This post is part of a series I’m building to help beginners on Hive learn the basics. My goal is to help you to get a base to build on your time on the platform.
Covered So Far
In Part 1 I talked about getting an account and the first basic steps and concepts to understand.
In Part 2 I continued to build on the concepts and terms used on the blockchain. This part talks about frontends, communities and the peakd profile page.
In Part 3 I talked about managing expectations, how voting works and the rewards.
In Part 4 I focused more on the building a following, content and posting.
In Part 5 I explored the concept of Communities on Hive and introduced some of the hundreds, if not thousands, available to participate in.
In Part 6 I continued to explore about posting content on the blockchain with pointers about formatting and presenting your content.
**Did you post yesterday? **
Did you spend some time reading others and commenting?
The more consistent you are at doing both, the more effective you’ll be at growing a following. You will probably make new friends. I see that happening all the time on the comments and in Discord.
Since the start of Steem and now on Hive, many people care a lot about members being able to be seen. If you toil away in obscurity it means either you don’t know about your options or you’re just not interested (or nervous) to reach out and connect.
I will address the don’t know part in this post by giving you some ideas.
If you’re nervous, know that we were all new once and we are more than willing to give anyone who sincerely wants to be part of the community a hand and welcome them in.
As for not wanting to reach out and connect, I suspect that’s not really true or you’d not be reading this series.
So, step out of that comfort zone and try connecting.
You’ll be among friends you just haven’t made yet.
Discord For Text and Voice Chat.
It sounds counterintuitive to suggest using another app to grow on Hive.
I know, crazy eh?
You’re about to learn, the answer is no it’s not. Discord has become an extension to the community that starts in the Hive comment sections and moves into real time chat both text and voice.
Almost all the projects on Hive have associated discords where you can learn more about the projects, meet people involved and people participating in the project.
If you are not on Discord, now is a good time to do so. It’s available to use in your web browser, a desktop app and both IOS and Android for mobile and tablets.
Visit the Discord site to download it.
- My DM (Direct Message) is always open to help others. Anyone who drops unsolicited links into my DM will receive an immediate block, so don’t even think about it.
Curation Projects
Quick review -- when you upvote content you are ‘curating’.
Content is not churned up through algorithms following us around the chain.
Content has to be found by each of us and then upvoted. We can find the content of the people we follow in our feeds. We’ll also find the content they reblog as well.
If you want to explore beyond your own feed and communities. Click on Explore in PeakD and All Topics.
You’ll first see the posts that are Trending to explore. Or you can click on TRENDING and chose another way to sort, like RECENT
Those are ways for you to explore and curate content as your account grows.
There several projects on the chain focused on curation.
The people who volunteer their time seek out good content for curation by the project.
Some of the projects have been able to build a large voting pool either of their own stake or through people delegating to them to add to their stake.
Some of the projects publish posts with lists of the content they have curated.
When I first started on the legacy chain, I spent countless hours reading and curating for a post I’d publish daily of the best ten or so posts I’d found that day.
While you’re out there building a following, if you have good quality content on your blog, there is a chance a curation project will find it.
That they will give your rewards a boost and maybe some more exposure in a curation post. Quality over quantity will win every time.
Voting Trails
Some projects have a voting trail of those who have have joined to trail the project leadership’s vote. When the leader votes on a post, the rest of the trail also votes.
Hive Vote is the Dapp where these are setup. You’ll need Hivesigner to signup and login.
Automated voting is both a blessing and a curse. If you’re seeking engagement on your posts, automated voting wont provide it, but it might help boost your rewards.
You really do want to build engagement as they are the people who will keep coming back or will look for you in their comment section. That is how you build friendships and community.
When you’re account builds up and you join voting trails, you’ll earn curation rewards for being part of the trail in proportion to the size of your account.
My account is large enough now that I do set some people up for an automatic vote because I know and trust their content. I want to make sure they are supported even when I’m busy and don’t always see their posts.
I keep the number of people I support manageable so I can take the time to check out their posts even if it’s after the voting period has ended.
Remember, if you find a post you love and it’s older than seven days, you can always leave a comment about how you appreciate the post and why. Most people would be thrilled to find their older posts getting notice.
We’re content creators. It’s nice to earn money but it’s also nice to have our content read and appreciated.
Wrapping Up Today
I’ve been keeping these posts to about a five minute read to avoid overwhelm. The list of things I want to cover just keeps getting moved forward until all the items get ticked off.
Today you learned about the value of using Discord, how curation projects help you be seen and how voting trails help to support posts.
Tomorrow, I’m going to continue this theme as there is more to talk about.
This is day 30 of 30 in the #HiveBloPoMo Challenge for April.
Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
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I'm not a newbie but I find these tips very helpful... Always thought that discord app has so much benefits than it seems.
Automated votes are cool and encouraging but I love to believe that I made an interactive content where people come in to engage with it... That's more fulfilling.
Waiting to read more from you 😊
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
I really like having discord available and being able to connect with people on there. Glad you stopped by and are finding the series helpful.
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Great post. Also, yeah you're right, even if the reward time has ended it's nice when someone comes across an old post.
!PIZZA
it's nice to see comments on older posts popup and start or restart a convo.
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These guides look to be really useful for new people joining the eco-system. It can be so daunting getting started, and posts like these can really cut through the noise and help people along the way.
Totally agree, nothing better than getting a comment on an old post, that some has found useful - especially if they found that post from a google search.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Glad you're finding them helpful.I think it's time I created an index post to pin on my blog so it's easier for people to find all the parts of the series.
Yea i actually met up with some people from hive and received some more engagement.
very nice... Some people really like to get together offline and meet the people behind the screen. I've met a few.
Discord and I 🤦.... But I'll learn to be on that chat app more. I just have to learn to schedule my time so I can manage all my daily tasks.
Posted using LeoFinance Mobile
I've heard you're a pretty busy lady. I am fortunate in that I'm able to leave discord open almost all day and can see activity going on.
Hehehehe... Where did she hear it? 🥺😅😅
With your system right? That's quite easy. Not with my cell phone... If I try that, my notifications box will blow up, and I wouldn't be able to concentrate on one thing at a time... Lol.
Yes, I'm very much a do my work on my laptop with the second screen person. The idea of trying to do what I do on a phone or even an iPad would have me heading for the hills. IT could be my old eyes or it could be I just like space to work in.
Discord is fun to use and it's a good place to get more connected with the people we see their content on the blockchain. It's a world of its own and always confusing at the initial stage, but with decent effort, people can easily fall in love with being on Discord.
The series continues. Thanks @shadowspub.
Some people do find Discord intimidating but, others will always help out and guide as needed. The learning curve is worth it when you can access so much information and meet so many.
I must confess it is a bit difficult to be seen, although one have to try and ensure that they do not relent in their goal.
Posted using LeoFinance Mobile
yes agreed, it takes effort to build a following and keep it.
Came across this series as a result of seeing it in the top 5 curators picks today. Some good advice and tips here, soon realised though I will now need to read previous posts in the series to gain even further insight and tips to progress my journey.
Thanks
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
glad to know you find it helpful. There are more parts coming. Not sure how many, I just keep adding as things need covering.
Those are some good tips and I feel you with the curation trails compared to real interaction. well done on completing the 30 day challenge!
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Thank you, it's the second full month I've completed this year. Prior to that I'd done a few post ever day of the week but never the month.
Glad you're finding the tips helpful.
Just discovered this series. Gonna have to go back and read the others.
Not new to hive but have not really published that much and am now interested. Serendipitous finding :-)
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Hope you are able to take the info and start building. You'll want to see the next part which will help you build even more if you take part.
Looking forward to it!
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Great job! A light 💡 into the dark paths you seem to be providing.
it can seem daunting when first starting.
Being active on a blockchain such as hive is very interesting and on the discord you get to know and interaction with people the outside world might not give you the opportunity to meet.
The post is very interesting, looking forward to seeing more of your contents. Cheers 🥂🥂🥂!
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
it is very interesting being active on the blockchain. There is a lot of variety to be found and so much to do
That's why I'm being intentional to dig deep to excavate the goodies that's inherent in the blockchain and LeoFinance has many things to offer me and others who are willing to excavate also.
Thanks
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
Lovely read...this was really helpful, thank you so much
I'll follow the suggestion to comment on posts older than 7 days. Your guides are really useful, thank you!
glad you have found them of help .. that is why I have them pinned at the top of my blog. if you have any questions.. feel free.
Thank you!