A Journal of My Journey Through Steemit -- Chapter 1

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The journey begins

I've had this blog for weeks now -- and I want to start it on a positive note. With Steem's price in the cellar though that's been hard to do. Odd how that one thing can change the mood on Steemit from moderately gay and chirpy to really sullen and bitter. Makes me wonder if the happy posts are just a sham -- or the equivalent of whistling past the graveyard. It sure separates the devout from the mildly committed though.

Those who love this idea of Steemit itself and see the merit in what it can do dig in, set their heels -- and keep posting. I know it's a huge temptation when Steem is down and you start wondering, "What's the use?" to either stop posting regularly or start throwing something together just to get it out there. But consider this: When this happens and things go quiet, there's less competition. The serious players are more apt to notice you. You may make some great connections more easily. Does this sound like an opportunity to let slip away?

I didn't think so.

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This sounds like a good idea

So I remembered a post I wanted to answer from several days back. Turns out it was a couple of weeks back. Ok, almost a month by the time I put this together. (Time really flies in my world.) And I couldn't remember who had originally done it. But ... Bing to the rescue. Turns out I remembered enough key phrases that I found the original post again. It was done by @whatsup -- who may be tickled to know it made such an impression. Then again, maybe @whatsup is jaded and cynical and can't be bothered with praise from the plebes. We may just find out. So stay tuned.

The post started like this:

Do you remember the first person you met on SteemIt? Who welcomed you? or answered your question or gave you encouragement?

Does that sound like a great topic for a first post, or what??!

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Yes ... I remember.

I'll have been on Steemit a year at the end of this month, but, yes, I remember "my first."

I started out thinking I already knew someone here. I'd read @digitalfirehose's blog posts when we were together on Google Plus. Politics. Parenting. A nice mix of daily life. He mentioned there that he was moving to Steemit. It was the first time I heard that word -- but I trusted his judgment and figured I'd at least check it out.

I was astonished to learn my husband, @catweasel, had already joined. (WTF? Why doesn't he tell me what he's up to ... EVER?) He gave a kind of non-committal shrug when I asked if he thought it was worth anything. (That's his standard answer to any question -- from "What would you like for dinner?" to "Do you have any ideas about such-and-so?" Grunt. Shrug. He calls that "conversation." )

So I thought, Ok, what the heck? It won't be the first thing I've joined and unjoined right away. I signed up and waited for that infamous reply email. Meanwhile, @catweasel destroyed our server and with it my mailboxes. And after some high volume choice words that questioned both his competency (highly suspect) and his heritage (even worse) and a few days of waiting ... my mailboxes were restored. It then became clear that the email I wanted had in the meantime been lost in the ether. That almost put a stop to the whole effort.

But @catweasel, who has a startling fondness for the integrity of his hide, managed to buttonhole @drakos who (God bless him) managed to come up with the esoteric keys and codes and incredibly long numbers I needed to log in and get started.

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Entering unknown territory

This was, from the start, sure a different kind of social media experience. Forbidding. Unresponsive. Often downright hostile. There seemed to be all these unwritten rules of behavior or etiquette that could get you slapped silly if you accidentally stumbled over and crossed one. Nothing bad ever happened to me (at least not then) ... but that was because I carefully never said one freakin' word to anyone. I just watched other people get their asses handed to them for things I didn't quite (and still may not) understand.

After a bunch of prodding -- which he almost never does -- @catweasel finally got me to write my introduction post. I hate doing that. In fact, if I'd know that was one of the requirements I'd have probably passed on the whole idea of joining from the get-go.

There didn't seem to be much content in my fields of interest. The search function on Steemit was just awful. This place was amazingly primitive and featureless for this day and age. Clunky. Confusing. Unhelpful. (The adjective list could string on ... and on.)

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Maybe some of it's my own fault

I mentioned @digitalfirehose in that first post -- figuring he'd at least show up and say "Hi." But he didn't. I didn't realize how difficult it was then to find mentions, etc. I didn't realize he wasn't around very much any more. I didn't realize how quickly content gets buried in Steemit. IIRC, I went and left a comment on his blog just to let him know I'd arrived. But still nothing.

So I decided maybe he didn't want people to know that he knew me. Or maybe he didn't recognize me from G+. Maybe it was one of those unwritten rules that you didn't stalk people. Whatever, this didn't seem to be very productive. So I let it go. I still liked his content. I told myself we didn't have to be buddies. I could just sneak in and read it. Whatever. (He has since made up for it with a nice note, mentioning he was away for a while, confirming that Steemit's terrible communication system failed us both. For him, busy.org does it better.)

I got some of the usual courtesy comments on that first post. It didn't help (I later realized) that I'd used the wrong tag. So it's my own fault it fell with such a thud.

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The Great Spirit of Steemit
must watch out for fools, little children
and me!

But somehow, a little miracle happened. I consider this the first real person I met -- really met -- on Steemit. @princessmewmew circled through, showed me how to sign up with MSP. It's pathetic how grateful I was for the help. I started reading her blog. Commented a couple of times. Didn't get killed. I was grateful for that, too.

Still, it took @catweasel nearly two weeks to get me to put anything real on my own blog other than that first ignominious post. I was scared s^tless to write anything, say anything, make any kind of movement that might call down the dragons of doom. This place was just overwhelming ... and intimidating ... and cold.

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You either give up ... or go on.

I am not a wuss, but My God, I thought Steemit was bleak -- and grumpy. Even more so after I dropped out of @princessmewmew's golden wake and decided to stop being pathetic by clinging quietly to the only person I thought would be modestly civil. I told myself there had to be more like her, and if I was going to stay, I needed to find them. I told myself, too, I could still head for the exit -- my rock-solid fall-back option. (And it was a temptation. More than once.)

Finally to get @catweasel to STFU, I wrote something. Posted it ... and prepared to die. I imagined an avalanche of disdain that would flow down like lava. It would finish me quickly and I could move on. It was actually a relief (No kidding. I went weak inside.) when it was clear nobody noticed, nobody cared, nobody gave a rat's ass. (I got 5 votes on that first post, including one from myself and one from The Weasel -- and made a grand total of $.03 -- from one person.) The anonymity was wonderful. So I took a deep breath and stumbled forward from there.

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Still here ... doin' it my way.

As @catweasel said when he proofread this post in draft, "She dropped us both like a hot rock, but she was there when it counted." That pretty much says it, but I understand why. With an 8% retention rate on Steemit, it doesn't do, really, to pour many resources into brand-new newbies. A lot of promising ones drop out fast, and even some 6-months+ veterans I truly enjoyed have vanished. I won't kid you, it hurts when that happens.

I still remember @princessmewmew though, and her gracious gesture of help. As @catweasel said, it counted. A lot. (And she's still around. At least we have that in common. She still helps newbies. She's into everything. Sometimes I wish I had her ambition -- or her energy, one.) We're both in The Alliance now, but haven't exchanged another word since those early days. I watch quietly from the shadows. I do that with quite a few people, TBH. It's comfortable there. Sometimes you just need that.

About the art in these visual essays ...

Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.

The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.

Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.

So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.

The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us in our small section of the planet are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.

Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.