There was an episode of Orville i watched a few months ago. I dont watch the series regularly but was interested to see what the hype was all about. It was an episode about social media. The ship captained by Seth MacFarlane visited a world where the worth of an individual and its status in society was determined by the amount of likes they received by other individuals.
They basically wore badges that showed their like/dislike ratios. (im writing about this from memory so dont quote me).
I watched this probably around the time i started taking my Steemit blog a bit more seriously.
After few active months, i started to get these flashbacks to that particular episode.
Of course when the episode was written Seth didnt have Steem in mind but rather the facebooks, and instagrams, but i couldnt shake the feeling that the particular episode was extremely reminiscent to the social media site we are a part of, more then it was about the "old school" established ones.
So what am i talking about?
At this point i have been a part of this community, society, for almost 6 months. At the lower levels of payouts and wallet SP ive noticed a trend. Its actually a pretty healthy one. People being valued by who they are, by their contributions, by their hard work, by their success in the eyes of those they interact with.
A value system based on respect, mutual understanding and support. And those that stand out most in that regard, those with nickles and dimes to their name when they came to Steemit, moved up the ranks to achieve great things.
All that is fine and dandy. But how does that earn me monies.
It does. It actually does.
The Yidneths, Menos, Eonwarpeds, Pechis, Serenas, Nonamesleft, Surfermarlies, Bembels, Bozzes, Zippys, Crimmis, etc, etc, etc.... started with mostly empty wallets and became factors in their communities. People that mold opinions, and affect others greatly in their own ways And im not just throwing around praises.
What today is text in some online chat room, tomorrow will mean so much more.
The strength of Steem does not come from the surface nonsense. The drama, whos right in this feud and whos wrong, Fyrstes yelling at mics: "I AM NOT HERE TO MAKE YOU RICH!!!!"... Steemits "top abstract artist" fighting Haejin, or upvoting a 1 sentence post with 400$. The post comment spammers. The bot account owners (1 million users). The bot owners letting memes top the trending. Grumpys downvoting for whatever reason. Orcas upvoting their Poop emoji posts and youtube reposts. The circle-jerkers. The Jerry kinds and other morally questionable individuals like him.
For me, all of that is nonsense in the end. Its white noise. Its what fills our day, with something to be outraged about, something to laugh at, something to talk about, but only for a moment, snap your fingers and its behind you.
If we want to talk about Steem making it big, making an impact on the world stage, and we all see that the potential is there, all the people that you might fear today, because they hold the biggest pistol, if Steem makes it big, you will have so many Vortacs, Kevins, Gtgs, Kpines, Drakos on this blockchain that most of these accounts that you might fear will be lost in the sea of SP.
Just ask yourself:
"Which one of these people would have your respect if they held the SP you hold?"
But i digress. The point i was trying to make was about the TV show i talked about in the beginning. From the people i mentioned as positive role models, to the ideals written down in the Steem "bible", Steem, at its core, is nothing like the society in the episode in question.
But on the surface, im starting to feel like it is. Those that hold the green badges with the most green upvotes seem to be valued more just like in that episode.
If Steem was a closed system that fact would appall me. Because its not, and the monetary value spilled in from the "real world" is a measure of success and achievement in its own right, i wholeheartedly accept the monetary aspect of that fact.
What im not ok with is that the "surface level Steem" shows not a trend of valuing more those that "transferred success" from the real world but rather not valuing enough those that reached success on Steem in their specific way, that is not comparable through SP to those that "transferred success".
Im of the opinion that your voice should carry weight based on the merit of your arguments, not based on the SP you hold.
Its quite a tricky situation we are in. We have a unique economic model i personally support greatly. (the idea of it) . Those that invested most should earn the most. What i cannot support is valuing the opinions more of those that have more, just because they have more.
I mentioned the 1 sentence 400$ post on the trending earlier.
Are we really at the point where something like that is praised and supported, because the author is someone that holds a big pistol and is not afraid to use it?
I think we need a shift in thought, even more then a shift in payout or SP distribution we all talk about.
Unfortunately, it seems that its on those with the biggest pistols to spearhead that trend.
Anyways... Just a few thoughts for the day.
Hopefully you guys dont take my words super seriously. Its all just moments thought, and like ive written above...
snap your fingers and its behind you :D
I didnt want to ping so many people so this is basically for you guys that come across this post.
Have a great day everyone... ;)
Some of my music videos:
On my own: Les Miserables:
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/8y2igcgw
AC/DC-Thunderstruck/Beethoven-Moonlight Sonata instrumental
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/5sccew5m
Aretha Franklin: Natural Woman
https://steemit.com/dlive/@silentscreamer/5e6d8f00-7a54-11e8-827c-49f76fdbeab3
Steem Original: TO THE MOON
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/5pcpxakt
James Arthur: Impossible
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/7pw7ncob
Moving on (Original Song)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/a2nc4631
Frank Sinatra: My Way
https://steemit.com/music/@silentscreamer/4x49rtoa
Elton John: Can you feel the love tonight (Lion King soundtrack)
https://steemit.com/music/@silentscreamer/g1m7orxk
Enya: May it be (LOTR soundtrack)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/962n3z6d
Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack (Hoist the colors and Main theme)
https://steemit.com/music/@silentscreamer/231nc0ms
I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/ggk5xq72
The Minnowsupport Lullaby
https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@silentscreamer/yi7zsm7r
Schindlers List Theme
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/steemit-openmic-week-75-or-theme-from-schindler-s-list-or
Sam Smith: "Im not the only one"
https://steemit.com/blockmountain/@silentscreamer/block-mountain-submission-or-sma-smith-i-m-not-the-only-one-or
Meno/Pechichemena: "Wait" cover
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/3ht644ns
Whitney Houston: "I have nothing"
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/w7vcd5wc
Beyonce: "Listen"
https://steemit.com/openmic/@silentscreamer/znifwtme
Cee Lo Green: "Forget you"
https://steemit.com/onelovedtube/@silentscreamer/rdb4mn6h
I'm usually not around commenting on posts like this one ( though I enjoy reading them ) but I'ma step out of my ''comfort zone'' for this one :P .
There are some truth bombs here , I never saw that Orville episode but I can see the analogy around it and in a way society works that way. @meno puts it as ''the number philosophy'' meaning that in a society we all have a ''scoring number'' floating around our heads and we usually try to hang around with people that ''scored the same as us'' ... if I see someone as a 9, 10 then it might be someone I admire if I see myself as a 6 or 7 and such... The trick is that those numbers change from person to person's perspective.. what I see as a 10 might be a 2 for the one sitting besides me.. making it quite pointless .
The thing here is that we have some numbers attached to us.. the SP wallet , the rep number , etc... giving us ''value''... and that can be quite a mind trap .... ''If someone with a rep 65-80 to say a high number comments or votes on my post then there must be some value to it contrasting if a tiny plankton commented'' Stress the quotes heavily. This can take some of the human element away easily, most of the people i chat and admire most around here are planktons and minnows and I don't attach numbers to them and as I would do in ''3d world'' I would help them if they so needed or reached out , it's just my nature. I'm very unattached to things or money... I guess I'm quite a hippie in that sense :P !
From the people that have chatted with me around this Steemit world know that I'm very private and ''work behind the scenes'' most of the time. Helping musicians because first of all I'm a lover of music and many arts and I like to put my shoulder and push to make things happen, Also trying to make musicians celebrate other people's work (#coverasteemian) or behind the @helpie community helping the whole thing run. Most of my SP is delegated to initiatives I like and such... I'm a terrible ''business man'' but I've been enjoying my time here and collecting wealth that is not necessarily on the monetary side of things. ( I did help myself with some pay when Steem had it's super high price , now on a bear market I'm not taking one cent out :P) .
As my friend @harrisonmir who shares a very similar way of thinking puts it : ''every group needs a healer/medic (talking about RPG gaming ) .. you'll never see him/her on the front lines but if he/she is not behind the rest.. the group dies.''
I went on a tangent... eeeh.....
My point is I guess , don't forget to enjoy your time around here , make some friends , share the things you like and are passionate about and have some fun :) . Hopefully one day the things we push around here become self-sustainable and we could be around more but if there was no potential payout involved I'd probably be doing it anyways :P .
I'll see you around Marica .. probably spamming avocado pictures ;) .
Smoke Bomb... whoooshhh
Whoosh indeed. What can i say. Youre like the epitome of the healthy core i wrote about here. Ive seen it in most of us. We built so many relationships here that even if the Steem boat sank id be like the violinists on the deck of the Titanic playing until the bitter end. Thats why im trying to say that the fatness of the wallet doesnt represent the value of a voice. Some may have brought their "success" here, but some have earned it here and those people need to be valued as well.
Anyways.... Whooooosh :D
Fyrstes reference for new Steemians...
Highlights
01:18 "GO AND SEE A PRIEST OR A SHRINK"
01:35 "TOUGHER AND TOUGHER AND TOUGHER"
01:51 "ETHEREUM IS A SHITCOIN"
02:15 "IN AND OUT AND OUT AND IN AND UP AND DOWN"
02:58 "WE HAVEN'T REACHED THE PEAK OF CRYPTO"
03:15 "WE ARE GOING PLACES"
From time to time i cant decypher if hes playing a character or if that is his character. But to each his own i guess. His rethoric is just not my cup of tea. 😁
It doesn't match up with the grace of playing a violin yes that's true 😁
I just got totally inspired by you, i really appreciate this, and i must say this is extremely credible
Well im glad you enjoyed it. 😁
Not so much a big gun so much as a big basket of candy :D. But point taken. Can I have my candy now please?
"But I don't want candy. I want money!" (Friends, Halloween episode)
Also that cat is adorable.
Haha. Well their candy basket is as big as their gun. I was trying to make a point about how on the surface a voice has more weight and less opposition due to the candy basket and the gun that comes with it.
Its was just a rant of sorts basicaly. Haha.
@phoneinf. Adrian its ok. Haha. Even if Fyrst came here angry at what i wrote id still keep it civil regardless of his words. Eon did no such thing and i understood what he wanted to say.
This was all just a missunderstanding.
Wer all friends here anyways. 😁❤
Thx @meno for jumping in.
Did you even read the article?
Your comment looks just like a spammers spambot account. I'm amazed you have 5000 sp and keep that low quality and completely 0 relevance to the main post
I suppose I should have quoted what I was responding to.
I could edit the comment but I think I'll leave it here. Cheers.
yawn are you done?
You have a sense of not caring in your responses and complete no emotional connection to a post which makes you seem as a very annoying person not being attached to reality. Also just saw this from your page:
"I can't put a finger on it, but lately I've been getting annoyed very easily. It's easy to blame the blood moon eclipse (is that a band name yet?), but most likely it won't go away unless I confront myself honestly."
Yes it's something for sure
Sorry to interject... but both of you are good peeps. Eon is just being silly as he is a personal friend of Silent, and Phoneinf is someone who follows her work too.
So what happened here... at least in my opinion is a tiny misunderstanding. Two good people raising eyebrows.
Anyways.. I take my leave, but I can promise you both - you could be good friends.. if you wanted to, you could be great friends. I know enough to make such assertion.
You are right @meno, sorry @eonwarped I also been slightly annoyed this day because of some personal things in life!
Thank you and @meno both for clearing the air here. Hope the times improve, wishing you the best.
Wait, I'm fighting with Haejin? I don't remember that part.
Hahaha. I use abstract artist not in a positive way and it hardly describes someone like you.. Im not a fan of "modern art". 😂
Its the act of making the lowest effort post imaginable and by giving it whatever meaning you want it instantly becomes something amazing in the eyes of others.
Like i wrote on Bernies 1 sentence post:"you could have flagged every single commenter on your post and made up a meaning like: i flagged you to prove a point. Dont come running in support of non substance posts just because someone with a lot of power wrote it".
If he did that no one would bat an eye.
Thats why hes the top abstract artist on steem.
I think steemit could be very different in 5 years if it can survive this adolescent stage. By then we could have many millions of users and perhaps the whales will be a little less dominant as the middle class of dolphins increases. It may remain like the wild west, but spam and abuse fighters may be more effective. It's going to be interesting to see how it pans out
Adolescent is a good word to describe the situation. We cant know for sure but by observing the early stages of other social media sites we might get a clearer picture.
Just like those that were on the top of lets say youtube, are nowhere to be seen today, the same thing will probably happen here. A filtering of sorts. It already started with Jerry and i think that was an actual milestone in Steems lifecycle.
Thank you for the mention, you made me feelna big "minnow" I may be be plankton still lol but what I mean is that I appreciate some think I have a voice here. For me the placeis full also with people I have grown to care and appreciate and that includes you. Hugs
So many negative post on Steemit these days, it's so encouraging to read something positive for a change!
Thank you @silentscreamer!
A lot of truths here and I am reminded of two posts thst I read in a span of two days one was a Community leader who said that people leaving the platform was a cleansing because it is getting rid of people who are only interested in the money aspect of Steem but goes right on thanking big whales, communities that are supporting him with upvotes and another was a very raw and unedited vlog of a person who is at her wits end because she did not get in a program that she was working hard to get in and she feels that she is a failure because she has done everything but success eludes her.
I know both people to a certain degree and I understand the point of both.
There have been posts about retention, post about what can we do better in spreading the wealth, there have been posts about how whales do not owe anyone and that they need to share their vote.
Right now we are still struggling on how we can get the right mix. I don't really think that Steem will be of mass adoption but will be a certain niche of content creators who will care for things that are important to them may it be crypto, art, music, or simply lining their pockets it is their call.
Thank you though for articulating a lot of these thoughts.
We think alike in many ways.. some of the things that go on here on steemit resembles the real world in terms of people with more get more .. it’s tough. I am a dolphin here and in real life and of course it would be nice to be a whale ... only so I could take care of the family and friends around me ..not so I could buy things I don’t need or fancy things. The discord has really put me in touch with my kind of people and while the top people here that bring nothing to the platform except to benefit themselves bothers me there are enough great people that I think it’s going to work out... and I am having fun now that I found discord,,, I am being inspired to do things I have never though about achieving and this is better than any monitary reward. I am changed through and through ... great blog you wrote and I am going to come tell you so right now :)