I've seen a lot of people getting very angry at whales and having whale witch hunts in my time here, and personally, it makes me sad. This is not whale-bait and this is not a "save the whales" campaign. It is more for the rest of us, to help us consider.
However, if any of this seems accurate to a whale, it would be nice to know.
UNTIL YOU'VE WALKED A MILE IN THEIR SHOES....
There is an old saying about not judging people until you've walked a mile in their shoes. We can't all actually become whales here on steemit, but try to think about what the recent months may have been like for them.
I'll relay my version of what I think it may be like and illustrate it as I see fit. Imagine how you would feel if you were the whale in this story.
SWIMMING A FEW MONTHS IN WHALE SHOES
I was just another person sitting at a computer. But, because of a tip from some friends, I was using that computer to mine STEEM, and exciting new cryptocurrency that was set to be released soon. Not only that, an entire social media network named "steemit" would be tied to it. I had no idea what to expect, but I was excited to get involved, and I knew that the potential for steemit and STEEM to be a success was incredible.
Soon the site went live, and we "in business."
Because of my mining, I already had a lot of Steem Power! According to steemit lingo, this made me a whale. I know it sounds strange and I definitely never said, "When I grow up, I want to be a whale," but now I was, and it was exciting.
Once I realized what I was capable of, being a whale was like being a super hero. Because of all my power, my votes were worth a lot, and I could start putting some serious money into peoples pockets. It was awesome! With every click of the mouse I was blessing strangers for their stories, artwork, and photos. When a new user would join, if I upvoted them, they got a big welcome to the community.
A homeless man would manage to get an account and post about the struggles in his life.
A few of use whales would notice, and like super-whales, we would take action.
BOOM! With a few clicks from our mice (yes, whales have mice), the homeless person would suddenly have a pile of money, sometimes even thousands of dollars. Just like that, because of steemit, a person would wind up blessed with a fresh chance to try again. I loved being a whale.
Then, a poor person from a poor country would manage to get an account and post. Again, we would notice, and like a tribe of super hero whales sent from steemit, we would swoop in to make it rain.
POW! Another pile of money. Seriously, the money that we were capable of handing out was awesome! It was enough to make a serious difference in almost anyone's life, but for a person from a poor country like this, it would definitely make a serious difference. The power of the whale had struck again! Us whales basically became internet celebrities, but without all of the nonsense that comes with well-known fame. We mostly kept our faces off the net and used aliases in the form of usernames, but everyone on steemit wanted a piece of us.
Post after post would come, and I'd be giving out upvote after upvote. With each upvote, eventually I'd get some Curation Rewards, and become even more powerful so I could be back with a bigger upvote next time. The posts outnumbered my upvotes by a long shot, but I was trying!
Some users would try all day long just to get a vote from us. Post after post attempting to catch our attention and appeal to our interests would be published, and soon we were swamped. Before, there was too much content to sort through anyway, but now it was getting carried away. New users kept joining. Old users kept posting. Some users would even complain about there being too many posts to get noticed, and then repost a previous post, as if that would somehow solve the problem.
Then, it happened.
The price of STEEM had been rising for some time, which was awesome and we took full advantage of making our votes count in that time period. But then, it dropped, and it kept dropping.
I wasn't sure how to react at first. Of course, I had to keep trying to my best as a whale, but it got tough. It was like the cape had fallen off, and there was a certain lackluster feeling.
Once, I could hand out a whole pile of money, especially when we whales voted together. Thousands could easily be poured out to bless people. Now, we often barely muster hundreds. When is the last time that you saw us drop more than a grand on someone? If it was easy for us, you'd see them a lot more often, but times have changed.
Somehow, handing out a twenty just wasn't the same. A lot of people can give away $20.
Then, I could only hand out a $10 bill. Yeah, it certainly lacks the amazing quality that I once had...
Now, I upvote and the user isn't even sure how to react. The excitement is gone for them, and some hardly seem thankful.
A few even curse us when we finally give them some attention. I obviously could not upvote everybody before, and I certainly cannot do it now. I know that my vote isn't worth what it once was, but that's not by choice.
Many users kept blasting us. Here, a free social media platform had been created that people were free to take part in and had the opportunity to get something for their time invested, and suddenly it wasn't enough. Instantly, it was like going from being the most loved to the most hated for many of us. Sometimes when a friend would join and we would give them a little "whale love" we would get blasted for it. Sometimes we had been tricked into voting for fake or plagiarized posts, like somehow it was our fault. Time and time again users were turning from their normal posts and switching to whale-hunting, and this time, they weren't just after out votes.
Now, it was if they wanted to destroy us. Mind you, not all users were like this. Many were very pleasant and polite and the rises and falls in the value of STEEM did not seem to affect some. I'm certainly glad for that.
So here I sit, and my computer with the power to upvote... or not. Am I riding a sinking ship? I hope not. Will we ever make it to the moon? I certainly hope so. I may not be worth what I once was, but this isn't over. I'll still be here, trying to make a difference. I may only vote at a percentage most of the time now to try to be able to spread what I still have left around a little more, but I am still trying. If I miss you, don't be mad. If I hit you, don't be mad.
When you try, I'll try to find your post.
When you frighten me away, I may not come back.
You can make your choice, but I've made mine.
FULL STEEM AHEAD!
This story is not real, I made it up in my mind as I tried to put myself into the shoes of a whale.
The thoughts and images are mine.
Please let me know what you thought.
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