STEEMIT CONTRIBUTION – WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?

Let's not just be content with content, let's make sure that we contribute!

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I recently read this post by @transisto and it got me thinking. Honestly, a lot of what I’ve done with my time on steemit has just sort of “happened” as opposed to being intentional, but the end result is that a lot of people consider me to be great “community builder” amongst other things. In that post from @transisto, a very interesting viewpoint was presented.

From what I understood, there are a lot more ways to “contribute” to steemit than just “quality content,” and I agree. Ten very good and thought-provoking questions were asked in the post, which I will respond to in my own way below, and the post closed with this question:

What do you think Steem needs the most of apart from "Quality content" ?

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While the post from @transisto did have a good reach and response with almost 2000 views and almost 200 comments, I thought that I would help out by sharing these questions and my own answers to them. Don’t just listen to me, think about your own answers too, and where there is room for you to improve and help contribute to our future together!

How many people have read your content?

Since I have been posting daily since July of 2016, I’ve had a lot of interaction and attention here on steemit. A few times I was even the “top author” on the platform, which is beyond me. According to steemwhales I am still in the Top 20 for most followers, but just barely, since I am currently in the 20th position.

More than just having engaging readers who respond to my posts, I have long been called an “encouraging” and “helpful” member of the community too, so I’m glad that I can support and lift up other members of the community.

How many were new users visiting from outside of Steemit?

This is an interesting question for many to try to answer, because it is not always easy to know this information. If, for example, you are getting a lot more views than votes, there is a good chance that people from elsewhere on the internet are finding your posts. I have had a few steemians tell me that they were actually drawn to join steemit because of me! How crazy is that. Here is a recent video from a longtime steemian that I’ve never met, but who joined steemit because of @papa-pepper and makes mention of it in the vlog.

If you haven’t already seen that video, you can check out the full post from @haphazard-hstead by clicking here. I know that others have not only seen my posts from outside of steemit, but also joined at least in part to my posts here as well, but other names escape me at the moment.

One thing that I did suggest for others to think about in a post 10 months ago was answering the questions that people are asking as a way to potentially draw them to steemit. At the time I had encountered a post from @wadepaterson where he was talking about getting an incredible amount of views on his steemit post, and I realized something interesting. What if posts were titled with common questions that people ask their smartphones? I did an example post titled “Why Doesn’t My Room Key Work?” around that same time.

Just like @transisto was thinking and like I was trying to encourage others to consider, I think that this is a crucial area for us to consider. Remember, the “post payout” can also be viewed when people randomly find our steemit posts on the internet. I remember one user that joined after happening upon a cat post from @sweetsssj. How interesting is that?

What efforts have you done to promote your content outside of Steemit?

I think that this is one of the biggest ones that any of us can do. Many of my real life friends, like @bluerthangreen (pictured above), @truconspiracy, and others jumped into steemit because of what I was up to. Then, many of them have been promoting it to their friends, family members, and random strangers ever since. Since I did not come from facebook, twitter, reddit, or other online platforms, I didn’t have an online presence to promote it to.

I only signed up for YouTube so that I could have a way to upload videos for steemit. However, I always saw this as an opportunity to promote steemit. The video above is titled "HOW TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY A COPPERHEAD SNAKE -steemit.com/@papa-pepper." Did you see that? Anyone coming across that video on YouTube automatically sees the name "steemit.com." Moreover, my opening line is, "Papa-pepper here guys, for steemit.com." Interestingly enough, that particular video now has just under 15,000 views. Even if they only viewed it for a second, they still saw and hear "steemit.com." Don't underestimate what this can do.

How many people have created accounts to engage in the comment section?

This is another interesting one to try to calculate. Any new user with a 25 reputation and only one "post" which is the comment that they made on your post would most likely be a case of this. However, unless they mention it specifically, you may never know. I do remember when I made this post which prompted @jameslogan to create an account to comment on my post. Though that particular user never became too active yet, you can see that the first comment was made on my post, which encouraged them to sign up.

What kind of contribution the people you've on-boarded likely to make?

This can be difficult to guesstimate, but if you've on-boarded excited, active steemians, then the outcome should be optimistic. Already I've seen many users sign up because of @bluerthangreen becoming involved, and @truconspiracy, who I mentioned earlier, is active giving back to the community too with contests and such. We've also seen others like @haphazard-hstead really join in and care about the platform and community, in such tangible ways as creating curation trails and investing in the lives of other steemians.

How effective is your content at helping people understand how Steem work?

While I never intended to stick out this much in our community, in hindsight, I have been able to reflect on how it happened, and what may have contributed to my "success." Often, I have had specific requests to answer questions from other steemians and many of my answers have become incredibly helpful to many. I eventually published an 18 Part Advice Video Series that is still getting views and being recommended for newer users. I even heard that @bettertogether referenced it in a book he wrote! The 5 minute "condensed version" of that series is the video above.

I also am quick to share any helpful info that I may come across or think about. Since so many people seem to recommend that others follow me, I have a good reach into the minnow community, and with over 12,500 followers already, there are always new steemians showing up.

How many investors did it convince to invest in Steem?

For me, this one is ZERO that I know of. @bluerthangreen and I were talking to a guy about the investment opportunity, but he never followed through. If he had, he would have already tripled his investment...

I think that it is good for us to consider explaining the investment opportunity that steemit does offer when we get the opportunity, both in the "financial realm" and in the "crypto world." I certainly like to take advantage of opportunities to promote steemit as they present themselves, which is why I traveled to Houston, TX to be on Crypto Talk Live a few months ago, which is the video shared above.

What problem does your contribution solve?

I think that I've been put in an interesting position in the steemit community. One of my main focuses has always been user retention. Often, minnows can have a hard time getting a real payout on their posts. This is one of the reason that I frequently run a number of contests. It is one way that newer users can have another opportunity to potentially earn something for their time here. In the last big contest I ran, over $10,000 USD worth of SBD was split between the remaining ten players of my elimination contest. Sure, it cost me a lot, but it made a world of difference to many of them. A lot of it was powered up by the winners too! @Otage even finally got a vote slider, *if I remember correctly.*

Also, one of the things that I claim to be is an encourager. I fully believe in leading by example, but beyond that I really try to inspire and encourage other users. Time and time again on steemit, in private chatrooms, and even on the phone a few times I've stepped in to provide encouragement, advice, and counsel to struggling users. I think that encouragement may be on of the most underrated things that we can do to influence others. Please remember that although your upvotes may not always be worth a lot, your comments can help a lot too. Real comments encourage users who spent a lot of time on posts that don't see more than a few cents. According to steemwhales I am currently ranked 13th for total number of posts on steemit, which actually makes me the highest actual human user overall. Obviously, I believe in the power of the comment!

How would producing such content not be possible without the reward earned?

At the moment, I am at a huge turning point in my life. A lot of what I do on steemit is new to me, at least recording it and blogging about it. I've already bought a new computer and a new camera to help get the job done. Also, producing content takes time, and time is money. Any financial rewards that we reap from our investment in steemit helps allow us to have more time to invest. As it pertains to the many contests I run, the rewards help fuel the prize pools, and also allow generosity outside of the structured contests and competitions.

How does your content benefit from being on a censorship resistant immutable blockchain?

I think that this is one of the biggest things that steemit has to offer as it pertains to sharing content. So many from YouTube and Facebook have become frustrated with the censorship. Also, for those of us who recently checked out SOLA we were once again reminded about how refreshing it is here on steemit to not be constantly "policed" by someone else's agenda or beliefs.

To be free to openly and honestly share whatever we want is a huge benefit and blessing, and having it locked into the blockchain is a huge bonus on top of that!

PAPA'S SUMMARY

I was both encouraged and challenged by the post from @transisto. If you haven't done so already, please check it out.

I think that these were sobering and honest questions to evaluate, especially as we enter the new year and face a massive onboarding and exponential increase in interest here on steemit.com. Please think about these excellent questions from @transisto and at least try to answer them in your own mind. Also, don't forget that final question: "What do you think Steem needs the most of apart from "Quality content" ?"

For me, I think it is the community building that we have seen happen both online every day and also offline interaction like the meetups and steemfest. I've met a lot of great steemians already and most certainly will meet many more! Be blessed this year, and remember to contribute!

Until next time…

Don’t waste your time online, invest it with steemit.com

GIF provided by @orelmely

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