I think I’m somewhere in the middle. People need to feel that quality content will be rewarded in the long run and so they’ll need to see that in action. I do see this happening right now as more initiatives pop up and some of the newer minnows understand the platform better and join us in searching for ways that everyone can benefit based on quality work and contribution. There is still a disproportionate of the reward pool moving upwards to the top and this hurts Steem it’s future prospects, which is my main issue with the bidbots as I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the ecosystem that owners are becoming some of the most powerful people on our platform. Still things are improving. Communities need to come soon and get us away from the Trending page.
Ned is doing a bit better these days with communication.
User retention is another huge issue, it doesn’t look good when such a huge percentage of accounts are dead, and we probably won’t be able to revive all those accounts from people who joined, lost interest and lost passwords, but we’ve got to make sure the new people coming in stay, and a high payout on their intro post is not the best way to do it because once you grow too big for curie and ocd, it gets a lot harder if you don’t get adopted (adopt a minnow is a much better way @whatsup, as it forms a real connection with steemians).
I think it all depends on how quickly communities come around and who benefits the most from them.
I could care less about quality content it is already coming in quickly. I recently did a contest for a small amount and the talent was mind-blowing! Very few mature people care about whether or not the rewards are perfectly awarded. As any rewards are more than most people are getting where ever they are currently working. Plus Youtube has demonitized so much, those users need a new home, and for those who haven't noticed, many are coming here! Mature content creators know and expect they have to build an audience and take responsibility for building an audience. I think the attitudes you are talking about have more to do with how some of the early adopters are.
Many of the bidbot owners are NOT the richest people on the site, in fact nearly none of them are the early miners who hold most of the wealth by FAR. This is another false idea that gets spread but rarely researched. Check out all the bots and who is running them. Again, people from other platforms will not care, they are already used to paying promotional fees, and they aren't worried about others earning more as long as they can earn as well. As I said, I have noticed this new influx of users is much more mature and less concerned about having to build an audience and compete.
We will see, I am not arguing as much as sharing my views, thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Perhaps the bidbot owners are not the richest people on the platform but they are certainly a formidable force, one which could potentially reach that level. I don’t need to debate it any further though, I know your views on it.
The one thing I want to add though is that I think mature adults generally care about who has power and how it is rewarded, it isn’t all about “me”, but rather about how the whole ecosystem functions. I see lots of quality content too, and it’s rewarded better than before, I just think we need to be diligent to make sure this trend continues.
I bet if you asked serious youtube users they would also say there is a lot of infighting and issues and that many high-quality vlogs don't get the views they deserve. What I am saying is the "Not Fair" group is everywhere, most people don't pay that much attention to it.
Here is where we argee, things are improving, but we have to quit acting like this is the only site that has a lack of fairness and infighting.
The bidbots are helping with a broader distribution. The proof is in the math. There are more people earning now than before. Our ability to get more steem in more hands is growing faster than new users. Some people are mad about how it is getting there, but it doesn't change the fact we are improving! :)
As someone from YouTube I couldn’t agree more with his comment