What i do now is not even look at any trending posts. I go straight to new of any category and try to find quality posts. If i like the post and believe it has value for other readers i will vote and comment. Looking at the trending posts and wondering why yours isn't, will just fuel the resentment. If you aren't doing well with the posts, then become a curator, and be the best you can be at that. It will yield you great results if you are genuine about it.

That is actually what I been doing. No more trending stuff. It's usually too late. Although, I did like the cheetah bot post about plagiarism.

You are my brother from another mother, cryptoiskey. Agreed.

lol could be ya never know lol

:)

might try that man, but I just feel drained of passion rofl.

yup i feel ya, i had that after i thought one of my posts would get recognized, but head down ass up and don't give up. We are all here to succeed you have to push like a Mother f** to succeed, and now is the time because soon there will be a million users on here, and who knows would the future holds. My guess is there is already a major company building something out like steemit as we speak.

The reason they are giving up is because they see these big money posts and want to have that success.

That's probably not going to happen. But there are people who have joined that realize its potential. They like the content and the community. Those are the people Steemit needs. Steemit may fail but I doubt it will be at the hands of users who had no real interest.

Bitcoin dies every week.

I'ma be honest brah, I was too gullible, maybe you were too.

I verbally attacked a friend who said "Steemit is for greedy money grubbers." but now I see exactly what he means.

I articulated your concern in a slightly different way here: https://steemit.com/steemit/@jupiter00000/steemit-boycott-already-yup

But yes, the danger is real... but then, look at the early days of reddit. Not a whole lot different. Not many crypto communities are 30,000 strong 3 months after conception.

I'll check it out man thanks.

Not sure I agree. I've been here for as long as you - a week - and I've already made about $500. I don't believe the system is rigged, I just believe you have to go full force and make your presence (and your genuineness) known and you can make money. There is no real rhyme or reason, and there are TONS of people here. Having said that, you have to realize that the currency is not plentiful enough to go around evenly among everyone. It takes having viral content, or popular enough content to make any kind of money beyond mere pennies.
Don't just post content - also involve yourself with it as if it were your own local community. Treat people like human beings, post things with the intent to engage in conversation, and also be one to keep conversation going in other peoples' posts.
No lie, you're surrounded by bots and people who are here to try and make instant money from every little thing they post. It just doesn't happen like that. Post GENUINE content. Preferably original content. Sometimes you'll get 20-30 votes and maybe $30. Every now and then - if you're lucky - you might post something that strikes a chord with someone with a lot of influence and really start pulling in decent money. There are people here who, when they vote, can earn you triple-digit dollars. But you have to realize - THESE PEOPLE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN compared to the sheer number of other members that are here.

It's not rigged. It's new. It's ramping up. And trust me, there are some people here who are counting on people to do what you're doing right now.

Basically thing that pissed me off was, I spent 200 bucks getting some merch made, shared it with the community got 2 dollars. Some chick does it get 8k, coolstory. I don't think I deserve anything but when I see all the effort I put in getting ignored for someone else doing the same shit, that happens to have tits its annoying as fuck to be honest.

it happens to most of us. I made a post where just the graphic alone for a Steem pill box took me all day. That wasn't including the rest of the post which took another day:)..but i totally turned my way of thinking and use steemit now as a way to learn and socialize and get to know more about as much as i can. Money can turn people sour very fast so i have moved away from that darkness and just create content now because i enjoy and like to help. Yeah i need money probably just as much as the next guy but i realize it cant be done with the flick of a switch on steemit.

Yeah I guess. But it's hard to seperate emotion tho man. Once you feel "beaten" down it's hard to get back on the horse. I tried to "Live off steem for 30 days" thought that'd be interesting, bring some advertising onto the streets, contact radio stations etc.

No one gave a fuck tho they just want to see tits, so i'm pretty much going to delete all my former content and go back to what I do best on the internet and that is trolling.

Yeh before I joined Steemit I was a compassionless internet troll who wasn't valued so posted shit.

Atleast that shit was fun, putting so much effort into stuff is stressful and hard only to be ignored.

i am interested what merch did you get done?

Look at it this way: Some people start full businesses and put in their entire life's savings only for it to fail. This is peanuts by comparison.

Can't reply to your other post, but I got a quality brand hat made with Steemit logo stiched into it custom made. Also a t shirt. Nothing special but yeah...once I seen someone made...tbh lower quality merch but got 8k cause they female I just gave up lol.

i did the same,lol...but i haven't run with it yet, and it was before any of those posts went up, but i have a idea i will run with soon.

Keep it, keep wearing it. Keep posting pics of yourself doing stuff while wearing it. Think of this place like a roaring river that you're standing in just trying to keep your footing. The moment you give up, downstream you go. Don't let that happen.

Got to say I agree. The comment ratio to post seems to be improving these past few days. Commenting is just as important as submissions and needs to be encouraged.

What's the percentage ratio on that?

Brah, I was getting 50-100 votes consistantly on every post.

Idk why the fuck the whales are just upvoting for tits you think they'd have a lil more creativity with that sort of mooney behind them?

and idk man, I want to believe it will suceed but like I said everyone i've brought in has jumped out saying it's toxic within a week, I even knw a lot on this site I don't know personally have done the same.

It either comes across as a pyramid scheme, rigged, or run by thirsty perves.

I prb sound salty, it's half that and half nt giving a fuck what people think of my name anymore.

What we think of the whales is moot. They run the show. We can either accept it or not. Either way, they're going to stay whales. Don't worry about them. In fact, don't even target them. It's YOU who needs to be a target for THEM.

Also, lucky you on getting 50-100 votes consistently! That's freaking awesome! That's one hell of a momentum you've got going. Don't let yourself get discouraged now. Geez, I myself haven't even seen that many votes on any of my posts. I've gotten 29 on one once. Didn't make more than about 11 cents on that one either. See what I mean about rhyme & reason? There is none. Just....keep going.
As best I can tell, the strength for those of us having the hardest time pulling in much attention at all is to be positive and consistent. Negativity doesn't seem to make money, so why bother? Besides, it's bad for you. Stay positive and KEEP GOING.

Yeah I know wht you mean man...but that's what make me think it is rigged. The whales only seem to target the same people the only truly kind whale i've PERSONALLY dealt with is pharesism and he's the only reason I fully haven't given up and only 99% given up.

One whale has a thread where he tells ppl he will exclusively only upvote certain ppl etc, it's all sorta fucked. atleast on reddit the people get to decide what's hot and not, now it's just some millionares....

this is just like real lief, you think I come online to feel like part of the 99% 24/7? naw I try to escape my wretched life as a broke middle class peon who will never rise above....

anyway man, don't take all my ramblings serious just trying to vent, I appreciate your attempt to uplift me tho, let's see what happen i'm not feeling it atm tho.

Geez, man. I just looked at your wallet. You outrank me. By a lot. You've got one hell of a start.
It's a big fucking train, man. Huge. Some of us will just naturally have more freight to get up to speed than others, for whatever reason (re: tits). I think I've posted some photo work that is some of my best work, for example. Work that I think wipes the floor with some of the other photos I've seen, but their photos got the votes and the money. Is that fair? Eh...that's subjective. It's not the quality of an image that might get attention, but the subject matter within it. Something about those other photos spoke to the voters over mine. Why? Who knows - you'd have to ask those voters. The point is, you can't predict it. So some of our excitement should probably remain shelved until we see what happens. The fact that we're even able to make money here at all is a fucking miracle of technology. Yunno?

Man you can't really look at it that way. I actually addressed the pyramid scheme feeling sales pitch in my first pool meeting on my post. Check it out! https://steemit.com/steem/@brianphobos/first-pool-meeting-on-steemit-initial-thoughts-and-advice-from-someone-who-has-made-money-online-since-2008

I upvoted this because I laughed a bit ..Thanks

Exactly!!

Upvoted! https://steemit.com/steemit/@izzy/why-steem-is-the-real-libertarian-platform

i'll check your thing out .

i have only made 6$ in a week here, but that doesnt makes me feel discouraged. Maybe its your perspective at the site, you are looking at it like its some kind of lottery business. Just keep trying

https://steemit.com/steemit/@teatree/steemit-is-all-about-game-theory

https://youtu.be/xZmpCAqD7hs

The thing that was tipping point for me was getting 200 bucks worth of merch to share. 4 dollars okay not bad I don't expect anythin- WHOAH WTF THIS BITCH GOT 8k FOR DOING THE SAME THING?!

She did it better. In any event, don't compare yourself to others. You will always feel like a loser if you do.

exactly, bet against all odds and believe in yourself.

just do your thing and feel good for the success of others, even if its just tits and shit. dont give up!

Yeah, I definantly feel good when other minnow break it big :)

don't really feel happy for the people that are consistently get 5k a post.

the gap is too high, we seen this shit IRL anyone remember that europe migration thing? oh wait it's still fcked.

let's see how this goes.

I've made 900$ in just off of voting on good content.

What is Gap?

I'll change it its probably local lingo only.

its only lucky, keep trying is my opinion

Naw, you can't leave. You're too addicted.

yeh, mite just become a troll atleast then I don't have to pour hours if not a whole day into content.

I'm not a good writer i got dyslexia so I try my best but yeh...ceebs lol.

I have been on steemit for a week and I signed up purely because I wanted free money. A week later I doubled that free money and I continue to make more money. I haven't made a shit ton but any free money is great, that is why I am staying with steemit.

yeh and who told u about steemit lol? you're time will come whn u realize the bullshit.

I wish I didn't promote this so hardcore to everyone i know, wht a shame.

wow you changed your tune from the last time I stumbled upon you :D
I still have some faith in Steem cos some of the devs are working to turn it into a fairer system. hopefully a system where whales have less influence on the voting than they have now.
it's only beta so there are a lot of things that need improving, especially when it comes to user experience. I would have kept Steemit invitation only till most issues were addressed. I agrree that many of those now signing up may be put off and leave frustrated cos they may perceive the system as rigged (steemed's so called "List" doesn't help that's for sure).
I'll stick with Steem at least till a real alternative comes along and hoping to see improvements.

Yeah, I felt kinda bad tbh i'm not gonna lie, but no one really cared what I was doing anyway so meh.

Keep at it bro, it's likely a lot of people can deal with their shit better then I can. I'm used to getting defeated and running lol.

It's supply and demand buddy. Find out what the demand is then supply it.

Guess i'll just post porn or summin then

How about instead of leaving, we try to gather all the people that feel this way in a sort of "Occupy Steemit"? for lack of a better definition.
No, it wouldnt be nice and warm, it would be ugly,
revolutions are always nasty.

Yeah i'm with you on that, what do you have in mind?

Lots of very effective ideas.

Is there channels we can organize this on?

Yes, there are channels, can I have your email address and PGP key?

People don't want a better facebook or reddit they want more money. And unfortunately its all about how crypto is so amazing. Crypto is boring a hell to 98% of humanity. Stop blogging about crypto everybody knows its awsome here. No disrespect but blog about something exciting or interesting and everybody is interesting to someone. If there is no value in the pure entertainment of it its doomed. So as users we literally have to mine through all the bullshit and get good shit trending. Again if their is no entertainment value there is no value. Unless it was a porno site and i am not suggesting that.

We can't as users brah, i've gotten 100 votes and like 10 cents.

whilst some chick get 10 vote and 700 bucks.

you cannot compete with the whales it's a joke to think so.

I really wish Steemit had a messaging system. I just saw your transfer. You really didn't have to do that, man. Are you really outta here?

dunno, just thought someone with some passion could use what loose money I had hanging around.

Hm. Okay I guess. Thank you, I suppose. I can't tell you what to do with your money. It would be a shame if you threw in the towel. I'm sorry you've not had the best result, or the result you expected. Shit, I discovered yesterday that there's big money to be made just by replying to comments, so long as you've got well thought-out ideas or replies to offer. Just by replying to @masteryoda 's thread about removing all his posts I managed to score another $350 in 8 votes. I may not be making content posts again for a while. If you look at the whales, even they rarely make posts which make money. It's when people get engaged in conversation in their posts does that happen. I started realizing that after @dantheman upvoted a comment of mine yesterday.

If you're thinking this is a get-rich-quick platform, you'll go away disappointed.

If you've ever written anything before and been paid for it, this should be exciting as hell.

If you've never written before and earned money from it, it should be roughly as challenging to get good enough to be paid consistently.

Or you can think of something that adds value to the ecosystem and hit the proverbial Steem jackpot.

...or you could complain :)

I don't care about getting rich, I have enough money. I hate the fakeness and greed of this website, it'll become toxic eventually.

If people don't complain change never occurs.

You can't be passionate as fuck for all this while, and suddenly want to leave. Stay calm, at least wait till it heads out of beta.

I obvs ain't "leaving" I got 2k of steem power locked up lol.

What's left is enthusiasm and hope. - could change after beta that'd be cool.

Are you new to crypto or investing in start ups in general?
Whales are here because they saw potential in something.
They see their holdings rise in value and they eventually cash out a % of their holdings.
The people buying those "shares" are multiple people.
Everytime the STEEM price rises, a whale cashes out and 100 newbies jump on board.

This happemed with bitcoin too. A dozen people had tons of btc at first. When the price of a bitcoin hit the 1$ mark. Many "whales" sold thousands of coins which brought thpusands of people into the system.
How many BTC whales do you see today?

This process is completely normal. The more steemit grows, the more STEEM is worth, the more sell orders from whales we will see.

Just be patient. Come back in a year and see the difference.

Or better yet. Build a front end to steem that competes with steemit. Why don't you do that?

That's a good and enlightening post thank you.

A front end that competes with steemit.com? Thats a great idea, have you heard of any projects like this currently in development?

https://steemit.com/money/@jillstein2016/how-to-go-viral-on-steemit Guide to going viral every time

My first post on this site took me a long time to make. I consider it pretty useful information. I've seen complete crap posts that take 10 seconds make far more, but mine is up to $600 so far, so I can't be mad and the site seems to work thus far. The post below:

https://steemit.com/money/@r0achtheunsavory/the-r0ach-report-vol-1-it-s-time-to-back-up-the-truck-for-silver

I completely disagree and you're missing the value of crypto as a whole.

Care to elaborate?

Defeatists deserve failure.

http://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/thumbs/i-just-cant-shirt.jpeg

a reasonable person admits defeat, I got no problem doing that.

I came in here and only saw one side...quickly the mud became apparent.

You weren't defeated though, until you decided you were.

How about instead of leaving, we try to gather all the people that feel this way in a sort of "Occupy Steemit"? for lack of a better definition.
No, it wouldnt be nice and warm, it would be nasty,
revolutions are always nasty.

Sorry I had to repost my comment since @jbrukh and @asmolokalo
went on a rampage to hide comments in this post

This is a great post, I mostly disagree, as you've not factored in this main point. Steemit allows you to get paid Steem power for finding and upvoting good content and leaving good comments, so you dont have to rely on your blog posts. plenty of people make steem power purely through curation. For me its much more fun to read than it is to write. So I love this feature. You are correct I tend not to read the articles about pretty girls travelling, but plenty of people do. I upvote them from time to time, if a particularly interesting one comes along. I hope you stay, I've just joined and it's always good to have people who want improvements made.

I think it's part of life not being notice some times. Imagine if we all came here and suddenly we are all millonaires it doesnt work like that. If you like writting and sharing stuff you like this is the perfect place for it. just dont come here thinking about the money. The money its just an extra for something that you are already doing in diferent social media sites.

My philosophy on my relationship to Steemit. Think long-term. Work out the bugs. Be realistic and creative. If it is about the money, there are better ways to spend your time and energy. Don't worry about what others are doing. Create an engaged community that has values and promotes good ideas.

Look at it this way. I spent all night taking photos and editing them and create a #photography tutorial. I think it's at like $0.39 cents, so what, least those who saw it got something from it, and I would have been doing it anyway and sharing it on something like reddit, so I'll take my pennies and be happy.