For as long as there has been social media, I have had a lot of fun with social media.
In some ways, I think it's an "introvert thing;" people who tend to be mostly quiet and prefer keeping their own company most of the time often seem to find the relative "quiet" of social media and social blogging interactions to fit their temperaments better.
Do we follow the crowd... or strike out on our own?
Welcome to the New Face of Social Media!
So now we have this whole new generation of social content sites that are blockchain based. Which, in turn, tends to mean that there's a token (cryptocurrency) attached and contributors stand the chance of earning some sort of reward.
That makes me quite happy — from a social content creator standpoint — because this format is a lot easier than trying to monetize a conventional blog with Google AdSense and Amazon/Zazzle/Whatever affiliate links.
Besides, those tend to mostly be about putting a lot of effort into putting most of the earnings into their pockets, and only very little of the earnings into your own pocket. Hooray for simplicity!
But I digress.
This new format is a fine and dandy idea, but as this particular "social space" on the web continues to develop and grow, it's also easy to see how it could soon become a bottomless pit we all get trapped in; a sort of almost infinite "time sink" where we compulsively feel like we have to "join just one more site," and "make just one more post" before going to bed. Or eating. Or taking a shower. Or going to work. Our walk our dog...
You get the picture.
We're getting a lot of snow on the pumpkin, these days...
A Call for Time Management... or FOMO?
I got yet another invite to something today. Testament to how many of these sites are popping up these days: I don't even remember the name of the venue.
Although my initial inclination was "Yeah, I'll do this!," for the first time I actually paused and seriously considered the greater implications.
Sure, it's easy to just head off and make yet another account, but to what end?
"Why am I DOING this?"
Do I actually want to start blogging on yet another venue, or it this just a case of FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out?
Fear of missing out on what, exactly? I supposed we have all been "trained" to believe that "if only" we can be one of the earliest adopters of "something," we'll — somehow — have it made.
But is that actually true? Probably not.
What is this reward we're allegedly chasing, anyway? Does it have any intrinsic value, or is it just a bag full of *promises" and little substance.
Dreaming of warmer days...
The Dangers of Dilution
There's only so much of us to go around. I am just one person, sitting at one keyboard, trying to keep up with all this stuff. And where as the "new and shiny" definitely has its allure, what good does it all do me; do US?
The ambitious nose-to-the-grindstone types would of course insist that we merely keep copying the same content we create, all over the place.
Frankly? That has far too much of a "spammy" feeling to it, for my liking.
People soon enough get tired of seeing the same old thing, over and over. And — in time — there's a secondary effect that they stop being readers at all, because you develop a reputation for being a "copyist," rather than someone who provides original content that has value.
Building a solid social media reputation takes a lot of time... but that reputation can also be torn apart in a matter of days, if you start behaving in an annoying fashion!
But back to "Dilution."
There's a good reason why we have never seen any serious "alternatives" to Facebook. Even Google+ (Google's social network) — with all the vast talent pool and resources of Google behind it — is shutting down, later this year.
The problem with "alternatives" — unless they happen to fit a pretty specific and dedicated niche — is that they are inevitably "copies of something."
We call it "dilution," because they tend to be "watered down."
Blossoms on our Princess Tree, summer...
Meanwhile, back on Steemit
So now we are being presented with these "alternatives" to Steemit.
Which may hold an initial appeal to a bunch of people who are unhappy about the way things have turned out here. But how effective can these "clones" really hope to be?
Of course, their makers will insist that they are not clones... but "copies" rarely go anywhere unless they radically change the rules of the game, and then back that up with massive publicity campaigns.And fledgling blockchain social projects don't do that... leaving us with the Wekus, Whaleshares, Smokes, Trybes, Bearshares, Crearys, Minds, Dmunitys and whatever else is coming along.
Maybe some of them are actually improvements on the initial idea, but because they lack the attention, crowd and publicity, they tend to remain in the shadows... and based on what I have seen happen in other industries in the past three decades, odds are they will die slowly, with nary a whimper... or perhaps limp along indefinitely, carried along by a small group of stalwarts who refuse to give up on them, eternally telling themselves that "NEXT year we'll have a real marketing campaign and grow BIG!" yet they forever lack the ability and resources to make a big enough "splash" to actually reach critical mass and take on a life of their own.
And I don't say that as a criticism, I say it only as an informed observation of the most likely scenario to play out.
Will we "get lucky?"
Where Does Your Effort Actually MAKE a Difference? And a Difference to WHOM?
So going back to the invite I received in the mail, I ended up filing it in my "maybe later" folder, where there's a 90% chance it will sit untouched... till I clean up my email account some years from now.
Ultimately, we have to look at where our efforts make a real difference. In general, my best time spent is here on Steemit, where I have built a body of work and some semblance of a network and following over more than two years.
The "new and shiny" definitely has its allure, but I already have accounts on WhaleShares, Weku, Minds and Bearshares... and I have pretty much NO time for them, as is.
So why the hell would I think that I need yet another venue?
And here's the thing: I can post something on Steemit to a more or less "known" audience where I know the value of Steem — however low it may be — or I can put that same effort somewhere else, where I have no idea whether the grand promises will come true.
I need to put my effort where it makes a difference. And that difference needs to be to ME, not to someone else's new venture. A bit harsh and mercenary sounding? Perhaps... but things don't always need to live, simply because they are NEW!
Thanks for reading!
How about YOU? Are you pretty good at putting your available time and effort where it makes the most difference? Or do you even think about that? Have you come across many other sites — similar to Steemit — where you felt tempted to join? DID you choose to join... or did you pass them up? Do you think "copies" and "clones" ever do better than the original? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190213 21:17 PST
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