I'm a bit hesitant to talk about this because of course I'm shedding light into one of the aspects of this ecosystem that most don't like to talk about. The truth however, is that is almost impossible to disconnect politics from the Steem ecosystem and taking the time to learn the inner workings is time well spent, specially for anyone who wishes to make a career out of this platform.

Those who understand Politics

Move on up, and it's really that simple. The idea that someone could launch an initiative, start a curation guild or even run a witness without understanding the platform's political dynamics is naive at best. This of course is not me stating that I believe that the current system is ideal, or that I think that it should be replaced by something else. I say this as an observation of the blatant facts staring me right in the face.

This whole thing can be quite confusing and angering for those who think of merit with basic absolutism. To put this more bluntly, you could have the best of ideas, the best of intentions, even the best application developed for Steem, but if you lack the PR skills you won't go nearly as far.

Is that fair? is that right? Those questions might be irrelevant, and I submit to you that this phenomena is not unique to Steem but rather a curious adaptation of some unwritten rule. I'm also beginning to think that this interesting aspect is very much aligned with the concept of proof of brain, even if this was never the original intention.

Witnesses are our Politicians

They might not like the label, they might repudiate the very idea, but I submit to you that those who don't embrace it never make it to the top of the rankings. As the constituency, because that is basically what we are, we must learn to see their actions within this context to elect, if you will, the right people to represent our interests.

About a week ago, I was having in a way this exact conversation with a new upcoming witness in the infamous comment section in trending. As a Steemian citizen/observer I was attempting to add some value to the conversation when @gtg, a top ranked witness who is currently #1 showed up in the comments and dropped a short, but lethal truth bomb.

If I was of the Tin Foil Hat Tribe

I would be screaming "Illuminati confirmed". Jokes aside however, I actually smiled as I received confirmation of my long held suspicions. The box, the blocks, the printing of SBD's, the price feeds, and all that technical language most struggle to understand, might not be nearly as important as the political influence that a witness should have.

Basically, his/her position in the ranking is influenced a lot more by their ability to surf in the political waters on a boat built on their more tangible contributions. And this, this nugget of knowledge is empowering, or at least it is to me, because it allows me to understand the proper way of engaging them, and through conversations influence them even if my influence might be minuscule.

What am I talking about?

I'm holding on to this idea that a community leader should see himself or herself as a leader first, and second as a lobbyist. If that last word taste a little bit like vinegar, that might be due to the associations we might have born from our political system, but its not the type of lobbying I'm talking about.

If, and the key word here is IF I have a "good idea", the idea I would be presenting has to have political value to the witness that I would be presenting it to. Meaning, that the proposed Idea, the solution to a problem, the revolutionary thing that is going to help with user retention, etc, must also help the politician/witness win or it will simply not happen.

This might hurt some feelings, this might make someone say - "Well... then it's not real charity or altruism, its self interest and its disgusting" - Maybe, but the truth is that witnesses are as human as you and I, and they too are working to secure their future, their careers. Putting on the thinking cap and attempting to find the win for everyone is the best implementation of one's time, specially if your dreams, if your idea is BIG.

Why am I talking about this

Because I see so many people get frustrated and lose motivation, its disheartening. I've seen, heard so many people say -"I'm full of ideas, if they would only listen to me then... " - that I could start an idea collection, and maybe I will.

However, if you are one of those, one of those minds that won't stop coming up with plans and ideas to make this place a better place, let me leave you with this to think about.

How can your idea appeal to the right witness, Why would they even care?

If you can't answer that, if you can't put that on paper, on a chat window or on a post. Then, I suggest you go back to the drawing board and rethink it one more time.

Thoughts on Steem's complicated Politics & Witnesses