Much like other social media, and indeed, life itself...Steemit is a popularity contest.
This isn't a complaint, but merely an observation. It is what it is. Everything from elections to job positions are regularly given away based on who you know, not what you know.
Let's give Brandon's complaint the fair analysis it deserves. I'd also like to thank him for his comment, and empathize with his concerns. They are no doubt factually accurate.
Unfortunately, one man's "collusion" is another man's "teamwork".
As I pointed out in my Devil's Advocate For Jerry Banfield & Internet Marketers article, the formula for determining reward in any human endeavor has never been solely quality. If it was, we'd live in some sort of technocracy where only "geniuses" made social decisions.
The truth is that humanity has always been populist - in our politics and in our social decisions. The formula for deciding how much society will reward something is, unfortunately, not this one:
The real formula is this one:
In other words, "1 quality unit" delivered to 1000 people would be "1000 quality units" delivered to the "market". That's much better than delivering something of 10x greater quality to 10 people ("100 quality units"). This is the problem that many minnows who create quality content are having.
I submit to you the proof:
I know what you're thinking, cheap shot, right? But let's be honest, it's not like we're short on examples:
Can I please rest my case now?
Sorry @brandonk, as long as you're stuck on Spaceship Earth with the rest of us humans, nepotism is here to stay.
Particularly on "social" media, you are not going to escape the pack (or herd) mentality of humanity. It's up to us all to make the best of it. That doesn't mean you can't be successful here by producing quality; my account is proof of that.
However, no social or technical structure ever created by man will come even close to perfectly rewarding all participants "fairly" based on objective value added. We are all individuals and carry our own biases into each evaluation of value. I vote for people I like more frequently, and so does my girl.
Are there also problems with the reward pool? Sure. Look at the trending page of the "business" tag and "BookingTeam" and the answer is immediately obvious.
However, fixing 100 other problems will never change the law of human natures that people want to reward who they like. There are only two rational responses to this immutable truth of homo sapiens:
1. Embrace it and develop connections on Steemit. Join the Minnow Support Group and Steemit Chat/Discord. Engage people in their posts with real comments that took more than 2 minutes to write.
2. Devote your time to activities that better align with your personal philosophy. Consider moving to Alaska; there are still few enough people there that they pay you to do so:
Trust me, both those options beat complaining about something that none of us will ever be able to change.
Note: As per usual, I will delegate 100% of the SP from this post to @minnowsupport. Also, @brandonk, you were a figurehead for this post as I have seen this sentiment frequently. None if this is directed at you specifically.
Sources: @brandonk, Google, Wikipedia, farreachinc.com, scacs.org, briansrunningadventures.com, Youtube "FunToys Collector Disney Toys Review", The Onion AV Club, Giant Bomb, Disney.com, worldofentertainment.com, funnyordie
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