Trust is hard to come by. That's why my circle is small and tight. I'm kind of funny about making new friends. - Eminem
When I first signed up to Steemit, I was instantly drawn towards the World of Football community - apart from the constant posts about Messi and Ronaldo, there was content that I could appreciate. Well written, professional football content.
It didn't take me long to realise that I'd been duped, as had all other honest users within that community and the well written, professional content had been plagiarised.
My first instinct was that plagiarism was simply an accepted part of Steemit, which after querying was quickly dismissed... which meant Steemit had a problem.
My well-documented and all-consuming fight against plagiarism and abuse started that day and the things that I discovered, things that I learnt and in the main, things that continue to this day have tarnished how I view Steemit, in particular with how I view new users.
New Users ➡️ New Content
I'm always keen to find new users, writing original content that I can follow and support. Doing my part in keeping the better content creators on the platform which in turn, should attract similar content creators of a higher standard. The obvious place to find these users is the Newcomers' Community but I never find anybody. Every post I open appears to have been written by the same person... in the same format... with the same photographer. Of course, in some cases, they have been. Many of them tarnished by their push to be verified and to be curated which is seemingly their right. I see no original thinking, no creativity and in my eyes, nobody worth following.
Another route that I take is within World Of Xpilar, as you know, a community that I'm a moderator for. But when I come across an unfamiliar name, I often find a soulless article trying to teach me something about an item I have absolutely no interest in - or somebody's 852th (not 852nd, 852th) photograph of the day from a user I've muted, whose content simply won't disappear.
The worst thing for me, is that I read so many impersonal articles and think "they haven't written that". When I joined, this would result in some in-depth analysis, translators, etc. but given the prevalence of AI generated content, there's no guarantee any more. It's too easy to be wrong, no matter how confident I might be that I'm right.
Have I Filtered Out Too Much?
It's been over 2.5 years since I signed up... it feels like longer. I have little interest in photography or art (sorry WOX, your photography and art is great 🙂), I don't read Diary Games or Steemit Engagement Challenges, I'm not interested in the health benefits of bathing in elephant poo or anything else... your reports telling me who you've introduced, the nationalities and communities that you've voted for don't excite me... am I unique in this respect? I'm certainly not the only person who wants to find an original author who stands out purely because they share my dis-interests (is that a word?)
Whilst I feel that Steemit's still a great community, I can't help but feel that the heart and soul's disappear(ed/ing) with so many users simply entering contests or joining the Engagement Challenge in the hope of winning a prize / upvote. I don't remember any of these users and surely the curators that they're trying to attract can't be remembering them either?? And since these initiatives get so much focus, the chances are that these users don't notice me either. Or other users like me.
Let me know in the comments if you're reading this and also somebody who takes part in the Engagement Challenges!
Do I Belong?
It feels like there are only a handful of users like me - users who seek more from other users - users who are entrusted with keys to the steemcurator accounts exactly because we demand something different, something original.
But what path do new users take when they join? Are they attracted to the contests, to the engagement challenges where they know curators will have to visit... or are they attracted to the unknown - the uncertainty that they could go unnoticed. It feels like the answer is obvious... which means that my circle will remain small and tight... no matter how hard I try to grow it.
Where do you look for new authors? When you do look, what are your criteria for supporting them? (e.g. don't buy votes, reply to messages / interact with others, etc.) How many hours does it take you to find somebody, if indeed, you succeed? Do you even bother any more or because you've accumulated good power, do they find you?
I'd love to hear your thoughts... the chances are that if you're reading this, you're already within my circle and somebody that I consider a friend but it'd be nice to hear from somebody new... somebody who when I look at their profile, I don't see content that AI could've written... or contest entry after contest entry... come on, I know you're out there.
