a puppy which walks on autopilot through the world. I rather do not see my fellow men in this way, either. When I have the chance, I ask of their potentials and motives to feel well or encouraged.
You're saying the average modern citizen doesn't own anything worthy?
I beg to differ. Depends on how you value your possessions and life experiences. You can be a full time youtuber, earn while the opportunity lasts and then, if it's over, move on. In the meantime, bred is on the table. If one doesn't want to play by their terms, it's up to the person to choose another form of income generating. For sure people own their talents, their experiences and reputation. That's worth a lot, if you ask me. So, ownership is given, it only is a point of view, how much value I give it personally. In this way, I may negotiate and act into the world of business or job market.
I do not care so much with what most people will or won't do with UBI. I care more about what I would do. It's so far an unusual idea and one, I had many inspirations with.
Actually, the minorities often live from the majorities and their (our) average lifestyles. It is their sheer mass that makes it possible for a few to stand out from the crowd and do something unusual. When I know that I am not one of them, I am encouraged to support those who seem to me to bring something not yet existing or disturbing into the world. If people weren't curious, there wouldn't be crypto currency or a platform like Steemit. At first it's like a big experimental laboratory where hopes and dreams awaken, often burst and impatience and disappointment take place. But like you said, you can also wait and see what happens. And support it according to your own possibilities.
If the two of us talk, it's for me of more importance not to talk about the 99 % but give you my personal perspective. May others take advantage of it :)
Ask Facebook and Youtube about how their AIs and algos sort the content in your feed.
Their reputation? Not at all, reputation is an externally applied metric.
THe problem is, that you live in a world of other people and while you can do what you want with the resources you have, that will still be affected and affect the resources of others.
Your view of the world seems ultimately naive and poorly thought out.
And, You seem to think that your view of it all is something that should be propagated, which is fine, but from a position that is not well derived, it wouldn't move us very far along and likely supports the status quo, the average.
What's so bad about being average? I repeat that you still seem to be in a position to choose something not average, and so am I. The average though, is something which keeps many things alive we take for granted.
I don't see it as a problem that I live in a world of other people, just a matter of fact. And that many things are to my dislikes as much as to my likes. I still can pick, can't I? I am part of the masses.
In case I meet a difficulty, I can act appropriate to the situation. In the meantime, I like to stay without too many sorrows and not put on those of others. Not good for health. It was different when I was younger, though. Everything has it's time. Once in a while the critic in me stands up and fights for something. But not only am I affected by the others, I do affect the others, too.
How could you know that my position is not derived or well thought through, a result of experience and weighing things up?
I see it that the status quo is in constant change. Maybe not immediate, maybe some changes do not happen during my lifetime or urgent desires. But that doesn't mean it's not in progress. Fortunately there are enough people who take on different activities and push things or hold them back. Who am I to see through it all?
Right, reputation is something different and not fully owned by us, only a result of our professions, relationships and activities.
Amazing piece like usual!
I bet I only have a tenth of your word count, lol. The latest post was the longest I can remember having written in a long time. I blame it on the short attention span of the general public lately, me included. Your posts still manage to keep me interested til the end though so that's something. :P
Thanks, I just end up writing my thoughts out and my head doesn't think concisely :)
I am hoping that at some point soon, these kinds of pieces aren't necessary at all because it will all be so obvious to users and, price will be up. When price is up - complaints go down dramatically. So surprising.
People forget they are earning Steem and the entire pool is only worth 200K but, they still want to earn like they are professionals in a company.
Like many early adopters, it not only takes action but resilience and belief for the long term. I am happy that we continue to have more things to do as the ecosystem expands as it becomes easier as we network and become more of a community within the areas we enjoy to engage.
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Yep, and when the pool (currently a total of 200K dollars worth) is worth 10 million, things change dramatically for contributor earnings. It doesn't get to that point without work though and, the resilience to ride it through, as you mention.
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I comment here only for upvotes 🤟
I flag comments like this because I can 🤟
First I was like oh god have you started using that emoji, then I viewed the comment above xD
Rock'n'Roll! ;D
I don't see them trying to control everything here, they do as they do with the stake they hold though and, that is definitely part of the reality of operating in a decentralized environment. I actually don't see it as a problem for the healthy functioning of Steem as eventually with communities and SMTs, the owners of those can choose how they operate for their users. Steem however is and should be stake based and open, this doesn't mean everyone is going to earn out of the Steem pool though.
But perhaps I have seen things you have not.
I have no idea who greenman is though.