Pay It Forward! A better way to enjoy steemit and find great content!

#payitforward

This place is awesome! More importantly, I'm having a lot of fun!
I've spent way more time here than I probably should, and I've been thinking about the current content curation system since I got here.

The original idea was that people would read the content, think about it for a bit and then upvote what they like. This would get the mod's attention who could then read it for themselves and kick it to the front page.

FYI: Whales and dolphins, are whom I am collectively calling moderators or mods.

It's a great design, @dantheman clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it. It worked awesome as long as content was produced at a rate in which there are enough moderators to curate the content.

This appears to be happening in reverse now.

Many people aren't actually reading the content until the mods approve it. They just upvote as quickly as they can after the 30 minute cooling period and hope that they got the right one. Or they build an upvote bot and base it around some simple rules that will make the task easier. Either way, content is being upvoted before it's being read and this is creating a lot of problems as the spammers are getting the upvotes they need to drown out the good stuff.

Part of the problem is that there are way too many players and not enough mods and so we have a firehose effect...

Guys, the problem isn't the mods!

There have been a lot of possible fixes suggested, but they all require changing the platform and also...

None of these are positive or sustainable.

Here is the simple truth...

You can't fight people who bend the rules, by adding more rules.
Best solution is not to fight, but to eject them from the game entirely by rewarding a task that a bot or spammer cannot do.

Insightful commentary!

Here is a solution that doesn't require ANY changes to the system at all. It properly leverages the power of minnows and allows them to get their content noticed without any whale baiting, without spamming and without gaming the system. In the meantime it gives the mods a simple and easy way to find great content. Oh and did I mention it's not something you can build a bot to do! ;)

I'm introducing a new hashtag #payitforward

When you put this in your post as the first word, you are inviting everyone to drop by, read and comment on your content. But in exchange for accepting the invite, which may involve reading something they might not necessarily be into, you're agreeing to cross link your posts.

You might possibly make a new friend in the process too!

In other words..
It's using social media to be sociable! #whodathunkit?

Caution: Doing this may cause you to expand your horizons and maybe make a new friend.

Here is an example...
Alice has a post "Our vacation at SeaWorld, a photojournal"
Bob has a post "Electrically stimulated inducement of transcendent states of consciousness in rhesus monkeys."

They both start their posts with #payitforward

Bob stumbles on Alice's post, the title of which isn't particularly compelling to Bob, but because of #payitforward he checks it out anyways and leaves a comment like...
"Wow! Alice, it sure looks like your little monkeys had fun at SeaWorld! Listen I'm not sure if this is really your bag or not, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind dropping by my latest posting about a science experiment involving my little rhesus monkeys #payitfoward Great post, I upvoted you!"

Alice sees this and heads over to Bob's blog...
She reads Bob's fascinating study, and provides some constructive criticism.
"Bob thanks for inviting me here from my latest blog. This is a really great post, but it's basically a plain wall of text right now and a bit hard to read. Could you edit it a bit and I'll check back in a few hours to see how you're doing? Clean it up and you've got my upvote! #payitforward"

Alice then returns to her blog and leaves a response to Bob's comment as a reply...
"Wow, Bob! He really pushed the limits of science there! I have questions about the ethics but it's really interesting anyways. Anyone interested in animal testing, should really check it out. Thanks for the invite! #payitforward"

Now we have cross linked posts between 2 people who have never met eachother and may not share a single common interest, but at least they explored steemit together.

Anyone who visits either Alice or Bob will see a few things...
First off, they are both actively inviting new friends.
Secondly, they are checking out each other's content and curating one another and inviting others to do the same.

Thirdly, if you're playing this game right, Alice and Bob are both seeking out additional posters who have hung out the welcome mat and they are repeating this process as much as they can.

This allows anyone who finds any #payitforward participant to also see content that person has seen and commented on. This breaks down the barriers to entry and communication. It makes it "OK" to tell us all about your interests without doing it in a spammy way.

By doing this you are saying...
You have taken the time to read what I have to say. You commented and upvoted me which provides me with visibility. I promise you, I will return the favor.

It means that anyone who sees me, will also see you.

It won't matter if that person is a minnow, a dolphin or a whale.
We don't need a moderator to help us find great compelling content. We just need to have our friends share in a way that isn't getting drowned out by the noise on the front pages. But we have to feel free to return the favor, hence the use of a hashtag.

Not everyone wants to play the game this way.
It can look like spam if done incorrectly.

But I want to play the game this way and if you want to play my version of steemit , then here are some simple rules to follow.

Think of this as a simple game with only 5 easy rules!

#1 Start your post with #payitforward That way if you don't find me, I can at least find you and know it's ok to chime in. You're not a bot and you're interested in a lot more than just that single post. Also don't try this in posts that don't start with #payitforward if they don't have the tag then they aren't playing the game right now. Respect their wishes.

#2 To post an invite, you must post relevant commentary first. You have to be respectful. Who knows? You might actually change someone's mind on something important... Or you may meet your perfect nemesis. Either way, this version of steemit is a lot more fun. So speak your real mind, but be insightful about it please. You're not part of a hive mind or a bot, so don't act like one.

#3 Provide a quick one liner summary, of what your post is about. Don't make it clickbaity or offensive and please don't do this at all with #NSFW topics. Make it an invitation, not an obligation. The other blogger has invited you to link your blog, don't make them feel like they have to return the favor. #payitforward is used in the comment to remind them they agreed to the game. But it could still be a while before they can get around to it, especially if they're like me and spend an our or two composing something epic to say.

#4 This is a reciprocation game. I post some thoughts about your blog while in your blog and then I post some thoughts about your blog in my blog. What I say in my blog is a quick reactive summary and an attempt to categorize the most important parts. For instance, Bob's reply to Alice's comment in his blog would be along the lines of "Alice sure did a great job on those photos and her kids had a blast! If you're looking for fun family events SeaWorld looks like a fun place. You should check it out it too. #payitforward"

#5 Please for the love of god, use anchor tags for links.
Recent studies have shown that it's visually distressing seeing a link longer than 10 to 25 characters and most people won't bother to click a link longer than that regardless of content. One or two words, 4 words max. An anchor tag allows you to provide some semantic information that extends beyond the title in a way that is visually attractive. Also it's been a standard for over 20 years now people. Just use it :)

That's all the rules!

Now a side effect of this is that if a moderator happens to stumble into it, he or she will be able to find more compelling content as well as some commentary on it and won't have to swim through a sea of botspam, so we all win!

I want to thank...
@dana-edwards for her post on attention based networks, which is the source of the idea, this being a human based version of it.

@pfunk for his constructive criticism on leashcodes which reminded me that we need to have rules in place, that are opt in.

@casandrarose for putting a more positive spin on things in general and reminding me that this place is all about helping eachother create and curate the best content. Posted this idea in her blog first as a comment, she told me to go blog about it.

@jako had an idea with similar objectives a week ago but got no traction. Other than the name and end goal of highlighting quality content they're completely unrelated. But his idea is a good one too, read more here

Feel free to talk about this topic here, or discuss a bit about your blog. I'm in and out today, but I promise to check in as often as I can today and at least once a day over the course of the next 30 days to see how the #payitforward game is proceeding.
Have fun and remember to enjoy steemit!