I recently had the pleasure of finding a plagiarist here on Steemit. Not surprising as the site probably has many. This one really caught me off guard though. I was in search of three worthy authors for a contest (Pay it Forward - you can see it here https://steemit.com/payitforward/@thedarkhorse/week-7-pay-it-forward-curation-contest-win-sbi-and-steem-bounty). It is an awesome initiative that you should check out if you are unaware of it.
I got really excited at the first author I found. He was creating posts on history. But not normal posts. These posts were like what one would find in a book. The detail was so rich, I marveled that they cared so much. I was excited to have them as my first find. They were definitely someone the platform needs, deserving to be at the top of search.
Or so I thought.
Turns out they were copying and pasting from Wikipedia. I had worried that they were stealing their work, but after checking several of their previous posts and seeing no warning from Cheetah I knew I had found gold. Wrong. This particular crafty person even had the audacity to reply to my gushing accolades, with a shortly worded, modest thank you. And this is exactly why it is hard to have nice things.
Now that I have calmed down and adjusted my expectations/actions going forward, I want to focus on the shortsightedness of takers. So eager to get something today the thought of investing instead of receiving never enters their mind.
I wonder at how people can't see this system is built for real growth. Can't see that my success is tied to your success. I see it, it is so clear. I see it so clearly I rented 50.00 worth of delegation for a month. Not because I am a saint, but because it is obvious to me that the quicker I help my communities, the quicker we ALL benefit. For those of you that I have struck up real ties with, who for whatever reason find my posts engaging, it is Crucial I help you build something powerful. How anyone can't see this is beyond me.
The whole idea behind Steemit is that by helping others, we help ourselves and others of like principal. I say like principal because we will gravitate towards those of like mind and energy the longer we are here. For those of you who have impacted me in some way, you can rest assured you are going to make it here if I have anything to say about it.
There are many like myself, who were idealists in our youth (or perhaps you still have youth and an idealistic dream). This is our chance, right here to make those dreams that had seemed to be crushed manifest. I made a post on this a few days ago titled the Alchemy of Steemit. We are rewarded here for being genuine. Rewarded for helping others. Rewarded for good will.
Just not today or tomorrow monetarily. I mentioned earlier I had rented delegation, 50.00 worth. If I could have rented more I would have. My vision does not stop tomorrow, next week or next month. I am looking years ahead. Today's actions are setting the foundation for that vision. I decided once I began understanding (abandoning my preconceptions) what this place could be that my foundation would be one of giving.
I have noticed that plagiarists do not fare well here for the most part. Even the one that took me in had earned next to nothing despite the many posts copy and pasted. That need to take driving them on in the hopes they will hit it with that super post that enriches them for a moment. I think of all the trouble it took for them to copy/paste sometimes elaborate material. I wonder what deficiency they must feel that contributes to them hiding behind others words. Perhaps they are afraid their thoughts will be met with disdain. That their heart/mind will be laughed at if they expose themselves to communities of strangers. Maybe they have never had anyone believe in them, and they feel everyone is simply out to take as much of the pie as possible before others get it.
Maybe this idea won't work. Maybe Steem collapses in a year, two years. Or maybe it grows into something the world has never seen before. I don't know. But for right now my cynical heart has dared to rekindle the dreams of my youth. Dared to because of the actions of others who give here, who see that helping others is what will make this unlike anything else out there.
For you takers out there, I invite you to look past tomorrow. To let your guard down a little bit and trust that even if some laugh and ridicule, there will be those of us who won't. Trust that over time connections and structures of power can be had that have a positive focus. You don't need to steal others energy. Your energy is just what is needed if you will set aside your fears and greed and join us.