Hey ya'll, so I started on Steemit back in 2017 and it has been a RIDE! I joined the community because I was looking for an alternative to FB. Strangely, Steemit wasn't an alternative to FB, but I really enjoyed it and had never really been on a blog feed style site since LiveJournal.
That being said, during those 3 years I still posted on FB, because well, it meets my needs better than Steemit did. So this is likely going to be my last post on here, as I am in the search of an actual replacement for FB and have not found it yet.
So many decentralized social media sites are popping up all the time and every time there is a new one, I get really excited and sign up for their waiting list, only to find that they are exactly the same as all the others.
I am not a programmer, I don't make apps or new websites or decentralized platforms, but I see that there is a huge gap in the market right now.
Most people are not on social media to write long diatribes about interesting and important topics. They want to pop on for that quick hit of dopamine. They want to post a pic of themselves in their skivvies to see all the guys that have liked their pic, or they want to make a witty, short comment about politics or about a celebrity, or, like myself, they have family and friends on FB and want to share pictures, funny moments, short stories and memories.
EVERYTHING BEING RELEASED IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THAT.
Most decentralized social media isn't social media at all. It's Reddit. That's it. It's Reddit, and it is only going to attract a particular, very niche, group of people. Every website I have visited proclaims "produce great content and get paid with our crypto". That's a very neat concept, but it completely overlooks and misunderstands why people use social media in the first place.
If you want someone influential like the Kardashians to end up on your platform, then ya gotta simplify it man. Most people aren't "producers", they are just people, but they're people who would still be more than happy to switch platforms if it meant they could continue to post the stuff they usually do but also get paid.
I have a small, close knit group of people I interact with on FB, around 300. I keep it small so I can interact with everyone as much as possible. It would be damn cool to post a picture of my adorable daughter, get the normal 30 plus likes and get paid for each of those.
Sometimes I do go on long diatribes, because I am more politically and philosophically minded than a lot of my friends, but that isn't what I really use FB and IG for. I use FB to post funny memes and updates about my fam bam, and I use IG to post nice pics of myself because it has helped me with my self confidence.
I would really like to find a decentralized platform that can support those things. It isn't rocket science, it is actually quite simple, and if I don't find it soon, maybe I will try to make it myself!
It has been a great time here with you all, from the beginning with my first little clan of peeps that were going after shitposters, to my Steemit news show, to my advice column and music/vlogs. A lot has happened in 3 years, and I am glad I got to have the fun and experiences I did here.
Maybe I will see ya'll in the future if I can figure this stuff out.
Til then,
Stay Steemy my friends.
xx - Beth