The Problem
Lately I have noticed a plethora of posts regarding the "opportunity inequality" that exists on Steemit. Many people who continue to only make a few cents per post on the platform tend to look at the more successful users (i.e. whales and the lucky few who are upvoted by them) and feel a sense of envy/jealousy, leading them to complain more and more. Now, normally in this situation, I would revert to the classic rhetoric - "Losers focus on winners, winners focus on winning", however, I see this situation to be somewhat different.
It's Not a Competition!
Many of you have been using social media platforms for a very long time, probably multiple different ones at that, and don't lie to yourself - you've loved every minute of it. However, behind the scenes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. billionaires sit back at their eyes-wide-shut parties celebrating the fact that they have exploited each and every user to scrape together earnings from advertising companies to which they sold your info to. And to think, before Steemit came along, you never cared about getting anything back from your writing, art, and self-expression other than feedback from your friends and a couple "likes" here and there.
But why?!
Because since the conceptualization of 'social media', it has NEVER been about the user. It's been a business/investment for the creators, where your viewing experience is tailored in a way that exploits your interests in order to extort (I use that term lightly) money from you as quickly and efficiently as possible.
So What Changed?
It's almost as if we've been living without gold for years, and now that someone has finally discovered the first nugget, suddenly we don't believe that we can live without it! The beauty of this platform is that it's a straight-forward, crowdfunded (aspects of it anyway), and unadulterated place for people to share their ideas, writing, and art with the potential to take home a few dollars based on the merit of their presented content.
That's fucking cool.
We haven't had anything like this before, and it has an incredible amount of potential to disrupt the norm and change social media forever, which is why I believe in it. I'm sick of scrolling through my news feed on Facebook only to have products shoved in my face. That's not why I made a Facebook, though I certainly should have known better.
My Point
I wanted to keep this brief so it didn't sound like a rant, we all already see this happening and have likely drawn these conclusions ourselves, but I wanted to at least make a mention of it to remind people of the value that exists in this platform. Don't stop posting because you aren't making $1,000+ per post. We need your ideas and insight, that's what keeps Steemit alive. And chances are, if you post with sincerity and articulate well enough, you won't go unnoticed.
Peace & love, friends!