As a fairly new user to Steemit, what I've found refreshing is the lack of censorship. Rather than an algorithm deciding what is quality, the users on Steemit decide that. I've only had one post do really well; however, I'm okay with that. I know it's what people found interesting - not just a fluke because I managed to get past an algorithm.
My gig other than Steemit is writing for a political blog. Let's not get into what type of politics. However, it has been affected heavily by the recent changes brought about by Facebook due to the revelations they sold advertising to Russians who we have accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Along with that revelation, it was revealed individuals were able to push "fake news" to also meddle with the election results.
Now, we're not here to argue whether the Russians are behind Clinton's loss. We're here to address the newest implementation Facebook is going to try out. The Guardian recently reported:
'Facebook is testing a major change that would shift non-promoted posts out of its news feed, a move that could be catastrophic for publishers relying on the social network for their audience.'
Currently, the testing is being performed in Slovakia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, and three other countries The Guardian did not list.
Catastrophic is an understatement, honestly. The Guardian further reported:
'Overnight, from Wednesday to Thursday, a broad cross-section of the 60 largest Facebook pages in Slovakia saw two-thirds to three-quarters of their Facebook reach disappear, according to stats from Facebook-owned analytics service CrowdTangle.'
So, what is Facebook's reasoning?
'With all of the possible stories in each person's feed, we always work to connect people with the posts they find most meaningful. People have told us they want an easier way to see posts from friends and family, so we are testing two separate feeds, one as a dedicated space with posts from friends and family and another as a dedicated space for posts from Pages.'
The catch is, though, if you pay to promote the post for your site, it will still appear in the feed. Matti Littunen, a research analyst at Enders Analysis commented to The Guardian:
'...the classic Facebook playbook: first give lots of organic reach to one content type, then they have to pay for reach, then they can only get through to anyone by paying.'
Facebook issues a second statement though stating they had no plans to try the test out globally. Furthermore, a journalist for Dennik N (a Slovakian newspaper) commented he doesn't believe the test will be successful.
'Newsfeed without news. Just friends and sponsored content. People will find out how boring their friends are.'
If the trial fails, wonderful. However, what if Facebook decides to further implement the change? It will basically be the Facebook version of net neutrality. If you can pay to play, you'll be seen. If not, too bad, so sad. Granted, from what it sounds like a user would just need to click over to a second feed. However, it's my experience that people prefer one feed - less is more.
What about the small publishers? With recent changes at Facebook, I've seen my earnings for my political articles drop by half. It was shocking to see an expected $1,500 estimated payout be $750. What could small publishers do in this case?
They could focus on other social media platforms in an attempt to find new audiences. This could possibly, in turn, help those smaller social media outlets grow. Steemit could actually benefit from what sounds like a tragedy waiting to happen. Other places like Ong.social could also benefit, so long as the developers continue to head in the right direction.
At issue, though, is the fact not many understand BitCoin, and Steemit can be overwhelming at first. Not to mention, how well known is Steemit? Same applies for Ong.social. I only found out about Steemit by accident in a chatroom when I mentioned I was a writer. Word of mouth can only go so far.
Furthermore, the convenience of Steemit will need to be improved. Currently, most traffic comes from mobile users. After checking out the Play Store on my mobile device, I've found one Steemit app, which has a 3.0 rating and many complaints about advertising. An app for those to simply scroll through and read articles would be beneficial and would open the platform up to a whole new audience.
The future of blogging is in limbo right now, thanks to Facebook. All we can hope for is the best and attempt to adapt to the changes. However, several will be hit hard by changes (and have already been hit hard by the changes already implemented). There are many who have made this their job and pay their bills with their earnings. Those people will surely face ruin if something cannot be figured out.