I just read and commented upon a post by @fknmayhem about [Steem being too philanthropic](https://steemit.com/steem/@fknmayhem/steem-is-too-philanthropic-an-earner) and even though my comment is somewhat disjointed, the post deserves some comments on it. Have a read and show it a little love with your own thoughts. 

One thing that it did remind me to write about (remember my [post last night](https://steemit.com/steem/@tarazkp/where-has-all-the-personality-gone) about what is valuable content) is the idea that this is a place that you can do what you want and, write about what you want. It absolutely is but, doing what you want doesn't mean you are going to get the results you may be after. 

https://i.imgur.com/1ziXyX4.jpg

Too many users drop in on the Steem flower expecting to gather pollen and sweet nectar but are unequipped to do so *if* they stick to the *do what I want* philosophy that so many adhere to. This doesn't mean that one has to completely change but it does mean that there are going to be parts that need to be done. In general, everyone wants to be able to be rewarded for doing what they love but the world has created an unreal view of this. 

If we take a professional athlete as an example, they spend much more time training than performing professionally. Much, much, much more time doing the support work so that the minority of their time can be spent doing what they love, doing what they get paid for. So, are they getting paid for their performance or, the background work to be able to perform highly? Both, since it is unlikely that you can have the performance without the background. But, you can have the background without the performance. 

The hard work isn't a guarantee of return, it is the space creator so that there is the *potential* for return. When applied to Steem, if you are thinking about being a long-term player/earner, it means learning about and probably *writing about* things that you may not actually love. The reason is that this community is in a development phase which means, development needs to happen and, that is up to the community. 

Right now, we are building the stadiums, putting in the seats, the gates, the billboards and all of the other facilities that will allow skilled players to compete for a large audience of spectators. The only reason those players have value is because of the audience they are able to bring in and the merchandise they are able to endorse while doing so. What they offer to that audience are their skills and, a place to put them on show and in so doing, they engage the audience emotionally and, retention is high. 

You may be a skilled player but, the large audience is not here to spectate because, the grounds haven't been adequately developed. Yet. It is up to us to develop this place, not Steemit, not whales, not curation projects; us. Us as individual users. People complain about things like retention but that is only a problem because people think about themselves and say, *I am only here for the money*. Yes, this is a big part of it but it will never keep the spectators in the stadium.

If mainstreaming happens, there is not going to be enough SP to service all people so the idea of *earning for everyone* is ridiculous. What *is* going to retain people is the engagement between users and this lays squarely on the *users.* You may not like it but, engagement is the foundation of building a community here and keeping people coming back, not votes, as votes are going to run dry for most in the future unless, highly skilled players.

To be a significant part of the future and benefit from the mainstreaming, two real things are needed. Steem Power of course (and even small amounts will matter) and the ability to be a part of the community which most likely at this stage of the lifecycle, requires being outside of the comfort zone. It means installing a few seats into the stadium. 

If your blog is not putting ass on seats and compelling them want to come back and sit down again and watch another game, you are not engaging them. This takes work, it takes understanding, it takes investment, it even  takes early losses to build the infrastructure before the income and, it *is up to you* to do. Not me or some curation project to find you, at least in the early stages. And, it takes consistency, a level head, willingness to learn, change, grow and, a massive amount of resilience as time and time again you may put your heart and soul into you work and, get *nothing* in return. Zilch. 

But, for those that take the time and invest themselves (and their Steem) into building this place, the potential to be able to take advantage of the future grows exponentially. The more people that see this as a project that they are part of building rather than a place to earn some money, the better as then they will be forced to realise the truth. 

The truth is, the responsibility and success or failure of this place is going to be up to the community who builds it or, tears it down. Shoddy craftsmanship is going to encourage, shoddy players and spectators who do not want to stay and watch. As I wrote on @fknmayhem's post:

>Right now, new users come in and see the low quality that earns and says, *I can produce that*, and they *all can*. It is competition at the bottom of the barrel.

New users shouldn't come in and say 'I can do that' and be able to, they should come in and be inspired by what they see to *attempt* to do something but know that it is going to stretch them to do so. They have to come in and realise that in order to play on the field, they are going to have to either already be highly skilled or, be willing to train *very* hard. What this means is that those who recognise they can't do those two things will still find a seat as a spectator who enjoys watching the game being played. 

Right now, this is not the case and people come in, realise they can produce the same quality but find that they are unable to earn on it. Because the quality is what they themselves can produce, they aren't earning and aren't engaging, they leave saying that this place is broken. No, the stadium isn't built, people are putting the cart before the horse. 

If you want to use this like Facebook or Instagram, that is fine but, it is already available on *facebook and Instagram* so, why be here? If you want to turn this place into Youtube or Twitch, fine but the same premise holds. Steem users should really be taking a step back in my opinion and working out that the competitive advantage isn't in the earning, it is in the engagement of users with *potential* to earn and the realisation of seeing *real* users get rewarded for skilled content without requiring a centralised authority to dictate terms. 

In my opinion, we aren't competing with the other platforms, we are redefining what it means to be an online community with the potential to actually reward those who deserve it. Right now, it is looking too much like the crony communities of banks and governments, the very people most want to be *free of.* 

Freedom isn't free, neither is Steem. You can do what you want but don't expect to get where you want to go by doing what you want to do. 

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]