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One of the major controversies surrounding social media right now is the use of bots to artificially inflate one’s visibility, rank, and overall influence across major social platforms. After I recently wrote this article: New York Times Report Reveals Massive Social Media Bot Fraud! , Steemit user @thespacebetween asked me what my thoughts were on the matter of bots on the Steemit platform. So here they are!
For starters, I want to look at what it is that make up the underlying motivations for using bots on social media to begin with. Well, as noted in the article above, bots are often used as a means to artificially inflate one’s visibility, as well as their social influence. This is often achieved using artificially obtained likes, reshares, and fake followers across various social platforms.
Also noted in the article, the ways in which bots were implemented by Hollywood elites and other influential personalities was also done without any public disclosure, in effect violating laws in some states, such as New York, where the New York Times Report quickly caught the interest of legal authorities.
So, what about Steemit and the use of bots on this platform? Here I’d like to note that the ways in which the use of bots were implemented by those entities noted in the New York Times report are vastly different from the ways in which bots are often implemented on Steemit. For one, bots on Steemit do in fact have public disclosure, while the use of bots in the cases from the New York Times typically did not.
It appears that bots are often made use of by Steemit users for very similar purposes though, such as getting more visibility for their content, and often in hopes of making more money. The more upvotes and resteems, the more visibility one gets, and the more one can potentially earn as a result; or so that’s what people think.
Likewise, in the case of those celebrities and notable public figures I discussed in the article I pointed out above, they too made use of bots, but for entirely different reasons. In the case of the subjects who were called out by The New York Times, their intentions weren't typically financially motivated, but rather more geared towards maintaining their high social statuses.
So, I’ve outlined some of the typical reasons bots are used on social media, including for the intent to maintain social status, gain approval of others, attain more visibility, or in the case of Steemit, to make more money.
So, what are my thoughts on this? Here I'm about a month into using Steemit and all I see is a platform full of people screaming "Upvote, Resteem, Comment, share", all the while using bots with the hopes of pushing their content higher on the ladder and making a fast buck.
I can tell you from years of experience of building media across the web that this is wholeheartedly a horrible way to try and build an audience. Somehow people have it in their minds that begging for approval somehow gains approval. If that were only the case.
What’s really bad about such an approach is the fact there’s often so much focus on making money that people lose sight of what really matters, defining an underlying purpose that will draw attention of others.
rather than defining a real purpose that would drive positive attention and ultimately grow one’s audience, in effect, helping them to earn more money, the focus remains solely on obtaining that almighty dollar.
My purpose on Steemit is the same as my purpose on every other social platform, to share my ideas and creations with the world. The money earned is the byproduct of my creativity, not the byproduct of begging for approval.
If anything, the rampant use of bots here just goes to further highlight the lack of one’s purpose (not in all cases, I will explain). Simply dumping out random content in front of random people doesn’t mean those people will even care for what they see and just ignore it.
On the other hand, I could see those who do have a real purpose here using bots to help bring more visibility to their content. This situation is a bit different though, as these individuals actually have something useful or entertaining to share that's worthwhile, and they're more likely to benefit from their use of upvote bots as a result. I guess the difference lays in those who actually make an effort in the content they produce vs. those who do not.
But its also hard to ignore the fact that, regardless of the intent, the use of upvote bots does in fact artificially inflate ones content, and such actions hardly create a level playing field for creators here. Likewise, I've seen for myself just how bots are often used by individuals with no real purpose, who just want to make more money from dumbed down content. That being said, bots are also the subject of rampant abuse on platforms like Steemit, just as they are on alternate social platforms.
Now, while Steemit may be vastly different from the traditional social media platforms that traverse the web today, the principals of social networking and human behavior remain the same; almost identical really. Begging people to take interest in something they don’t care for doesn’t work. Likewise, begging for followers makes no sense either, as why would you want people who take no interest in what you have to offer to follow you?
Rather than begging, did it ever occur to people that if they had something worthwhile to offer the world that just maybe the world might take notice?
For instance, Google+ users shared my content over quarter million times over the last 6 years, no begging for approval, reshares, likes, etc. I managed to do this because people liked what I had to offer, they agreed with my ideas, they liked what I created, and that was enough to sell them on sharing my work with others.
The point I’m really trying to make here is, stop focusing on money, and instead focus on defining a real purpose for the work you do on the web.
As for the note I made about human behavior, believe it or not, the behavior of humans is often very typical, even predictable based on our common behavioral traits. The premise of sociology doesn’t just have a basis within our wider society either, but within the ways in which humans interact and socialize online as well.
The reason I bring this up? The better you can understand common human behavior, the better you can communicate with others, and your ability to communicate with others is crucial to finding success from the work you do on the web. You could have an underlying purpose that’s worthwhile, but if you lack the ability to properly communicate with those around you, then how do you expect to build an audience?
But, looking back at the controversial issue of bots and Steemit, while I made my argument as to why I don't personally care for them, another Steemit user (Justin J.) @jenkinrocket, who also wrote about this very subject, noted some pretty troubling facts about their use and how they can potentially affect the platform and its users.
Justin notes there may come a time where its no longer possible to succeed on Steemit without the use of bots, as those who own them are only growing fatter; effectively increasing Steemians dependencies on upon them. Justin's article definitely provides some food for thought on this subject: To Bot or Not To Bot.
All being said, the underlying problem with the use of bots on platforms like Steemit is that they often cause people to lose sight of the things that could easily prove to be a lot more useful; like defining a true purpose on the web, and networking with others to build an effective audience to support one's creative work. Likewise, as Justin noted in his article, the use of bots seems to further consolidate power into the hands of a few big players, forcing others reliance upon them as a result.
So, should you use bots, or stick with the traditional methods of building an audience and gaining visibility? I've decided to go the traditional route myself, at least for now, and focus on just sharing my ideas with the community and building an audience of my own. Even with the use of bots, you still have to define some sort of creative purpose, otherwise how does one expect to earn from their work if no one cares for it? After all, the outcome doesn't depend on bots, it depends on your ability to create content that people will actually care for.
For instance, I have many creative purposes on the web myself, as I'm a writer by day, a gamer by night, and I love social media, and so I often spend my days working to build up my news based media empire. The point here, once you can convince yourself to stop chasing after dollars and start chasing after dreams, you'll be one step closer to achieving the positive outcome you so greatly desire.
Written and published by Daniel Imbellino, co-founder of Strategic Social Networking and Gamers Bay! Connect with me on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DanielImbellino
Check Out Strategic Social Networking Community on Google+: https://plus.google.com/communities/116564172151613669656