Spamming, shilling, secret identities and tag milking

in #hive-1022233 years ago

the sensible thing to do with

Spam is one of the most annoying and most common occurrences in our virtual lives, even the creator of pop-up is sorry for that, then why it's so prevalent?

Recently I started working as a curator for the @oneup-cartel and because of that the amount of posts and topics I read on hive increased tenfold, but so did the amount of low effort, spam, shilling and dubious content I see daily.

Is the (null) amount of effort needed for that versus the minimum amount of positive response you get worth it?
me too grandma, but some days that is all that is on menu

I can't be a hypocrite, I too shilled sometimes and arrived on hive through shilling (and I'm really grateful for that!). I prefer to assume that folks who practice it come from a place of ignorance and not bad faith, so the best way to defeat the lack of knowledge is by educating them!

THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE

With spam also comes shady business opportunities, rug pulls and pyramid schemes.
yeah, yeah.. sure Karen, keep lying to yourself

I lost count of how many times when talking to people from outside the crypto sphere the person had a negative view because someone close to them or even themselves were victims of scam, lost money following "gurus" or due to the environmental impact some crypto currencies have (although this last topic would be better discussed on another post focused on it).

The ignorance and hate towards crypto in some places are so out of proportion that in some fandoms associating your image with crypto equals to social suicide. I know furries and gamers that became persona-non-grata instantly in their midst.

Not even the stars are free of shilling... and that cartel doesn't have shit near the Oneup!

In the case of furries, artists who accept crypto saw their clientele vanish overnight and posts of "beware" mentioning their @ flooded their feeds. Having a secret account to protect their public identity ends up being a necessity, which is sad, for those communities had a lot to gain from crypto spaces.

A modern day witch hunt

There are many reasons why furries and gamers hate NFTs. Furries are really supportive of their content creators and after the success of Bored Ape many artists and community members had their arts stolen and turned into NFT. Gamers are still traumatized from loot boxes and are now overprotective against changes and price related topics.

The outside groups already have some bad baggage which in turn makes healing harder and shilling more damaging. Their concerns are real issues that must be solved, we need to reclaim this technology from the hands of those abusing the system like Hive did reclaiming Steem from Justin Sun.

cartel-divider1.png

They are missing out but how to change that? First we must change our approach

Why am I explaining all this in a post about spam and shilling? Because if you want to make Hive grow you will need to bring people from outside this space.

If your methods are already ineffective with folks that have a positive view towards Blockchains, how do you expect to have success with outsiders?

Be honest, if the Hive system was different and the voters didn't receive half the rewards, how do you think most posts would fare?

At least we can recycle, right?

Luckily that's not the case and with a minimum of 10 votes per day to keep your voting mana at bay, even low quality posts with the right tags can be useful. But why not try your best with them?

Everyday when curating I find dozens of daily quest posts on SPT, lots of weekly progress of tokens on Leo, the Oneup is the land of giveaways and CTP, similarly to LEO, that what used to be weekly reports is now mostly a shilling fanfare for listnerds. That's the face folks will meet when clicking to search on recent and it's not an interesting view.

Time to clean the front page

The sad part? All those projects are amazing! Listnerds is a revolution in mailmarketing, the Blockchain games on hive are some of the best p2e available, the Oneup cartel is a metaguild giving power to its members and so on!

I'm not saying you shouldn't do posts like that, after all it is your blog and you can use it as you please and I know writing isn't easy so many are here for the money first and foremost, but good content will always achieve better results.

There are a lot of content to be created and even the giveaways and shilling can be great if made with effort and creativity. It is just not it when you make a 200 words post saying how you tripled your money with one email, for example.

But of course! Now everything makes sense!

Marketing my way into your heart

Here in Brazil there is a saying that goes "publicity is the soul of business" and that's true, you have to publicize your business to get clients. Before it becomes organic mouth-to-mouth, you need to spread it actively.

Marketing is a form of art, the best commercials are designed to get stuck in your mind. In the television era some of them were even more entertaining than the shows they were interrupting.

https://youtu.be/PWXy9pd4QJk Those damned ponies have been living rent free on the heads of every Brazilian older than 15

Old Spice with their absurdism campaigns bordering surrealist art was responsible for taking the Mind share of the public in the body cleansing products segment. Dumb Ways to Die took what would be a boring PSA and turned it into one of the biggest marketing success of the last decade.

So the problem is not what is being promoted but the approach. You can say that what you post is giving is the possibility to earn money by upvoting it but that's the bare minimum, not a differential.

If we just wanted money we would apply it in pools not curations

There are folks trying to educate the community; LeoFinance gives great financial advice teaching about the ins-and-outs of trading and crypto; the Cartel rewards above average posts and create guides like this to help those new to writing and editing have a better base in how to do it; the Brofund does a weekly newspaper sharing the last news and important events happening in Hive.

I believe all this hard work makes a difference and I hope it will help change the stigma about crypto so as no one will have to hide themselves in order to be part of this community.

cartel-divider1-1.png

Tag! You are it

Tags are a vital part of blogging in hive, not only by helping folks find your posts but they also allow you to earn layer 2 tokens.

Earning more is enticing but there are rules for using them, some have specific topics they require and using tags off-topic is a sure way to get down-voted and/or even blacklisted!

Your food picture post after using CTP, ONEUP and LEO tags

Using many tags for the same post can be difficult, so much that the user @dynamicrypto created the challenge of using ten tags correctly in one post. There are no rewards for that other than what your post will receive but it's fun nonetheless. Good luck and do your best trying it!

Tags can also be a problem when upvoting. You have a limited amount of votes per day and there are many tokens to upvote with, so to solve this problem the cartel came up with the curation program.

It's hard to refuse when you dress so sharply Don!

There are several curation accounts under the cartel to upvote the biggest tokens. Thanks to that, the money you have delegated is always used in upvoting the right posts and awarding good content.

We have strict guidelines for quality control, our curators are also writers for the cartel so they are really engaged with the community and the bots responsible for voting are being upgraded to keep voting power in the 95-99% window, maximizing the returns.

The cartel has a 5% operation fee which is small considering the job done and that this money is used to make the cartel grow. Here is a list of the tags we currently curate:

And there are plans for more, like MEME and VIBES tag

While we are still in this topic, what are your thoughts on people using more than
ten tags thanks to some front ends? Is it fair game or an unfair advantage? Should we curate overtagged posts? Let us know in the comments!

FUkUE5bzkAZT3HzV5tJDiU2ik81PCd4JCyhWnRcDN8XJsVFY3UNB8DCU37DfWaVkB1fDgDTWsdBd7KZBSvakPrpfgR4jSgLD399jJTaGtUHQu6EMe2jff4FchRKcAgpPupprS2wj4UDnAe51Q43sdKBhgrNp28DpSaAa.png

This post is a shilling for the cartel and an attempt at the 10 tags challenge. I did that to show you can do it while also bringing something else of value to the table.

If you want to know about the newest Blockchain games, invest in many projects while only spending a little and/or be part of an amazing community, join the Oneup Cartel and buy some cartel tokens! They are on sale at 11 HBD until mid February.

Also, check the communities mentioned here like LeoFinance, Alive, CineTV and CTPTalk. They are great!


Thanks for reading, do your best when posting and see you next time!

Sort:  

Ha

You be Shelling

You be Shilling

But I like it better than the

"fanfare for listnerds."

!LOL

What did the full glass say to the empty glass?
You look drunk!

Credit: hollowknightgod
@trashyomen, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of @mineopoly
Use the !LOL or !LOLZ command to share a joke and an $LOLZ. (4/4)

Hahaha XD glad you liked it better.

This is my first time seeing the term shelling, best result from Google was a term for rapidly firing. So does it means fast spamming?

Interesting post about spam my friend
@trashyomen
The problem is what people consider spam.
It's debatable from the perception.
It needs to be clearly stated because the definition is unsolicited messages in mass over the internet.
But some people seem to think that this means posts and comments as well.
Is something considered spam because people don't like something or because there was not enough effort put in or is it the messages.
Confused LOL
Great post my friend have the best day
!ALIVE

@trashyomen! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @benthomaswwd. (5/20)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.

That's a really good question and got me thinking.

By dictionary definition it's unsolicited messages, normally marketing ones sent in mass through email. Words change or get additional meaning with time and usage so I can see it becoming a synonym to undesired things or low effort content.

Then there is the question, does it need to be from the same source and the exactly same thing to be considered mass spamming? Because if there are 10 different posts by different people each saying a variation of "comment here for a chance of random card/token giveaway" this could be considered spam, no?

Using that same example, that kind of post is useless for high rank Splinterlands players that have thousand on power, but is highly sought after by newer players with limited budget. Does a spam stop being spam if there is a public for it?

Yeah i get your point @trashyomen
So i guess it really just comes down to how the receiver perceives the information before them regardless of delivery. I understand though that if something is repeated over and over this can be seen as spam regardless of the context or want.
Thank you this has be very thought inducing and enlightening.😎
!ALIVE

@trashyomen! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @benthomaswwd. (12/20)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.

Great information for newcomers on how to manage tags, and you are right, shilling spamming unnecessary tags is some kind annoying, I hope this post reaches a lot of people especially new ones to reduce the risk of downvotes, we don't want to see good contents get downvoted due to mistagging.

Cheers! !PIZZA

!1UP 100

Thanks for the pizza! I do hope it helps newcomers, that would also make our job easier XD

Don-1UP-250.png

You have received a 1UP from @ivarbjorn!

The following @oneup-cartel family members upvoted your post:
@oneup-curator, @leo-curator, @ctp-curator, @pal-curator, @pob-curator, @vyb-curator, @cine-curator, @bee-curator
And look, they brought !PIZZA 🍕

Delegate your tribe tokens to our Cartel curation accounts and earn daily rewards. Join the family on Discord.

Great work. Thank you for being so detailed in your discussions. It's much better than reading "spam and tag abuse are bad - don't do eet".

Thank you so much for the comment and kind words. After the downvote from onealfa I got really bummed because the post was getting traction and some nice discussions at the comments but the downvote killed it.

Receiving your comment brightened my mood a lot!

Do you think I should crosspost it on PoB asking if people find the downvote fair?

You don't need to crosspost to POB. You used one of the tribe's tags (Proofofbrain). It's where I saw your article. Downvotes happen, unfortunately. I would just move on from it, but you could also ask him. There's no harm in it. I also see you used the VYB tag there too so you're receiving support on both fronts.

Thank you for you explanation, I'm still new at it (going to my third month on hive) so there is much to learn, didn't know that the tags made the post appear on the front end.

I asked him about the reason in his most recent post. Questioned if I made something wrong and if yes, what was it so I could fix it and avoid repeating the mistake. But got no answers so far.

Again, thank you very much for your support and explanation!

Electronic-terrorism, voice to skull and neuro monitoring on Hive and Steem. You can ignore this, but your going to wish you didnt soon. This is happening whether you believe it or not. https://ecency.com/fyrstikken/@fairandbalanced/i-am-the-only-motherfucker-on-the-internet-pointing-to-a-direct-source-for-voice-to-skull-electronic-terrorism

I understand this post and see that I need to step up my game to get better at things, thanks and though you were upfront and frank about it, I understand. I will try to improve my writing skill.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

I'm really happy that my post helped you think like this!

About improving writing, I don't have anyone to recommend but I know there are some good videos on this subject on YouTube.

I hope your attitude and betterment of oneself helps you get big gains here!

thanks, and I started the changes today, I made a new video a few seconds ago talking about another different aspect of this listnerd and ctp prices, hope this one will kick start my good posting habits.

🙂

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

Ahhhh memes! so cooool.. Great post I just enjoyed reading and LOL I just revisit my very first blog with 140 words and 3rd blog with 85 words. WOW a man of few words I say, but I'm learning by observing and also reading articles here and went to see my latest post with 798 words hahaha never realized there's word count above until now. Reblogged for awareness
!PGM tip

Thanks! Really glad you enjoyed it!! After reading your comment I went in search of my first post, it was less than 200 words too XD

I have gone a long way but there is still a lot to learn and get better at

Sent 0.1 PGM tokens to @japex1226, @trashyomen

remaining commands 4

Buy and stake 10 PGM token to send 0.1 PGM per day,
100 PGM token to send 0.1 PGM three times per day
500 to send and receive 0.1 PGM five times per day
1000 to send and receive 0.1 PGM ten times per day

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Excellent a very interesting read! The whole concept of Hive is interesting. I think like most things in life no matter how good the post it comes down to who you know or who knows you! Also as content creators people sometimes look at our word count and say that is only 300 words….not thinking or the hours it took to write a song or make a video or gif! Good post you shilled our vote very well!

Posted using Dapplr

Thanks for the compliments and for your shilled vote XD

Indeed, making art takes a lot of time and work! I can only imagine how much it takes brainstorming, crafting and then rehearsing your songs. You folks do a great job and the legendary card on Rising star is well deserved!

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PIZZA! PIZZA!

PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
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Please vote for pizza.witness!

Electronic-terrorism, voice to skull and neuro monitoring on Hive and Steem. You can ignore this, but your going to wish you didnt soon. This is happening whether you believe it or not. https://ecency.com/fyrstikken/@fairandbalanced/i-am-the-only-motherfucker-on-the-internet-pointing-to-a-direct-source-for-voice-to-skull-electronic-terrorism

Thanks for the mention and to reply I believe if your content as you said has the relevant content for the tags why not support 10 Awesome HIVE 2nd Layer Outposts instead of a few? Yes some end up with 20 and it looks strange and maybe abuse yet I think it is creative if they had awesome relevant content and each layer wants it. We have so many social front ends now that love gaming and financial posts as long as it is good quality. Also about @meme-curator it is all set up and voting with over 1 million MEME power :)
Great post! Throw a #meme tag next time with all these great memes you got!

Thanks for the feedback!!

And I will use the meme tag for sure! Nothing is better to ease the reading of big posts than some humor.

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Thanks for a great analysis of this topic, and your own opinions about it as well, spam and unrelated content is of course a bigger problem in tribes with a specific topic and niche, like We Are Alive for example, but fantastic to hear that you think we do a great job with good content, we are not even a year old yet, even if part of our projects was started before we made a tribe out of it, here is our official guide as well, We Are Alive Tribe - The Guide.

!ALIVE

@trashyomen! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @flaxz.alive. (1/30)

The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.

Thanks for the kind words! When is the 1st anniversary of the community? This kind of special date deserves a commemoration! Even more on a community that is all about celebrating life and being alive

Nice write-up and I think you actually ticked all the relevant content boxes here for the tags :) I read the challenge but got caught up in other stuff that I never got to it. You've done a great job.

As a fellow curator I too see so much low quality effort stuff but it has been like this for years now, even on Steemit I remember curating stuff and often being bummed by the little effort people are willing to make. I do feel that Hive has defo made a lot of improvement if you compare it to those days. I truly do.

I also try not to let these spammers get to me anymore and here and there try to give a little tip on how to improve something which they probably hadn't thought about. But I have to be honest, I'm not always in such a mood that I'm willing to take that upon me :)

Thank you a lot for the kind words!!

I have been on hive for less than 4 months so I hear stories about steem and it seems like I'm reading about a lost civilization/urban legend XD glad to know hive has improved in that aspect( and at the same time I dread the thought of how it was before)

Yeah, giving help and tips is keen to voluntary work, it's not always that I feel like doing it too. About the spammers I can ignore for most part, but I don't know why the ones on the cine community make me angry XD