You don't know what you don't Know... 22 Days On Steemit
Steemit a place where you get paid to post! a Place where you even get paid to look at/rate content...
Those where the first words and instantly I was convinced it’s something I need to have a look at!
So I started up my laptop and joined steemit, Then I realized it’s not like Facebook twitter or Instagram you actually have to wait to get onto the platform, about a month or so later I checked my mails and saw a link to steemit and everything started.
Feeling Lost & Intimidated
I remember that I felt so lost not knowing what to do... do I up-vote resteem what should I search for?
There was only intimidating "tech talk" posts filing up my screen,
Boring Crypto posts everywhere! Something I know even less about! Sure I have heard of bitcoin etc. and I must admit there was a few random photos of food posts of people introducing themselves.
Nothing really anything that caught my eye the only thing that caught my eye was the amount the people where making with these "boring" Crypto posts!
I thought to myself if they make this much with a few intelligent observations and boring graphs about what is going on in the crypto currency world I could surely make something off more interesting posts.
Off to a quick Start?!
I quickly read through the basics of getting started and started up-voting like a mad man!
Every single post that seemed to be doing well got my vote because you know I get paid for voting? for good stuff and the more the post makes the more I make right? So even though I have no clue what these guys are going on about I up-voted the more a post was making the more I would make... that was my understanding...
So I re-steemed some stuff thinking maybe that also gets me more MONEY sure I watched some tutorials about what to post what to do etc. but I things to happen now! I have been on other platforms and saw that if you up-vote others they are likely to do the same... or so I thought the big guys "or Whales" would surely see my little contribution and up-vote me as soon as I have up-voted their crypto tech talk stuff that I didn't understand.
Competition Time!
After seeing the whales are not that easy to impress... I started seeing more and more people tagging photography competitions... didn't quite get it but after some research I realized that I should just include certain tags then vhola I enter competitions!
Yay! I am doing something productive & bringing quality to Steemit I thought to myself.
I going to start making cash then I can quit my boring job and just do what I love! taking photographs and win competitions and become one of the Big dog Photographers.
Not So Simple
Hahaha Was I wrong!
I was super excited that on my First entry I won the photography contest - @photocontests by @juliank -
I thought WOW I am doing SUPER well I didn't come second or third I actually WON!
Above is a screen grab of my first winnings going into my wallet.
REALIZING The TRUTH
After opening the post I realized I was one of like 40 Winners and the prize I got was like 0.227 and 45 XP.
I am still not actually sure how all the points etc work when I "win" the competitions?
don't get me wrong the competitions are Awesome! and I like taking part because it seems to have a good impact on how many followers I get, I Know I just need to investigate more, there is just sooooo much going on, on steemit, you always feel like you need to catch up, find the next big thing.
My first 22
I have learned a lot in my first 22 days but I also saw how much there is to still learn!
I am just scratching the surface... I have seen the good the bad and the ugly, I don't even fully understand what some of these posts are really trying to say, not sure which side to take, My friend @steph4nus told me not to get involved in the politics of steemit so I am not attacking or down talking anyone... At least not until I really know what is going on.
I am however going to make some "newbie" observations...
It seems like some people are always pointing out what others are doing on Steemit be it good ore bad...
Like @berniesanders in a recent post where he was pointing out how @haejin is raping a reward pool?
I didn't know reward pools can be raped... and still don't know if @haejin is good or bad... he also posted a post asking when @ned is going to grow a pair? he calls himself The good whale so from a newbie perspective it does seem like he is fighting for the platform and all its users, Then again I do not really know much about @ned so I am not taking sides... I am still confused after reading some of the replies... I can't see how @haejin is raping anything and don't know yet what @ned can do about "bad people" its most probably due to my lack of understanding.
These type of posts are a bit above me for now, but I still feel that I can maybe learn something good... you know like find a gold nugget of truth that will catapult me into success on steemit!
Poor Newbies
The above mentioned type of posts will confuse new users like me... we might have a snap at some big ass whale before even knowing the basics and end up with a -40 Rep, at this stage steemit is almost like a pool without a shallow side... newbies fall right into the deep end between all the big fishies!
Maybe its good because it will keep the uninformed out of the way especially the ones that do not know much about all this crypto stuff and all the politics.
Possible solution
I Think Steemit will expand much faster the correct type of posts are shown to "newbies" maybe bring in a startup quiz that categorizes the user and then shows them the type of content that is most relevant obviously with the option to still expand on what they want to see like as soon as I know more about crypto I will actually fin the posts useful but for now its not realy helping alot even if it is trending right now probably due to the amount of crypto enthusiasts on steemit at the moment
The Dark Side
I have read some interesting posts about the dark side of Steemit the one that stood out a lot was by
@distress2success... maybe it’s just the pretty pictures that got me... He mentioned some very important things in [This Post]
(https://steemit.com/steem/@distress2success/the-dark-side-of-steemit-users-with-negative-reputation)
Like - The 10 Unwritten Sins of Steemit - I only stumbled across this post about 10 days in and luckily did not cross any of those lines.
Is Name Dropping Bad?
Thing that I have also seen people do on steemit is name dropping like I just did above with Bernnie etc... the first time I saw it was in a post where used a quote by @papa-pepper - Steemit like you mean it - good advice yea I totally agree but is it a good thing to mention others in posts do you get good or bad attention that way?
Sure I have also thought about doing similar things, to get the attention of some of the big guys like @jesta @good-karma @someguy123 @timcliff @gtg – These are just a few of them they are mostly witnesses got them from the part where you can vote for witnesses… I actually don’t even know what exactly they do I just voted for the coolest names hahaha
Anyway so back to the point I can include the names of more evolved users in my posts or I can go and ass kiss on their posts and tell them how they are the best and how I want them to one day contribute towards the creation of my children etc. But I am sure there are already to many users trying to take that route and that’s not really who I am I will prefer that I actually get up-voted by a whale once I actually post a really good post, but then again that’s if it does actually get noticed between all this bitcoin & sushi posts.
So Maybe if it is a good post, you drop the name of a whale and Khaboom they see your good content and upvote you?
I love Sushi and I know bitcoin is big an all - but how do we as newbies know that we will be seen?
Some put hours into a post and only maybe make 0.50 SBD
I think Steemit should work together to inform new users better maybe release a short video of the do's and don'ts
I am still not sure what is okay and what not...
I can still write like 7 pages just on my first 22 days there are still the bots the people selling up-votes and much more to be covered...
I just mentioned my biggest concerns at this stage and the point is to get feedback from others that know more than me.
I have seen a lot of posts on how to become rich etc. but not one that just informs me how to just do the basics or how to not get flagged… I think we need more how to videos for the poor Newbies like me.
If anyone knows of good sources to better understand the basics better please leave a reply below so I can educate myself and put my long winded opinions on posts in a more educated manner .
Great post...there is a lot of perspective and differences of opinion that fuels discussion here...upvoted and following...cheers!
Thank you so much! :D
Take a look at a Minnow Support Project. But otherwise, a well done article. I'd only check for grammar mistakes.
Thank you for the Heads up @spellmaker will work on it
For a newbie you're doing very well to get this much for a post, it took me a lot longer just to get a couple of $!!!
If you look under Welcome on the tip right side, therebis a bunch of useful articles to help you out.
I appreciate the info. I'm an old country poet who got ill with FB and ended up here. I love the idea of the place but the rules and how to's still remain well above my head. All I know to do is create some stuff and reach out to others who seem interesting. I have no clue about how the money part but it is fun to explore something new. My rules so far are post at least once a day, spend some time looking for interesting posts, and don't BS people. That is about as far as I have gotten so far. :) I am guessing that if I am real I will eventually discover other real people and create long term relationships here. Good to meet you. Peace and Love and Liberty.
Thank you for the Feedback highly appreciated!
Hi @photohunter
So someone I'm following resteemed this post (if you were curious about how a random person would stumble upon it). Anyways, I think the major flaw with steemit is the fact that people join it trying to make instant money. Yes, people spend time and hours on a post but in the end what merit do they have to deserve money?
Is the person a good writer? Most likely...No
Did the person present something new? Again most likely...No
So why is it that someone deserves instant money? That's not how it works. Take youtube for example, most of the time it takes years of good content to build a fanbase and start making income. Same with blog posts.
Everyone is so focused on making money which is why most of the posts are about bitcoin, alt coin, and how to make money on steemit...how many posts of this do we need?!
People are so quick to upvote on articles they don't even read because a whale posts it and they are hoping and praying that the whale will upvote their comment.
The community that's actually trying to provide good content outside of the crypto world is very small and when they are posting content it's most often just a link to their youtube videos.
I have seen so many "My first (insert days) on steemit" and don't take this post as an attack on you or anything but I just don't see why everyone does this. It's another fluff post to get views.
Thank you for the Feedback and thanks for reading, I agree with what you said about good quality posts and instant cash, but how I feel about "My first (insert days) on steemit" is that it could serve as a valuable recourse for steemit to improve - it provides valuable feedback so that they can make the platform more user friendly etc. I think its a good thing to know how new users feel about the platform because the platform can only grow with new users.
Why read stuff you're not interested in or vote on stuff you don't understand?
It's a lot more fun to browse the trending page of tags you enjoy and interact with the people who wrote the successful posts.
And you're not limited to the list of top tags provided by the website. If you're into something a little obscure, like classical music, say, you can always type steemit.com/trending/classical into your address bar and find a nice collection of articles on your subject.
See what people are saying about your chosen interests and note what other tags they're using. Leave comments and make friends. Then post your own articles. Odds are people will click back and read your stuff.
If you think of it as a place to be social first, and make money second, you'll do well. Like, you were just invited to a party. Show people what you can bring to the party.
Don't worry about what the whales are doing. If you can write consistently and well you'll get noticed.
Thank you for the feedback @winstonalden! I agree with what you said... especially now that I know whats going on :) It was just a first reaction to vote for anything and everything hahaha
Believe me, I understand how confusing it can feel here, especially when you're starting out.
You should also recognize that your votes are precious - your voting power only regenerates at about 20% a day, so for votes to count for anything you need to be a little stingy with them. My rule of thumb for voting is "would I actually want to read more of this?"
My favorite tool for keeping track of my voting power (and lots of other statistics) is Steemworld. In your case you can see where your account is at by going to https://steemworld.org/@photohunter.
I am unclear about how the voting works. I have been upvoting almost every positive interaction. My account is so small I have not really focused on the money. I have just been posting content and trying to make friends.
I read that the recommended amount of upvotes per 24 hrs are between 20 - 25 and you should try to upvote things that interest you... hope that helps :)
Yes it helps. Your kind interest is the real currency here.
Nothing wrong with that! As a minnow without much Steem Power you're really doing just what you should be doing.
Don't forget to check your wallet and claim any earnings.
Once you've earned a bit of steempower, your curation has a bit more impact. To use it effectively, check out the steemworld site (only add your address to the end, like https://steemworld.org/@platosgroove) and see how much voting power is left in the meter in the upper left. It will recharge at 20% each day, and a single vote costs you 2%. So essentially you can vote 10 times/day and still provide valuable votes.
If I know I'm going to be away from the computer for a day or two I'll vote more, since there'll be time for the meter to regenerate. There's no point in leaving it sitting at 100% - you might as well share the wealth.
Once you get to 500 Steem power in your wallet, you'll have a slider appear when you vote, so you can vote at a fraction of a full vote, spreading things around a bit more.
This is what they mean when they say we mine for Steem with our mind. You write stories and have conversations, and the community rewards by voting the stuff they find valuable, compensating with actual value. Your long-term investment in steem power gives you more stake in the system, so your vote is worth more.
Thank you! The information is valuable and I will make sense of it over time. But your investment and kind attention to my ignorance I think is the real currency here. Perhaps the numbers are just the measure of it. Peace and Love and Liberty.
Thank you so much for the link :D Think it's going to be very valuable!
Hi @photohunter, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
If you’d like to nominate someone’s post just visit the Steemit Ramble Discord
Thank you! Will check it out :D
I definitely give credit where it is due. If you are talking about someone yes, of course use their name. And they will be happy as it is more advertisement for them :)
Okay will do that! thanks for reading and thank you for the feedback @arbitrarykitten
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I am at day 24 and what you faced and felt are very similar to mine.One difference I also tried the bots...before i cancelled them all 😁
FD.
I find that they work for getting your post going, @joeparys explains it very well in this post:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@joeparys/minnow-booster-support-how-to-use-upvoting-bots-full-tutorial
They dont work. And many people (wink wink) wont vote for you at all if you use them.
Okay will stop using them if it is frowned upon... another thing I did not know...