Real Talk About Friends On Steem... Or Lack Thereof
I think it's fitting to view a social media interface like Steem as a means to meet and build meaningful friendships with likeminded people.
F*ck upvote loops or political affiliates who use each other for personal gain -- not to be found when times are tough.
I'm talking about relationships with REAL people with interesting lives, character and values, who are emotionally willing and capable of having normal healthy friendships outside of a simple blockchain experience.
^These people seem to be getting harder to find on Steem these days, but I appreciate EVERY single one there is... even if we haven't crossed paths yet.
It doesn't appear that many approach Steem this way... unless comment replies, talk shows, and discord chats are them living their best social butterfly versions of their web alias selves. That's fine if so, but I think most of us have far more to offer, and in ways where privacy isn't completely compromised (a potential fear).
I think it's odd that people can post their personal lives publicly, and comment about personal things for the world to see, interacting with acquaintances and strangers all over the planet... yet the same people seem to be worried/frozen about the risks/awkwardness of exchanging cell phones, talking off chain or discord, or spending time in the real world, even with people they've regularly interacted with (albeit reactively) on Steem.
Why are so many people so damn shy or scared around here? Has social media and our little Steem bubble here caused our social/interpersonal skills to regress that much?
My Objective:
Building relationships has been my primary goal in hanging around for the past 2 years. I've invested in SteemFest 3 and the Global Block Builders conference in Austin trips to prove that.
Opportunities to meet aren't common, but I've made effort to meet one friend nearby twice, and their family, because I want them to know I respect them as a person. I've tried to set up the same with a few others near and far, offering to do the legwork, and... radio silence. That just feels normal to me to pursue, but perhaps it's wrong to think it's the same for others these days.
I've tried to engage countless others all over Steem and Discord, include them in my humor videos, photoshopped pics and creative works, sincerely engage with them on their blogs, encourage them to grow as individuals, let them know they have an audience that cares, and offer help over the years... I even ran a daily fitness challenge for ~160 consecutive days that had an army of 50 Steemians involved before actifit took the manual human out of fitness. Yeah, that's a mouthful. Now imagine me doing most of this consistently for 2 years...
At this point, it feels like the return I'd anticipated from that effort is sorely lacking. I don’t ask for much. Maybe a hello now and again??
It feels thankless, but I'd never let a few rotten eggs change my drive to find more quality people. Perhaps people are expertly skilled at being fake for votes and attention, when they need something, are too busy, or simply don't care. Whatever the reasons may be, it doesn't feel that anywhere near the same level of respect and kindness has been returned. I've sensed the same frustration from the blogs and comments of some other Steemians over time as well. It stinks.
Where did our manners go? When is ok to ignore genuinely nice people like they’re invisible? Thankfully, there ARE a handful of wonderful people who are exceptions, but it's a thin crop.
I've even sent/offered several people thoughtful gifts to try to build friendships and trust without blinking an eye at the cost, and would meet a Steemian in a heartbeat if they asked to meet in my city. I'm excited to make connections with people who have common interests. It’s not a chore. I've also made significant strides to help people on Steemit and Discord, or just to ask how they're doing. You know, just being nice without any hidden agenda. Again, this just feels normal.
Am I too old fashioned? Am I missing something? Am I an idiot?
Some people seem to get it (for a bit until they fizzle out), but most don't. Almost none seem to return the gestures, which is surprising because I'm respectful and often try to lift people up/offer help. I've met many in person, some more than once, so it just feels strange to me to have these artificial walls up in a proverbial social rut...
I'm not an investor here yet, and sure as hell am not here for the riches, so trying to build relationships with seemingly good people seems like the best investment to me.
Where are others with the same mindset? I really don't know.
If people prefer to stay in their bubble suits, dabbling in amateur politics, gossiping, bickering, drama-seeking, flag wars, verbal abuse, and low-impact interactions, so be it.
If you'd like more and see the bigger picture, feel free to let me know below.
I know that privacy is important, but a few years of chatting/meeting with various people on public and personal levels should be enough grounds to expand outside of these fairly rudimentary walls.
How many people have you traded cells or emails with, or actually text/talk to on the phone like normal friends would? Whatsapp makes it pretty easy.
...On average, probably not many, if any at all. If so, is it real talk about your lives and things that matter? Are you growing real friendships with Steemians (humans) outside of your computers?
I'm not interested in begging anyone here. I've learned enough about who I've come across to know who is sincere and who is full of it. Sometimes I play along to make sure, but it doesn't hurt to double check.
To those who proactively go out of their way to show respect and build friendships, and help others... thank you very much.
You're salt of the Earth my friend and give me hope that there are others waiting to break out of their shells...
I share all of your sentiments expressed here and when I get to feeling like there's no point in being genuine here I seem to table upon one of your uplifting posts. There's not too many non steem investors here and the distinction between those that are invested have a stark contrast. I'd totally road trip it to hang out and jam or have an exosteem friendship with you and a handful of others. I thought I'd find more than a half dozen people I feel the same way about after nearly a year here but perhaps this just isn't a social niche that is accepting of humans that value humanity above all else..
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It's hard to find people on the same wavelength or with the same values. Then it's harder to find people who have the time or interest to leave the comfort of their Steem persona and let their guard down outside of it.
Maybe people want their privacy too much, or don't have much to share outside of Steem, but if Steem disappeared, the reality is that 99% of us would be out of touch and lose contact.
People can't meet much with geography and oceans in the way, but people sure can open up to get to know each other personally. Mechanical posts/comments just don't do it for me.
The speech is one of the greatest of all times. We have the power!
Machine steeming is not my cup of tea either. I actually have made a friend IRL via steem, it turns out a steemian lives about a mile from me and we hang out regularly and only briefly discuss steem face to face...
The lack of messaging on chain is possibly to blame as its an extra step to find someone on discord and even as open and direct as I am here I'd never publish my email or phone number.
There's certainly a disconnect that is only accentuated by a lack real time options to communicate. Stories, going live, dms are the staples of p2p interaction online and steem has none of that. Time zone differences are also at play with a global network but I agree it's mostly the pervasive culture of monetization and fear. Not to mention the art of conversation and storytelling are not fostered in this modern gadget driven seclusion many seen to be ok with..
Steem is a peculiar place filled with all kinds of folks from all walks of life that have no inclination to reveal their true nature. It's the age of avatars and filters.. I can sense a genuine human from across the seas and through the posturing..
B-to-the-ingo. It's annoying for me to play along with some people's filtered online persona, but eventually the cream rises to the top and genuine human form peeks through (which I enjoy seeing).
Alternatively, some people are genuine on Steemit because it's public, but have two faces in smaller groups/tribes on Discord. That irks me quite a bit.
Oh yes the disco dancers I seent em too.. We're all in this thing together so I do try to keep open lines of communication with all that cross my path... Can't do much about my muters though 😂 Pity them missing out on my difficult to dismiss trolling.
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Awwww, Matt~ It's always hard to make friends, really. I've found very few willing to engage at a real level, there are sooooooooooooo many Steemians whose posts I've faithfully visited with comments, to offer them a chance of friendship, of real connection, and the few that did take up the offer is fewer than 10%
It has certainly demoralized me.
I've decided to stop my mountainous commenting commitment last week. Almost 25k comments I've made in less than 2 years in Steemit, and I'm finally defeated. Thanks, Steemians!!!
Kidding aside, I did meet some really beautiful people, that I'm thankful for. Maybe all that invested time and efforts did pay off, after all :)
Last week, I actually met @kommienezuspadt in person, and I was super happy now that I've decided to break my own inner fears to do it :D :D :D
A-ny-way, just saying, there's a few good eggs around <3 And though the numbers might be depressing some days, some other days, I think we have to give thanks for every little rainbow we get, hey? :)
Do not feel demoralized, you really should not. Social media has changed so much the interactions with people, it is saddening to see. Furthermore, irl friends are also overrated, because it does not always comes from 2 sides.
Hahah, I will try not to let it get to me, but it really has gotten a lot harder these days so I'll dial down for now :) Besides, twenty four thousand comments is a lot of commitment and my energy isn't a limitless resource....
friendships are always tricky, you are right, both irl and online.... it's always difficult to find the genuine ones but i guess those are the ones that are worth all the other troubles for :)
Thank you for the encouragement comment, though! I appreciate you taking the time to reply <3
Meetups with Steem friends are fun (at least so far). My wife and I hosted a couple for a few days a couple weeks ago and they are awesome folk. Looking forward to meeting them again later in the year or next year. Hopefully will catch up with @kommienezuspadt at some point too (maybe at a shoot :D).
Wow, that'd be cool, if you do meet with Lars at a shoot!!! I'd definitely be looking forward to see a post on that :D !!!!
I'm glad your experiences has been fun at Steem meetups, too :) I've had terrible meet ups with internet people in the past that did NOT care for new friends' boundaries. They just think they know better than others about everything, so I am very cautious.
But Lars was an absolute awesomeness :D I'm really, super glad to have met the few awesome people, for sure :D :D :D
Your wife and you seem to be awesome folk, too! It's always great to find gems like you :D Making friends and real connections and always happy to engage * ___ * Beautiful souls!
I am hoping that one day it is more possible to get to know people here. Until that post, I didn't realise you were in Australia. :)
Part of the problem of Steem currently is not being able to easily find the people that matter to us, but perhaps that is also what makes them more special when we do.
I think we can find people over time, it's just the maintenance or growth of those relationships hits a wall when they're exclusively boxed in on Steem.
I agree, but it isn't always possible to meet up which is why the offchain chats are important also. There are only a handful of Finnish Steemians and not all are as charming as @eveuncovered
Offchain chats could easily be on the phone, Whatsapp, etc.. Discord seems to be the limit for most, which makes sense, but maybe one day that barrier will be knocked down.
I talk with people offchain too and on the phone. Discord is easier for many though and it keeps more anonymity which some appreciate. I have also had people visit me and when I travel try to meet people.
As evidenced by your superb writing skills, tenacity, creativity, and dedication, it seems that you're certainly an exception to the rule.
Lol, well not quite. Because the people I chat with and see are also exceptions. :D
I am sure that your labors were not in vain! At least you found out about such a wonderful person like me! Forgive me for my modesty. :D
Hahahah, I AM glad I found you... I remember at first I thought you weren't very talkative and I kept commenting and visiting and I was happy when you finally started to reply :)
Really, sometimes I worry that I'm bothering people with my visits/comments/attention so it's always good when I get signals that they at least do not mind my attempts at friendshipness lol
There's SO many accounts I visit/comment/reach out to, daily........ so it's always feels great when there's a pulse back :D
You're NEVER EVER bothering me with your visits. They're usually the best ones on my posts, so keep that in mind if you're doubting that.
Could you please host training sessions on "The Ideal Steemian?" You're the cream of the crop with world-class interpersonal skills, thoughtfulness and kindness.
I get the demoralization thing as you can see. I've spent a lot of time thinking that genuine communication would help real world relationships develop, but for some reason (or my ineffectiveness), not many people have shown interest in that. Some start off that way, but then vanish unless I reach out. It's no fun if it's not mutual and there's no need to force it.
On the bright rainbow side, YOU, I think you're quite far away from where I am, but feel free to message me directly on Discord and we can chat more there. Whatsapp makes non-Steem communication simple and free for those who don't fear crossing that line.
I hope one we can sit down and get to know each other over a cup of coffee, I don't even know if I'll be able to go to US but if ever you wanted to visit IRAN let me know, I can show you around :)
Well said Matt. You're among the first few people I got to know around here, I think it was early last year when we use to do the 100reps thing that I miss, it was a helpful program.
Personally, I joined the platform for a few reasons, one was because of the annoying censoring on Facebook that allowed plagiarism and stealing of ideas. The second one was because I wanted to make some money out of my ideas and creations. Unknown to me, I would come in contact with some amazing people and it was all thanks to you. My closest friends in this place still remains everyone I met through @comedyopenmic, people like @holybranches @idikuci @amirtheawesome1 @bitfiend @pangoli and a bunch of others that helped me through out my time here. I'm immensely grateful to these guys and by extension, you for bringing us together.
You are an amazing person and I hope your business is doing well, I look forward to someday going on one of those your thrifting adventures with you. Rest assured I will be very drunk from 6am that day
Those COM days are some of my favorite memories of my time on steemit so far. Would be cool to meet up for sure. You are definitely the coolest belemo I have ever met (and the only one).
Ah yes, You're the greatest too bro. I always tell people about the "advice" you gave me from your Cuban goat fucking friend. How's that guy doing these days?
He was more like a co-worker at the time lol. Havent seen him since I left that job. I remember he gloated about having had more women than me, so I was like "well, yeah...of course you have when you count all the animals you've raped". I cant remember his name or I'd look him up on facebook and ask him of he has put it in any goat holes lately.
Is goat fucking already legal in America? I don't think having someone as generous with his penis as a colleague is healthy. Will it be animal cruelty or animal protection? So many questions 😂
Thanks for your thoughts. You're on the genuine good person list motivated by the right reasons, hustling, and still with friends here after all those weird goat posts, haha. That's a big accomplishment when so many people have shown their true colors for the worst during these tough times.
You told me you'd be getting back into fitness once the Summer was ending. It's almost that time.
Yes it is. August has been a tedious month for me. I've got a few exams to sort out and a bunch of other things bothering me but I think by the end of this month, I should be back on it. Thanks for putting up with my goat posts by the way, those were some fun times
Thanks for the mention, Belemo. Your consistency on here leaves me speechless. I tried to be friends with a lot of people on here for so long. I did make a few though, but now they're all gone, and I'm tired of having a lot of posts payout without any real engagement. I'm tired. Sorry.
It is frustrating that there's no engagement these days but what can we do? Walking away seems like the easier option. I try to create relatable and useful content, every now and then I get reactions and comments but it is mostly quiet around here
You know what, I first admire your effort in trying to build relationship with people on steemit as it is not easy nor is it done by a lot of people but will need to appreciate those who always help in it. Steemit pave the way to build relationship with people even though less people tend to realise this
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The best place for making friends here for me has been freewriting with @mariannewest and @freewritehouse. Maybe try that.
I believe you've mentioned this duo before. I appreciate the advice yet again.
I dropped dead on my replying :O
Freewrite is so awesome and you will make good friends if you work it, @steemmatt. I hope to see you there.
It used to dismay me too. It took a while for the truth to sink in that a high percentage of files are attracted here for the cash and everything else is secondary. Thankfully there are some that aren't all about that and willing to engage in a personal level
At this price point, there's hope that the scrooges will move on to greener pastures for a while so we can have the place to ourselves for once.
Half of them have left and half have moved to the tribes. Lol
I think that part of the problem is that in many areas, there just aren't enough Steemians to gather. For example, I do not know anyone in my city of 300k who I could meet. However, I have met with a few Finns from other places and, I have had some visitors drop by recently for a few days.
One of the issues on Steem is that (perhaps because of reward and open wallet) people don't tend to invite their actual friends, it seems like many are protective or embarrassed of their time here.
But then at the same time, perhaps this is part of the problem with not buying in as many might feel that inviting others in will dilute their chances to earn from the pool.
Well, I am optimistic about Steem's future in many ways, even though it is unlikely to satisfy any individual's expectations of what it should be. I do think that pretty much anyone could enjoy themselves here if they spend time forgetting reward and looking for interesting places to play.
huh, AFAIK lots of people invite actual friends, but the reality of Steem is... not for everyone LOL. I know that almost everyone I know on here has onboarded tons of people, and the drop out rate for those onboards is nearly 100%. Me personally I have onboarded tons of real life friends and they all left. Steem is basically an anti-social network. If you don't have a particular personality type that can put up with all the BS or see the potential, there really isn't much to justify sticking around. (says someone who is sticking around - I see a lot of potential, albeit not on the main chain)
I have said this since the near the beginning, which is why I haven't onboarded that much the last 2 years. You are right that it requires a certain personality type or two, but it isn't just to put up with the BS, patience is required also and for most people who come on can't really see the potential even, they also aren't patient enough to build in the early days of a startup. The fact is, most people on earth are not the type of people who are startup-minded, which is also why a lot of the devs and investors can "tolerate" being here, because they are more likely to understand the process from start to adoption. Sure, it might never happen, but that would be much like 90% of other startups.
With SMTs and communities, wasn't this always the case?
With SMTs and communities, wasn't this always the case?yup. that is the potential I saw/see. Of course, when I joined summer of 2017, that potential was supposed to be right around the corner :joy:
I think it was the second week I was here that I was told, "don't worry communities are coming" Feb 2017 :D
Ahhh, I remember that like it was... Feb 2017... Grrr.
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah. my experience echoes this, to the tee.
The bright side is that they've got accounts and can return if and when the glory days return. If not, well, you helped them dip their toes in crypto for a little bit, and that's still a win.
But you can draw or paint portraits of your friends any day to get them to come back. I can't. :(
Yup. I’ve onboarded probably close to 20-25 friends. I’d say somewhere around 2 post regularly with another 1 or 2 that pop up from time to time. The rest...all threw in the towel. It’s super hard and frustrating to keep folks here...let alone bring them here in the first place. Argh!!!!
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You've embodied Steem as much as a human can. If you truly believe in Steem long term, get yo ass in yo basement/garage and sell those collectibles while the price is at the lowest we've ever seen it. Just a few sales! Don't forget to diversify into BTC though as well.
Is there a Steem Meetup in NY?
Not that I know of. I think Andrew is looking into it and other cities, but nothing concrete yet.
I've only recently met you mister Matt but I have a similar view.
I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt...which some might think naive.
But that is kinda how friends are made in real life. I've been burned.. sure.
But just being on steemit for the last two years has led me to things I never knew were possible.
I gave a "talk" at the first ever Hanoi Steemit meetup in Vietnam.
I interviewed curator extraordinaire @carlgnash
https://steemit.com/blog/@doctorcrypto/ep-1-of-4-curation-interview-with-a-top-curie-curator-carlgnash
I would have never thought of myself doing things like this a year earlier.
I feel like with the horrible markets, people lose interest....no money.
So now that the fair weathered steemians have dissipated, It may be easier to find the good ones before the price shoots up again. :)
Let's go grab a beer!
hey that interview was a lot of fun! Glad we got to meet in person before I left Oregon :)
Yes man! Always fun to meet wonderful peeps and see their vision. :)
I'm enjoying your new life adventure...vicariously of course.
Congrats for stepping out of your comfort zone. What was your talk in Vietnam about?
Ironically, I'm of the mindset that the horrible markets people would actually help people be more inclined to take communication into the real world and/or pursue meeting to redeem some more value from this place, especially if it fades away. Steem is the perfect bridge for that and common ground. It takes time to get to know someone, but for some of us interacting on Steem/Discord for years, it just feels like the logical next step if there was substance to it.
Thanks for chiming in and leading by example.
Most of the folks in Hanoi were new steemit users and this was more of a how-to session.
My talk consisted of showing them different tools like SteemWorld that could show them different stats that steemit didn't at the time.
I've gone to a local Portland steemit meetup here. That was more of a schmooz and booze type situation.
I did however, end up with a part time job that paid in steem from that one. :)
I agree! Getting people to communicate honestly is an actual strength of this blockchain. Fewer people are talking shit when money is involved.
Don't forget though...It takes effort to communicate :) Some times it is easy to turn it off. :)
Have a great day! communicate with ya later.
Unfortunately I think most people come here not for the friendship but purely for the greens. Obviously we all want money, but it shouldn't be the center focus of everything in this platform.
As for friendship and connection, I think they're hard mode for most people. I'm lucky enough to meet some nice people like you so I count myself lucky =).
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we did not cross paths in this almost 2 years, and in this small place it is interesting. last year steemfest was something i was considering, but i would just be a person with a camera in some corner 😀 (but in the end it was money and time thing 😁)
i did send one mail (real mail, not virtual 😀) in my early steem days.
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Yes!! Sometimes I post raw real shit to get it out....I'm real, I'm human, I am not perfect. When my father was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and I left Cambodia to return home to Australia one of my Steemit buddies asked if I wanted to catch up while I was there for a big squeeze. Unfortunately, my schedule was understandably hectic and we didn't end up meeting but I was absolutely touched to see that our friendship was not only in blockchain world...but "real world" too!
I love how there is another like me, whose objective is to build and form relationships. If you are ever in Cambodia, you can find me and my husband @philippekiene at our bar, Picasso Bar in Siem Reap. First few are on us!!
That's a great example. Things like that are the core of what Steem is to me. We're all just people, and if we're here now, we're not here for the money! Heck, we can't even be here for the attention with such few active readers/curators these days looking beyond the top of their feeds.
I also posted several times about my Dad's cancer battle and some elements of our relationship and some Steemians really rose to the occasion to offer guidance and support. One Steemian even donated ~$100 worth of their SBD to promote one of those posts which was lost on the Steem floor, which was an incredible showing of humanity and generosity.
Thank you for sharing an olive branch and for your offer!
Why are so many people so damn shy or scared around here?
🤔
I think the answer to your question is multifaceted.
Some people are on steemit out of fear. They are afraid of Facebook and Instagram and people knowing their business. They are off the grid and distrustful and use steemit to share non mainstream ideologies with like minded folks.
I think the older a person becomes real life gets in the way of turning internet friends into real friends. Real life obligations to spouses and kids and work mean less personal freedom. If your spouse thinks meeting “strangers” from online is weird... then you don’t get to meet online friends.
Plus,there are generational differences in how folks use the internet. My dad will barely buy things online because he doesn’t want his credit card info stolen let alone meet a person from online! 😂🤣 My generation will have Facebook and Instagram but generally lock that sh-t down so only friends and family can see. People younger often have all of that open to the public but use social media to build their personal brand. (These are BIG generalizations of course, but do show varying levels of trust towards the internet in general which could influence how open a person is to making friends online.)
And there is the “stranger danger” risk. It can take awhile to know if a person is who the represent themselves to be. So until that risk has been satisfied people won’t meet.
All of this being said, meeting Steemit people is GREAT! I have met six folks so far and every time has been fun. I think it helps that I am part of a tight knit steem community. We have built trust, exchanged gifts, chat on discord all the time and have gotten to know one another online over time. I think discord is a way better way to get to know people than steemit comments. Discord is more conversational and replies are instant. I also think when people see other folks meet and see that it went well... they get FOMO and want to join in too.
Making one or two good, real friends on Steemit is way more valuable than the steem we earn. I definitely have earned a real friend here. Would 20 others be good? Sure, but just getting one is the best thing about this platform. I feel really lucky.
¡Nah! I suspect you are not too old fashioned, nor an idiot or missing something.
It's just that most of them may think you are not still ready or willing to enter heartily into their own real life private bubble of smashing each other rolling fun style. };)
Fair point and fun video. While your theory may be true to an extent, I just get the general sense that most people are too guarded or concerned with privacy to let new "internet" people into their worlds. However, after meeting them at least once and talking regularly on social media platforms, the natural progression to grow beyond these walls seems lacking.
Yep, that's right! However, I think it's similar and also very common offline in the walking life.
Unless you may have "enough long time" to develop true long lasting and close ties of friendship with someone with the genuine power to transcend distances. This mainly and always are gonna be just an endless sequence of ephemeral encounters with loose ties of new vital discoveries & short relationships through our affective life.
Nowadays, in the middle of so much conflicts, distractions, infoxification and confusion. Life use to keep us extremely busy on an constant quest to simply find our true selves.
Therefore, under this current frantic train of life in survival mode. Who really have the time and how one can stop peacefully just for few minutes to actually remember say hi to those in the intimate list within the entrails of our minds & hearts? Who of them we can consider family or our authentic friends which indeed deserves our attention and deference as many of them could well be expecting?
Yeah! we clearly aren't idiots or missing something. Perhaps we are merely a litlle bit too old fashioned. And the only Naked Truth here to ponder. Is the fact that the good times have changed!! :)
Great reply here!! Thank you.
I've spent 30 minutes trying to write a comment to express my agreement in a meaningful way. But, actions speak louder than words, so with that in mind I will try to be more open to deeper relationships with those in this diverse and mixed up community.
Thank you, Sir. On the bright side, that time was hopefully well spent reflecting on stuff that'll help you and others have a more fulfilling time in this little Steem world we're in. Glad you could connect with my little rant there.
Well unfortunately IMO HF21 is going to make Steem even more of an "anti-social network", but the light in the tunnel is coming from all the tribes / side chain activity. The main chain is a desert filled with thirsty thirsty vampires for the most part, but you stand a much better chance of meeting communities of real people who care in a sidechain tribe. Thanks for being one of the good guys :) Cheers
Thanks for dropping by and your thoughts. What makes you feel that HF21 would make Steem more of an "anti-social network?" I thought we were already at rock bottom in this respect!!
well it takes a special kind of stupid IMO to look at the current situation with the reward pool dominated by big whales and bid botted posts, and decide that what needs to happen is 50/50 curation and shifting the reward curve over even farther toward giving even more % of the reward pool to the highest paying out posts. The accounts that earn the highest % of their rewards from curation are the very largest accounts (including the bid bots - bid bots account for over 50% of the curation earned on posts that pay out enough to break even or make more under the new curve).
It isn't particularly surprising that the largest stakeholders proposed this and the witnesses approved it, because the largest stakeholders and witnesses (many of whom are bid bot operators and all of whom are large stakeholders) are the ones who are going to benefit. It is a naked money grab.
But moreso than the fact that HF21 will make it even harder for anyone except a whale or someone who uses bid bots to claim a share of the pool, the anti-social part is giving everyone free flags. The idea that people are going to use these free flags to counteract the shift in the reward curve is asinine. There literally isn't enough SP held by real human accounts that might flag in such a manner to counteract the extra rewards earned by the bid botted posts, even if 100% of the free flags were used for that purpose. But the thing is - that is not what flags will be used for. We already know what the most motivating purpose to use flags is - it is tit for tat retaliation / flag wars. We know this because currently, flagging actually costs you $ in lost earning, and people still engage in flag wars. @pibara did some analysis on flags and found that nearly all flag activity could be explained by tit for tat retaliation. What makes anyone think that if people use flags for flag wars even when it costs them $ to do so, that giving people free flags is a good idea?!? The Steem main chain is going to be even more dead, even more dominated by bid bots and whales, and even more toxic from flags than it is now. Luckily we have the sidechains / Scot tribes (and presumably, SMTs and Communities) to provide at least some light in the tunnel.
I think you're tired. I think you paid a lot of attention to what you wrote. We just need to live and develop. Making the world a better place changing yourself for the better. We need to be an example to change others! People need time. You need to understand that many people live in poor conditions. Did not receive proper education and so on. This affects their behavior. Not everyone understands what Steem is and what it can give people.
I came for the cryptos and sharing original content with people. The friendships formed in the process was certainly a big plus and inevitable so I certainly looked forward to that. I dont really know anyone thats into crypto so making friends that here on steemit is great. I've always had online friendships since I have been online gaming for 21 years now. I certainly miss my steemit buddies (you included) and being more involved. If you ever end up in the duluth area I'd be happy to link up. Having my business open every night has me pretty stuck so im unable to travel until it starts to grow enough. Maybe I will be a crypto-millionaire before then.
Anything Crypto-related started mostly as a very anonymous entity so perhaps some people either have something to hide or are just not comfortable [yet] mixing their normal lives with their "crypto lives"
The long work days have made me a certain kind of lazy that I can't seem to break out of, but if it helps I still think about ya all the time and hope things are going good for you. I tell people about some of your thrifting stories cause there is so much hidden money out there.
Ive just been tired, and tired of being tired. Doing a lot of binge watching and im getting sick of maintaining my drugwars account it takes up too much time. I havent been exercising and ive probably gained back what i worked so hard on to lose but im trying to get back into it.
I was actually just thinking the other day why am I wasting time arguing with these abusers cause they are mad I flagged them when I could be reading a friends latest post.
Some of us got here too soon before interest groups were there (your rock hunting and dream analysis for example). Ever consider a metal detector that's specialized for picking up gold nuggets? I like metal detecting for vintage things, but haven't sought gold yet. Seems like a fun hobby with plenty of thrills if you know where to look.
^--You're totally right here. I know this, it's just baffling how people don't eventually let their guard down after 1, 2 or 3 years... and countless interactions that would normally build enough trust to do so.
I'm going to say this once and probably start repeating myself: GET BACK INTO EXERCISING!!!! My two baseball teams just ended for a month, so while I'm in great shape from ~35 games and lots of other activity (lost 14 pounds in the process) I'm going to be hitting the workouts hard to start to level up a notch for the Fall season and for next year. I can finally focus on myself now (knock on wood), so this is going to be a #1 priority for the next 6-7 months, with business and drumming being next.
Your and @belemo's comments got me to wake up and start the challenge again. Thank you.
https://steemit.com/fitness/@steemmatt/putting-back-the-manual-into-fitness-restarting-the-steem-daily-100-rep-fitness-challenge-with-50-push-ups-50-air-squats
Oh I'm sorry Steemit has made you feel that way. Well you know, most people are here to earn crypto probably why it's hard to find people you're looking for. Others don't really feel the need to connect if earnings is what they're after. Some just post and expect to get upvoted instead of make online friends.
Personally I've made a few friends on here. I've only had the same online friends who invited me here and that's it. If I can make it to SteemFest then that's a different matter. Perhaps I'll really be able to make a few friends if I meet people face to face.
Outside of this site I also have other online friends. I've met a few of them and still remain online friends afterwards. It's fine for me, sometimes that's how people like it. I hope you do find the people you're looking for, or they find you. 😊
Just for fun, if I had DRAMA tokens I'd give you some. 😄 Lemme tag @whatsup so you get a DRAMA token. 😊😊😊
Hello @steemmatt
Not sure why people don't just ask questions on steem rather then use discord.
To answer your discord question, i haven't voted on your content for awhile so moved you out of my feed and moved someone else in.
Forgot that people can see who gets taken off of feeds on steempeak, ha, must have made tarazkp cry more then once :)
This is why I don't use Steempeak!! ;D People unfollow me from time to time... fools.
However, @steemmatt there are 38 comments on this post, but not one from you? There are some votes on comments though.
lol your quick. i edited the @ bit didn't want to wake you. :)
I was crying in the shower after another unfollow
lol, how do you find who muted you?
Umm... I don't. On Discord's Ginabot thing I turned on follows/unfollows a few months ago, but other than that - I don't keep track. People follow if they like, unfollow if they don't. Interestingly, I got unfollowed the other day by an account that I had delegated hundreds of Steem to for almost 2 years because he didn't like what I said about something :D Everyone has their right to read what they choose, follow who they choose and if I spend my time worrying about who is going to like or dislike what I write, I will never get anything written at all.
Naturally, I'd just pinged him a casual one liner to learn, not dispute: "Customer service feedback survey: Something I said cause the unfollow?"
What i find the weirdest is when someone follows, but never engages. Then 3 months later they unfollow. I take it as they only followed to get an upvote or a follow from me. If i follow and upvote, they re-follow, but never actually engage/communicate Lol.
Yep, this is what it is generally, the same shit they do on instagram.
By the way, because you are selfvoting your own comments, I won't vote on them but - because it is less than the 2 cent dust threshold, it won't payout either - which makes it a bit of a waste of a vote.
Its an auto voter so i know when i hit 100 -- i dont like to selfvote my comments and generally try to dish out upvotes before the auto voter kicks in but i got busy at work and had to let a few slip by.
No worries, just remember that unless the payout reaches 2 cents, it goes back to the pool.
I was not aware of that. When did that take place? I remember dust was rewarded without a transaction
I think it took place sometime in 2016, but I didn't join til 2017 so don't know for sure.
http://steemit.serviceuptime.net/mute.php
Hold your horses! I'll be getting to them. I wanted to respond when I was able to focus on the topic. I was a bit down on Steemit at the time I wrote it and had a full day yesterday with a baseball playoff game on top of it.
I fell off a horse once - never been on one since. :D
I understand the "not in the mood" days too, and I know that you normally respond. Hope today is a better day, but on Steem that is unlikely ;D
Thanks for the visit and reply. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't turning people off with my posts. We hadn't had an exchange on Steem in a while, so I thought Discord would be better vs polluting one of your Steem comments with an off-topic message.
It’s definitely hard but I have had some great meetups...particularly with you on several occasions, @bryan-imhoff, @dfinney, and @yabapmatt. But yeah, ultimately some folks become a bit reclusive here and make 0 effort. I totally get what your beef is.
Get your shit together Steemians!!!!
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Woo hoo! Meetup!!!!
I am so glad we came and invaded your shop! 😄
It seems all the personalities and motivations "out there" are also on steemit and probably every other social platform. Some people are here to create and grow and others are here to harvest steem and others land on all that's between. I'm not sure it can be controlled to be just one or the other. Each of us still has to maneuver our own way on this journey of what ever motivates you which can be different reasons at different times.
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Would shout you a beer or a cuppa at mine anytime. Have lots of good mates here. If you choose not to interact coz Im not cool, rich or young or pretty enough, screw you. Looking at some comments above, its clear there's some good folk here. And i have alot in my tribe. And hey! I tagged you last week!!!
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Once I have my private plane, I'll hop all over the world to say hi. For now, can we meet halfway?
I think you had a typo in my name in your post (about the contest?). I noticed it when I was tagged in someone's reply, and then read/voted. The topic is fun and inspiring. I completely forgot to circle back on it. Was there another instance?
Plus... you have far more genuine comments on this post than Ive had all month. Sob.
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My post struck a chord and was resteemed a bit to reach many more eyes than usual. This is way more engagement than I've had in ages. Don't worry, my next posts might go back to normal.
Hi :)
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In Adelaide we have a regular meet up at a local pub. It gets off the block-chain for a bit to talk about Steem and other things.
But yeah it's difficult to find real people on here. Most are worried about their personal branding rather than to just say hello, etc.
I think DTube would be a lot better if people did just do little things like that.
Posted using Partiko Android
I'v never even considered myself a brand or image. I appreciate the reputation I've built, but that's because it's tied to the people I interact with, and a personal dynamic.
To those who focus on their brand, it feels like they're missing half of the pie here and could enjoy the process much more if they opened up to be real with people. Secondly, maybe it's time for a new approach as most Steem brands are depreciating rapidly as prices decline.
Too bad we didn't pool our resources together during the last bull run to cash out and buy "Steem Island" where anyone is welcome to come all year to hang with other Steemians.
That would be nice. And yeah, I don't see myself as a brand either. I just post what I want and hope that people enjoy it.
The challenge is to maintain some sort of quality.
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Amen to this one! It is kind of weird on how people dont like to really really really interact with each other also apart from steeming things.. I dont know about you...but I am a damn fun person to drink a beer with (if I humbly ahummmmm may say so).. I also appreciated this from the whole #sf3 experience of meeting people but also talking about other stuff that just steem.
so bigger picture? AMEN!
I think many people have the same problem and I also think it will depend on what you want to get out of this experience.
I came with no expectation two years ago and have been pleased with the interaction. Are there pitfalls and downtimes. Yes. But, real-life can be like that too.
Just looking here at all the comments makes me think you don't realize what you already have.
!tip
Sorry, the tip is higher than your deposit.
You can check your deposit by sending 0.001 SBD to @tipu with memo: status
(the minimal tip is 0.1 SBD/STEEM)
Thanks for the encouragement and tip. I agree that I've earned some good relationships over time. For every good apple, I've come across a bunch of rotten ones though (despite trying to break in), which is sort of where my gripe was.
I think you do fine, especially in these downtimes. I aspire to make more of a footprint, but, not that easy. I totally get that.
Sorry!! I bounced the tip and had to run to the bank to put more money in! This should do it! Let's try it again!
!tip
🎁 Hi @steemmatt! You have received 0.1 STEEM tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Wednesday Walk Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
Sending tips with @tipU - how to guide :)
It is tough finding a real life friend through an online platform. There's only so much this type of communication conveys to others. I want to host some steemians I've met on my land for some laughs, and off grid solar power and permaculture workshops for skill building in the near future. You would be more than welcome Brodo Baggins. I appreciate those who are taking the actions to create a better future and are interested in living life on their own terms. The internet has connected us in many ways, but created barriers to real life interactions as well. I hope to make it out to a couple conferences and liberty oriented meetups this year as well to hopefully meet some folks IRL.
Hey if there's ever a global issue, I'm hightailing it to the Ozarks... I'm good with a bat, so that'll translate to chopping lots of trees to make myself useful.
Thanks for the genuine reply and wise words. I often find that the smartest people are very often ones who've unplugged from the brainwashed standardized society that's trying to mold and divide us.