Endless, vicious cycle?
So today I was attempting to share with a friend about Steemit and what a great community we are.
He recently showed an interest in trading in crypto, mostly because of the news regarding Iota. He has since bought Ethereum and Iota.
I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to tell him about Steem.
But straight up, I was rejected almost instantly.
Why?
Because he felt we were a circle jerk. He said it was rather douchey when I used the term, 'we' as a pretext to what we were creating here.
In my head I was like, "But, but, but we have so much cool shit in the works! A Twitter, Instagram, 9GAG, YouTube equivalent! The community is positive and so supportive of one another! We're helping third-world countries! There's no referral scheme hence no MLM, pyramid bullshit!"
But... I knew I lost him forever.
Then it hit me like, "Holy shit! Now I know how my Christian friends feel!"
Because they'd always invite me to church and I am like, nah.
Plus I'd make little jabs at their religion out of good fun.
They must feel miffed, if not upset when I react that way.
I can only wonder then, what was going through my friend's head.
Did I really sound like a circle jerking douchebag? And am I intentionally blind and even hostile to things I don't understand myself?
Oh fuck me... do I come across as an annoying, dancing douchebag when I talk about how much I love being a Bboy and how much the Hip Hop culture has impacted me?!
Since this little exchange, I've been pondering over this:
As long as there's a community wherein the people feel a sense of belonging within, do everyone else outside consider us a circle jerk?
Or perhaps at the very least, a bunch of weirdos they can't comprehend?
Is this an inevitability?
Note that I am focusing on community, not just an individual. We already know that everyone has their respective haters in their own lives.
Maybe it's inevitable that active communities become circle jerks
Because people simply hate on what they don't understand.
Because people are wired differently and they cannot believe that something out of their norms exists.
Because people make snap judgments all the time.
Because people simply don't care.
Because people are just being people.
I like to think that Steemit isn't a circle jerk
I've been blogging for over six years now and this is the only community I've found that well, isn't up its own asshole with preachy messages and scammy entrepreneurs.
And when I say scammy, I refer to any set of entrepreneurs who are constantly masturbating each other, jizzing out to everyone else how much money they have made with their how-to-make-money-online business as they top it off with generic, motivational garbage.
I really don't care how nice these people are or how legit their businesses are.
I said it before and I'll say it again: Making money by systematically teaching others how to make money is a thinly-veiled MLM where the guys at the bottom will never win.
Steemit is by far the only place I know of where artists can be given a chance to make a living and the hard work involved is legit as fuck.
Everything is also clear, honest and transparent and yes, that includes the element of luck.
My promise to the world as an active, community member of Steemit
Here are my 10 commandments to ensure that I don't come across as a circle jerking douchebag:
- I'll not look down on people who are working a nine-to-five job, calling them sheep, caught in the matrix or whatever hippie shit hippies come up with.
- I'll give honest and real advice and not generic crap the best I can.
- I'll not immediately equate a person's merit, success and most of all, his or her character based on the number of shares, likes, votes, traffic, or money they earn.
- I'll not charge a ridiculously high price should I decide to teach others how to make a living online as a writer. (Honestly, if I ever do this, I'd probably just write a book on it and then let it go for cheaps.)
- I'll be nice, friendly and hospitable to newcomers.
- I'll talk to people outside about Steemit, but I'll not force it down their throats. After all, they have to make the choice themselves.
- I'll not use flowery language and a bunch of bullshit buzzwords as if life is super awesome all the time because life fucking sucks sometimes.
- I'll give when I can without expecting anything in return.
- I'll give props to others' success, but I'll not masturbate them and stroke their ego to the point they're put on a pedestal.
- I'll always remember where I come from, the bottom.
I guess for a community to continue to exist, strive and be helpful to people outside, every one has to play their role.
Special shout out to special friends I've made here. Thank you-
