This is the final compilation post for the @sndbox Summer Camp Quest on Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology.
To read about my Task 1 on Content Quality VS Quantity, Self Explained, please visit:
Sndbox Summer Camp: Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology Quest Task 1
To read about my Task 2 on Attitudes of Empowerment and Entitlement in Both Real Life Situations and Steemit, please visit:
Sndbox Summer Camp: Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology Quest Task 2
To read about my Task 3 on My Journey of Discovery and Why I Want to Be Part of @sndbox, please visit:
Sndbox Summer Camp: Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology Quest Task 3
TASK 1
This is a quest by @anomadsoul and @guyfawkes4-20, known as the Sndbox Summer Camp with different topics to be analyzed on. I have read some many quality posts by the current Sndbox members and I do know that this community is also very generous in looking out for quality contents.
Even though I have been on Steemit for a mere 100+ days, I am taking my commitment towards this platform quite seriously. I aim to post everyday and also post mainly about philosophy, psychology and sometimes sociology.
For Task 1, I would like to elaborate and analyze on Content Quality VS Quantity, Self-Explained.
Before I started writing and reading posts across Steemit, I have always been liking to write, even with my seemingly limited vocabularies. I have adopted this habit of writing since my high school days and I find it therapeutic. Now as a part time tutor, I find myself encouraging my students to do that as well.
As I look through parts of this platform in these three months, I realize there are all types of contents. It is also the same for Facebook and Twitter actually.
Content Quality
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Before I go on and on analyzing the contents in terms of quality, let me just roughly define what I think is a quality content. A quality content in my personal opinion (and it is not the universal truth) is obvious efforts seen to produce a post such as the formatting of the post, research done for the post, amount of pictures or GIFs to illustrate a point, with some humour and professional facts. I always admire and respect people who write very well with clear articulations as well as presentation of their points. That is one big area I am learning and improving in.
A post with content quality may take a long time to produce and with that, I know perhaps one is not able to post the same high quality content everyday, unless he or she has an ample of time. However, I have also learnt from @maverickfoo about, 25 minutes of research, 25 minutes of writing and drafting and 25 minutes of tidying up (sorry, I am very sure this is not what he said, word for word, but I'm trying to remember what I have read from him). Talking about quality content, @deborism and him have always come out with guides on how to produce content with quality. I have learnt a lot from them, but have not applied fully in my postings.
For me, the quality of content is something cannot be compromised. It is not determined by the length of the post, because short posts like poetry and short stories can also be contents with quality. It shows and represents the author, of how much he or she is settling for. It also shows the spirit of excellence that is not settling for mediocrity. With that, I always want to learn and improve.
If there is only focus on the content quantity, eventually it may hit a saturation level of quality is not maintained or even elevated. That is because the readers can already expect what would be coming. Quality will be a great surprise factor in this sense. If we are just posting for the sake of posting and clouding this whole platform with more "noise", a unique piece with impact would definitely be much preferred and comes as refreshing. I always give extra attention to marketing or advertisements which are different from the usual, as they have effectively achieve their target which is to capture me as an audience.
The ones standing out are those who dare to be different!
On the other hand, if quality is produced but the frequency of posting is too low, we can also lose followers who see no updates from us in a long while.
Content Quantity
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There are users who would be posting everyday, which their visibility is gained and their audience can follow them closely. I would deem that as content quantity or in another case, if someone who always strives to write long posts.
They would be posting almost everyday, whether important or non-important details of their lives. Everything would be announced to the social media platform. The followers and audience would very much be updated by their every snippet of their life. Sometimes, they would even feel along with this person. It would be like some fans following a celebrity, which is sometimes fine if there is still a moderate quality to the contents posted. By that, it can be the food he or she eats everyday, or ramblings of how bad some situations are. However, as days go by, if the quality isn't improved, it will also eventually "bore" the followers. It may also gives a feeling of the author going in circles just to lengthy the post. In the context of Steemit, the upvoters may realize that their votes aren't used to a maximum potential. Also, because our voting power can be exhausted and used up, the upvoters will learn to be more selective, if there isn't a consistency of quality.
Having said this, if a Steemian posts consistently and produce long posts, it will definitely increase the probability of being curated, noticed and read. This indicates a commitment though it is not necessarily those who post lesser are not committed either. Those who post consistently may help their readers to anticipate eagerly and as they post more, the quality may also catch up and improves. Maybe initially, not all the posts are insightful and immediately capture every visitor's attention, but after a certain niche is formed, the audiences will definitely return to a certain author for a particular type of post. It can serve as an answer to the reader. It would create a specific type of traffic to that author in times to come.
That is what I hope in doing for myself, as I am determined to post my own niche and increase within my own natural interests:
A post a day to keep the lazy bug and complacency away.
My little illustration on Striking a Balance between Quality VS Quantity
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Perhaps let me give a simpler illustration that actually helped myself to see how I differentiate between content quality and quantity.
Let's say I own a restaurant and I am a huge fan of wagyu beef. In terms of quality, I try to make first I try my best to always import the A1 wagyu from Japan to make sure the quality of my food to serve my customers is always there. With such great food, I must ensure my other ingredients are also top grade. You can also roughly tell that this would be very expensive because I was chasing after quality. Whenever there is short of supply, I have to close my shop because I only believe in quality, just because I do not believe in giving "lower grade" food to my customers, not even a A5 wagyu. That can be done if I have a lot of capital and I can cover my business with the money made in prime time. If I do not have enough capital, no matter how good my food is, I will have to cover the loss and eventually, I may lose the business too.
On the other hand, if I do not care about quality, I serve any kind of food without quality control to my customers at a low price, this way of marketing will definitely reach many ears in a short time. But am I willing to sell my wagyu beef at 1 Steem at all times just to make sure my customers stick with me? That is certainly not advisable from a business point of view.
As a business owner, I don't just want to attract a large amount of visitors but I want to attract customers who would stay with me, and customers who would proudly introduce my food to others. With that in mind, I have to continue to research on improving my recipe, finding better quality ingredients and still open as much as I can, not sticking to just one option of type of meat. I have to learn to use Aussie beef, Indian buffalo and other local beef as well to balance my sheet as well as serving different types of meat to the range of customers.
Thus, my conclusion is the content of a post should strike a balance between quality and quantity. So probably an update once in three or four days with a quality content would be ideal. As for me, I'm still striving with my a-post-a-day but I have to work towards higher content quality. All in all, it is not about which is better, quality or quantity, but which will hit the bull's eye!
I would like to specially thank @Sndbox, @voronoi, and @hansikhouse for supporting this initiative. I found out about this quest quite last minute but I want to try my best as it is an opportunity to push me out to think and write. Thank you!
TASK 2
Here I am, proceeding with the Task 2 of the Sndbox Summer Camp Quest, organized by @anomadsoul and @guyfawkes4-20, greatly supported by @Sndbox, @voronoi, and @hansikhouse.
Designed using Canva App from Android
From @anomadsoul's post, Task 2 goes like this:
Analyze a situation in real life
It doesn´t matter if you are doing the Philo, Pshico or Socio Quest, pick a subject related to your area of expertise and break it down and find a correlation with the crypto environment. For example, making friends in real life and the psichological implications of being part of a social group, and translate that to the communities on Steemit - again, this is just an example, you can play with this task however you want.
I would like to be talking about the communities we are in, about The Attitudes of Empowerment and Entitlement in both real life and on Steemit. So, I guess it would be more of a sociological post but with some philosophical and psychological contexts as well.
Communities
Many people know me as a happy-go-lucky person in my younger days. I look carefree and it would greatly show I'm an entertainer in most groups/commmunities/cliques I'm in. I tried to make friends with everyone.
A few communities I'm active in are my church friends, old university friends and old housemates and my new Steemit local community #teammalaysia whom I'm getting to know. Besides #teammalaysia, I have also learnt to engage in communities like @steemitbloggers, @steemmamas, @steemsugars and the #googlyfamily. Learning about humans itself is an art that would probably never end. It involves a lot of heart, efforts, money and also time. These may be overlooked but all of the above are actually resources that we have as we invest back into humanity and relationships. As I grow, I realize that my resources are actually limited so I have also learnt to use them wisely, to prevent from emotional burnout. Maybe people have seen me less bubbly or less available. Through this growth process, I have learnt and met different types of people which lead to me sharing on two general types in this post.
The Attitude of Entitlement
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The last I checked Merriam Webster dictionary for the definition of ENTITLEMENT, it is defined as:
belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges
The attitude of entitlement to me speaks of a passive position in a relationship, almost like only on the receiving end. Sometimes in our relationship with people, there could be people who think they have nothing to offer so they would wait for someone to give. For instance, members in a church would wait for the pastor to give, visit and show concern to them all or in any other context, the members could be sitting and waiting for the leaders to act, even in politics, friends who think that everything has to be about them and etc. What is often done without active participation could be just giving judgmental comments on how things can be better. This makes me realize even more as my nation is going through an election soon. As much there are many criticisms and many decisions on migration, we may feel that we are entitled to a good government without doing much thing, entitled to the "benefits" as a church member because the pastors should know better, entitled to fidelity of our children because we have raised them up.
This attitude actually just put us in the back seat and honestly, I think it is jeopardizing the community we are in with the introspection it exhibits. That is because we are thinking that everything is about us and it has to be centered around us. It does makes us take things for granted easily as well and go into complacency. Since love is an obvious need in every human's life, it may even make us feel we are entitled for love, not knowing that actually we are loved, just because it is not shown in the way we want. Having said this, I'm guilty as charged too.
I think when I first joined Steemit, I was like that for a while because I felt like I knew nothing and I almost feel like I have nothing to contribute. So, I waited and see. In the first week after I joined, besides writing an effortless post of introducing myself, I did nothing. I didn't engage, I was just waiting since my husband told me this is a very rewarding platform. Obviously, I got nothing much in return. Two weeks later, I came out of my "shell" and started all over, discard my entitlement attitude but tried to think more on how I can contribute my thoughts or efforts. I learn more about upvoting, voting power, Steem Power (SP), bandwidth and most importantly, ENGAGEMENT. Instead of waiting for people to notice me, I can start empowering myself and whoever reads my post with the little motivations that I know of. Honestly, no one is obligated to actually upvote or support any of us. It cannot be because we belong to a certain community like #teammalaysia, we automatically think we are entitled for the support and those with higher SP have to upvote us.
The Attitude of Empowerment
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I was raised in a culture not knowing much about empowerment but more bound in a slave mentality. So the topic of empowerment is actually quite foreign to me until I attended church and also read up more motivational books. I used to think my happiness is so subjective that I cannot do anything about it. Nevertheless, even a slave can be raised to think more and more like a king.
EMPOWERMENT is simply defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as:
the act or action of empowering someone or something : the granting of the power, right, or authority to perform various acts or duties.
Empowerment makes a person not just "feel" powerful, but helps him or her make decisions in a powerful manner, doesn't push the blame to others in situations, own up responsibilities, offers kindness genuinely, and not living for other's approvals. In real life situations, having faith in someone will encourage the person to go further than he or she can. Empowerment is not just an attitude, it is a culture. It fuels one to discover new potentials and pushes him or her out of the comfort zone to know the maximum potentials. It goes beyond oneself and looks into the community one is in. Charity is something we do these days because everyone has the heart to give back to the community but it can be done either for a self-fulfillment (entitlement attitude again) or with empowerment wanting to make sure the other parties are benefited. However, the willingness to just look into others' lives and learn or give into is already a sign of being empowered.
There can be really good fruits birthed forth from such relationships even in new relationships. Recently, I was very touched by acts of kindness shown by my local Steemit community, as mentioned in @iamjadeline's post about new Steemit friends visiting her hospitalized son to root for their family, @zord189, @aaronleang and @joannewong. There is also @littlenewthings and @elizacheng fundraising for a relapsed stage 3 breast cancer patient. All these acts of kindness are actually very empowering and contagious.
Relating These Two Attitudes With Steemit
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Not a single user on Steemit is the same. Everyone of us has different experiences in life and have the eyes for different things. We have different interests and even speak different languages. Our perspectives on the same matter may also not be the same at all, which is what makes you and I valuable.
I have heard many cases of not having the whales or orcas or even dolphins notice us or a community. Instead of sulking and wait, let's start something! You can give what he or she or they cannot give! Instead of waiting for a huge upvote from the whales, why not learn more about how the mechanism of this platform works? I have so much to learn, even if they aren't my natural expertise or not naturally keen on. Throw away the entitlement attitude but put on the empowerment attitude! :)
I have also seen many new initiatives by the minnows or even planktons which are totally inspiring. One of which was the #popcontest by @karenmckersie about spreading positivity across this platform, which I absolutely enjoy reading. Another to be mentioned is the #googlyprize by @fraenk. Next not to be missed is @elizacheng's #makemesmile contest. There are many many more out there to empower us to uncover our potentials. We never know if we never try, just like this @sndbox Summer camp quest I'm trying my best in.
As I am finishing up this task, I just heard Mickey Mouse said this in his Mickey and the Roadster Racers' series:
Everybody has something to contribute.
And he is right! Diversity is strength.
One last philosophy of my life is this:
Working for love is a curse. Working from love is a ministry. ~ Kris Valloton
A change of attitude will make us go far in Steemit, because we make ourselves part of it, instead of waiting for it to serve us and merely just earning from it and forsake all the great communities. Get out from the back seat and take the seat of the driver but still abide by the traffic rules. They are there for a reason. winks
Thank you for reading this post of my Task 2. Stay tuned for Task 3. Yes, I found out about this quest really late, so I'm working on all the tasks in one breath!
TASK 3
I have arrived at Task 3 of the Sndbox Summer Camp Quest by @anomadsoul and @guyfawkes4-20, supported and sponsored by @Sndbox, @voronoi, and @hansikhouse.
Task 3 requires us to share about our journey into philosophy, psychology and sociology and why we want to be part of @sndbox.
My Journey of Discovery
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I am not professionally trained or educated in either of these fields, except that I studied social psychology for a term in my university years when I was doing my degree as it was my compulsory elective subject along with entrepreneurship. I was pursuing a degree in Biotechnology back then.
However, I have always been interested in learning about quotes and core values in life, which is what I deem philosophy as: the important values people live by. I am easily wow-ed by the wisdom we humans have and I believe that our minds are created to be creative as well as to be wholesome and smart. As I study more especially about the Bible, it continuously amazes me with so many great excellent values to live by, some of which requires more than me to practise, which is when grace (the ability to do what I cannot do) comes in.
As for psychology and sociology, I think most of us yearn to know more about ourselves: how we act or behave, why we would think in a certain path, how to interact with others effectively so on and so forth. I am not excluded as well. I too want to know about our soul make-up and want to be a more wholesome individual to deal with hurts, betrayals, negative emotions in a healthy manner. I learnt to open myself to ask myself more questions to know my own real intention and desires. As I was doing that, I also learn to develop a heart for others. I learn to make a difference in where I am positioned, whether in university, workplace or even church. I wanted to re-learn confidence in a wholesome way and rediscover my worth. In my journey, I discovered many beautiful and also ugly things of myself, which I have learnt to deal with and also accept, by God's grace. I learn about the mannerism of others too as to why they may act and respond in some ways I may be foreign to.
One of the values I hold dear in life is:
Love is bigger than hurts. We can still choose the right thing in the face of hurts.
With what I have learnt, I was actively ministering to broken homes and families, especially to youths and young working adults. Not to say I am better or even competent, but I wanted to see them know they can do a better life and need not be victim to the circumstances they are born in. (Of course, I am NOT their savior. I can be burned out by trying to be.) I want to just do my part in cultivating a powerful culture, not being powerful out of hurts fighting for love, but being powerful out of being loved. Remember, everybody has something to contribute?
Now, frankly speaking, I have greatly reduced my community services compared to before since the arrival of my boy. I put in my whole heart in raising him, wanting him to know he is loved. So, currently I am investing all that I am into my second generation. Besides that, I am still actively tutoring some youths who seek counsels from me. I am humbled by their trusts towards me because my heart always aches whenever I hear any youth who does not know the purpose of life gave up their lives and commit suicides. I am not a noble person, just living out who I am, I guess.
To me, philosophy, psychology and sociology aren't just knowledge contained and learnt through books. They are actually practical ways of living. They will get better as I age and mature.
Why do I want to be part of #sndbox?
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The reason why I am putting in extra efforts to try out in this quest is because I have known about @sndbox being a community who reaches out to real communities as well. @sndbox curates a huge variety of posts, which really speaks of what Steemit really is. Moreover, it is also because I want to reach out to more people with what I can write. I write about philosophies and beliefs in life, relationship, motivations, inspirations and also real life stories. I have recently started a new series titled Discovering the Undermined Gems as I felt I want to highlight some blue collars in my local community. I also write a series on My Tutor's Tale on young people's questions about life as and when my students talk to me.
Besides that, I am recently made a moderator for @steemmamas Discord server where we encourage all mamas on Steemit to join in for support worldwide. We have been encouraging each other as well as learning great information as everyone has something different to contribute.
I aim to produce quality posts to encourage and be real with everyone on Steemit. By joining @sndbox, I think my posts can gain more visibility to reach further and to showcase my thoughts which may be beneficial to a certain community. The good upvotes from @sndbox will increase the exposure my posts can receive. I may not have all it takes now, but I am willing to learn.
Thank you very much for this opportunity through this wonderful quest. I do hope I understand the different tasks correctly.
Thank you very much to @guyfawkes4-20 and @anomadsoul, together with @sndbox, @voronoi and @hansikhouse for such an opportunity to join the quest! I found out about the quest just yesterday and I was hesitating if I would have enough time to give it a shot because it was already April 10 on my side. Nevertheless, I gave my best shot and I think if I didn't try, I would be regretting. Wishing all the other participants the best of luck too! :)
Join us @steemitbloggers
Animation By @zord189
