There is a lot of talk about Steem and how marketing is needed.  We need to get the word out about all the wonderful things taking place on this blockchain.  There are some amazing development and communities are forming.  The past month was simply amazing.

It is interesting when you consider how marketing is done these days.  When a company is interested about getting word out what is one of the things it does?  

In this era, it turns to social marketing.

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<center>[Source](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-new-must-skills-digital-marketers/132241/)</center>

Think about that for a second.  Companies turn to social media to promote their products or services.  Without a social media presence, entities are not going anywhere.

I think that is ironic when you really consider this ecosystem.  We are social media.  This platform is what others turn too.

Which brings up the crux of the issue: companies take great pains to finely tune their message and how it is received.  There are only certain people tasked with the creation of materials that are spread.  Approval is a traditional process for most companies.  In fact, businesses have gone so far as to have non-disclosure agreements and monitoring of employees social accounts.  Bash the company, publicly, on social media and face consequences.

On Steem, anyone can post.  We see people posting whatever they desire.  Certainly that is fitting within the context of social media.  However, the tonality of the message tends to be overwhelmingly negative.  

Again, think about this for a second.  We do not know who is reading what is posted on here.  There is a large number of people who feel the need to post something negative about Steem on a regular basis.  Think about all the common "conversations".  Do they really need to be brought up again?  Yet people feel the need.

Ironic that the people who want things to change are helping to foster the perception of Steem that is out there.  Sadly, it is not even an accurate perception.

Sure, Steem has some issues.  Every entity does.  The difference is General Motors or Apple does not go out promoting those issues in their social media marketing.  Remember when Apple had that major problem with their maps?  Did you see ads from them touting how you should buy an IPhone because their GPS will put you in the middle of a lake?  I am not a big Facebook person but I am sure the company did not start a campaign around that.

Did customers take to social media and voice their opinions.  I am sure of that.  And many will claim that we are the customers for Steem.  I would agree.

There is one other point, however, that I would add to it:  **we are also the product**.

This is becoming a common statement with social media.  We are the ones who do the creating.  It is our efforts that create the product.  Fortunately, on Steem, people are rewarded for their creation unlike the traditional social media companies that reward Wall Street.

The question is what kind of product is each of us creating on here.  Collectively, we are the ones who determine that.  Individually, we all play into it.

When you think about it, in the social media world, Steem is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Do you posts reflect that?

Some might want to laugh at that idea.  Tell me, what tops it?  We know traditional social media is a cesspool of negativity promoting agendas which does not reward most of its users.  Accounts can get eliminated simply with the "violation of our terms of service" tag.  Years of effort can be wiped out in a matter of seconds with little recourse for the business affected.  An unexpected change in algorithm has been known to wipe out many businesses who saw their traffic drop to almost zero.

As for the decentralized, blockchain world, it isn't even close.  For two years I have been hearing about the Steemit killer.  The latest, of course, was the Voice announcement  on EOS.  It appears the reception by the masses was one of let down.  That is not to say one will not be coming, it is not here yet.  So many times people said that Steem was ready to collapse due to a "competitor" only to see that pass in the night.

I look at a guy like @exyle.  Why are his videos so popular?  Simply watch a few and the answer is obvious: the guy is truly excited about Steem.  He loves this place and believes in the potential.  He is working with different projects to help ensure that happens.  His videos are ones that could be sent out on any social media platform or used in a marketing campaign.  It would attract users and developers.  Why?  Because, through his enthusiasm he is "selling" Steem.

So what if you do not have that enthusiasm?  I will counter that with a question: then why are you here?  Seriously.  This is not a job or something anyone is required to do.  Anyone is free to leave when he or she wants.  Steem is a place for people who want to be here.  

What do you think the perception of Steem would be if 20,000 people were on here posting about how wonderful this place is with all the recent development that is taking place?  How would readers feel if they saw posts about how excited people are about certain applications and their improvements?  What if every reader had FOMO regarding the Steem ecosystem knowing that it is something they just knew they had to be a part of?

Do you think that perception is received when there is non-stop talk about how Steem is falling in the rankings and some feel is going to zero?  Are more posts about the greedy, self serving whales going to do that?  

The answer is no.  

Even if we had 1,000 people posting from this perspective, people would view Steem differently.  Instead, the crypto community has a sour impression of Steem based upon past events.  That is not to say they are not justified because they are.  Steemit Inc's failure for more than two years to produce what they promised did a number on the reputation of Steem.  The name within the crypto world is mud.  

I know this because I had a conversation with someone the other day about it.  He is involved in a project that is not going to be a part of Steem because he is listening "people in the industry".  

This is how we are viewed and we do little to change it.  We have the opportunity to quickly change how outsiders look at us simply through the fact we put up somewhere near 50,000 messages a day.  I realize not all of them are about Steem.  That said, of the ones that are, how many cast this in a positive light?  I would guess the ratio is at least 10-1 leaning towards the negativity (probably higher).

Is that going to give people who do arrive here to check it out the feeling they must be on here?  The results say no.

Where is Steem's marketing department?  Look around you, it is everywhere.  There are roughly 40,000 accounts who are posting social media messages each day.  They are the ones that are providing those on the outside with a view of the ecosystem.

That is why @whatsup's idea of #newsteem was such a great idea.  How many people took that opportunity to post how Steem is changing and the progress it made. 

@theycallmedan put together a bit of a contest to push people to post why they are grateful for Steem.  Again, that is a tonality that we want out there.

Steem is having an impact on lives.  We do have success stories.  There are people who came on here with nothing and now have something.  Accounts are growing.  More tokens are being created which is allowing communities to monetize the value they produce among themselves.

This is all taking place on Steem right now.  

Is it something the majority are talking about?  Are each of our posts reflecting that concept?

Or is it more of the dreariness of how awful this place is and how this or that sucks?

Viewed from this lens, it is easy to see how we are making out own bed.  Highlighting the negatives is not going to change the perception people have of this ecosystem.

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