I can hardly believe I've stayed on #Steem long enough to organically amass the roughly 506 SP (1M STU) it takes to be officially considered a "Minnow"! ๐
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ
ย ย ย ย ย I was no stranger to Steem when I made my Introductory Post. My account was 2 years old, but I had never posted or even commented. I knew enough about Steem to know how important the #introduceyourself post is. But even though I had read up on how to make a good intro post, I still got tons of things wrong.
ย ย ย ย ย There are several Steemians who have helped me along the way and encouraged me to keep going. I made it far beyond a minnow, and I'm still swimming. I hope to keep producing more and better original content, and I am enjoying manual curation under #newsteem. I think this new HF21 is bringing a lot of positive changes for newbies like myself.
ย ย ย ย ย The list of people to thank that helped me reach minnow status is too long to share with you. I hope with this post just to share some details of my journey to +500SP, and a little bit about the communities and people I have met along the way. This information may be of use to any newbies, and also might be an interesting read for more experienced Steemians, at least in regards to how the minnow journey is made under HF21. Something that surprised me is that sometimes an upvote from an individual user can be more powerful than being curated by an entire upvote trail.
ย ย ย ย ย I recently onboarded my first Steemian, @chrisinphuket, a good friend and blogger I've been begging for months to join Steemit. Also, thanks to @azircon for delegating me 500SP just as I reached minnow status. This came as a very welcome surprise, and apparently just because he likes what I'm doing on Steemit and wants to support me. ๐๐๐
@ecotrain
ย ย ย ย ย One of my first comments with some solid advice, and a community I am still with, came from @ecotrain by way of @artemislives. This community uses the tag #ecotrain, and is overseen by both @eco-alex and @artemislives. EcoTrain supports eco building, sustainability, and people who make the world a better place. They are a friendly bunch with members from all around the world.
@c-squared
ย ย ย ย ย @c-squared's goal is to help good authors get seen, and therefore curated by other curation groups as well. Then the admins here go through all posts brought in by the community and try to pick 10 โdaily picksโ that are featured in the daily featured post on the @c-cubed blog. @c-squared is overseen by @justineh, @carlgnash, @markangeltrueman and @randomwanderings.
@joshman
ย ย ย ย ย @joshman was another user that commented on my #introduceyourself post. Not only did this Steemian give some much-needed wisdom, he also delegated 50SP to help get me started. He has helped me with the Steem learning curve, and helped me to understand a lot of the terminology. @joshman is still my go-to Steemian when I have any questions/concerns.
@ocd
ย ย ย ย ย @ocd is a curation guild for undervalued, quality posts by newcomers. It is overseen by @acidyo & @anomadsoul. This curation community has upvoted and rewarded my content from the shadows since my very first post. It is a quite modest team, and I only became aware of they have been rewarding my content recently. @ocd looks for quality original content posting with the tag #oc.
@canadian-coconut
ย ย ย ย ย @canadian-coconut is a Steemian which discovered me from my #introduceyourself post. She has been silently rewarding my content from the shadows, much like @ocd. I only recently became aware of all the help she has given me, and I am super grateful for the boost. @canadian-coconut is the co-founder of @familyprotection.
@steemitworldmap
ย ย ย ย ย I added my #introduceyourself post to @steemitworldmap, which allows you to share your travel stories with other travelers all over the globe! Just visit SteemitWorldMap.com to generate a code that you can include in the body of Steemit post, giving your posts a geotag. @steemitworldmap is overseen by @livinguktaiwan.
@travelfeed
ย ย ย ย ย I knew about the #travelfeed tag before ever writing my first post, so it's one of the first communities I discovered on Steem. However, I didn't know about Travelfeed.io, a global community of independent travelers, where itโs easy to meet new people and find information, and you can even post from here via a user-friendly editor. This community is overseen by @jpphotography & @for91days.
@steemitboard
ย ย ย ย ย steemitboard.com is the place where you can view your achievements on the Steem blockchain. This is how I found out I was a minnow, thanks to @steemitboard. This project is overseen by veteran Steemian @arcange.
@crowdmind
ย ย ย ย ย @crowdmind gave me a curation visit on my second post. Crowdmind is a Steemit community project dedicated to finding, supporting and rewarding initiatives that harness the key of four primary crowdsourcing categories: crowd wisdom, crowd creation, crowd voting, and crowdfunding. I still don't know much about this community, and I wasn't quite sure if my post was related to crowdsourcing in any way at all, but regardless wanted to share what little I know.
@helpie
ย ย ย ย ย @helpie gave me a curation visit on my second post. Their mission statement is simple - "Providing help where we can." Use the tag #helpiecake to help this manual curation team find your work.
@innerblocks
ย ย ย ย ย @innerblocks paid me a curation visit midway through my journey. I looked into this community and found an encouraging group of friendly Steemians. This community is overseen by the lovely couple @freedompoint & @freedomtowrite. There is also a frontend at theinnerblocks.com. @innerblocks is about quality self reliant content measured by personal experience. Use the #innerblocks to help this community discover your posts.
@vegansofsteemit
ย ย ย ย ย @vegansofsteemit is a community the Steemian @plantstoplanks introduced me to. The name is pretty self-explanatory. @vegansofsteemit has some fun contests, and is a great place to post recipes and all other things vegan related. This project is overseen by the Steemian @evecab.
@qurator
ย ย ย ย ย I discovered @qurator by way of their Tasty Tuesday Competition, for which my Kofta-Inspired Ultimate Veggie Burger took 2nd place. Qurator is a curation service that helps users who pour their blood, sweat and tears into content creation to get noticed and rewarded for their efforts. You can use the #qurator tag to help them find your content. @qurator is overseen by @scrooger.
@curie
ย ย ย ย ย @curie is a meritocratic, voluntary organization which supports the development and growth of new and existing authors on the Steem blockchain. They are focused on helping new authors and undervalued posts get more exposure. My early posts were boosted by Curie until I discovered by many other curators and communities.
@curangel
ย ย ย ย ย @curangel is a curation service searching Steem for original content and rewarding curators and delegators while benefitting the whole Steem community, created by the long term witness @pharesim. Curangel discovered me, and for that I am grateful.
@creativecoin
ย ย ย ย ย @creativecoin accepts all creative content. You'll find many of my posts here. There is curation, a frontend at creativecoin.xyz, a token and much more. Post from their frontend or use the #creativecoin tag to enter your post into this community and generate CCC tokens. CreativeCoin is overseen by @swelker101 and @isaria.
@steemterminal
ย ย ย ย ย @steemterminal is the project of @thekittygirl, @brittandjosie and@xcountytravelers. The sole purpose is to help new Steemians with the learning curve. Check them out on Discord. This recommendation came by way of @oheyo, and I am glad I discovered this community.
PALnet.io
ย ย ย ย ย Home of the @minnowsupport project, "Peace, Abundance and Liberty" is the motto here. PALnet.io is frontend from which you can post to the Steem blockchain, or alternatively you can add the #palnet tag to your posts to claim PALcoin and make your content visibile within this community.
photostreem.com
ย ย ย ย ย @photostreem was a community I discovered by way of a happy accident. I was simply using the #photography tag in my posts, and I was curated by this team. photostreem.com is frontend you can post from, and this community also has their own token, the PHOTO, which you can acquire via the #photography tag.
@tenkminnows
ย ย ย ย ย I was picked up by @tenkminnows thanks to a recommendation from @joshman. They've rewarded my content and helped me climb to 500SP.
naturalmedicine.io
ย ย ย ย ย This one of the newest communities I have discovered, but it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is a niche community, so not every post is gonna fit in here, but do check them out. @naturalmedicine has a frontend at naturalmedicine.io, the LOTUS token, received by way of the #naturalmedicine tag. This project is the work of @riverflows.
reggaesteem.io
ย ย ย ย ย @reggaesteem is another newly discovered community I wish I had found earlier. Perhaps the friendliest community on Steem, reggaesteem.io is frontend for posting about all things Reggae, Jamaican, Caribbean and Rasta-related. The #jahm tag will make your posts visible within this community, and also generate JAHM tokens. I am working to cultivate the #ital tag within this community. This project is the work of @dmilliz, @donald.porter and @miyard.
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐' ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ ๐
ย ย ย ย ย I read several posts concerning how to best make use of one's #introduceyourself post. I got a lot of things right, like the photo with my @username and the Steem logo. As much as I got right, I had no knowledge of markdown or understanding of the tagging system, and thought I could include them in the body of the post. I also added a bunch of tags at the end of the post, which I now know are useless, and I have since deleted them in an effort to clean up that hot mess.
ย ย ย ย ย This intro post also received visits from reputable Steemians @novacadian, @skramatters, @tryskele, @chekohler, @aleister, @robertandrew as well as @brittandjosie who helps with @heyhaveyamet welcoming new users to Steemit, Several users could see, depsite my mistakes, that I was trying to bring quality posts to Steemit, and rewarded me quite handsomely. It was very encouraging.
 |
| #1 @blocktrades [ 26% - 9.712 STU ] |
| #2 @acidyo [ 70% - 3.508 STU ] |
| #3 @canadian-coconut [ 41% - 2.087 STU ] |
| #4 @marius-february [ 20% - 0.957 STU ] |
| #5 @themarkymark [ 25% - 0.459 STU ] |
| #6 @theaustrianguy [ 100% - 0.402 STU ] |
| #7 @aicu [ 77% - 0.320 STU ] |
| #8 @timcliff [ 84% - 0.309 STU ] |
| #9 @joshman [ 50% - 0.210 STU ] |
| #10 @ecotrain [ 100% - 0.180 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ ๐ฅ
ย ย ย ย ย I was very much encouraged by my #introduceyourself post, so I spent a lot of time preparing a really good quality second post. The payout was tiny compared to my intro post, and it was bit disheartening. I now know the #introduceyourself is heavily watched, and this is quite normal.
 |
| #1 @acidyo [ 60% - 2.885 STU ] |
| #2 @canadian-coconut [ 35% - 1.741 STU ] |
| #3 @aicu [ 81% - 0.359 STU ] |
| #4 @joshman [ 50% - 0.210 STU ] |
| #5 @steemitworldmap [ 50% - 0.186 STU ] |
| #6 @curie [ 1% - 0.135 STU ] |
| #7 @helpie [ 15% - 0.068 STU ] |
| #8 @eonwarped [ 15% - 0.043 STU ] |
| #9 @jpphotography [ 100% - 0.043 STU ] |
| #10 @followbtcnews [ 12% - 0.041 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ? ๐
ย ย ย ย ย After the discouraging payout of "The Great Ecuador Exodus Pt. 1," I thought maybe I had done something wrong, and thought it wise to post a bit of a call for help. I wondered if my tags were wrong or worse yet, perhaps my content was no good. Luckily I got some encouragement and wisdom to continue my Steem journey.
|
| #1 @shaka [ 35% - 0.692 STU ] |
| #2 @travelfeed [ 25% - 0.399 STU ] |
| #3 @curie [ 3% - 0.326 STU ] |
| #4 @felixxx [ 100% - 0.178 STU ] |
| #5 @ecotrain [ 60% - 0.103 STU ] |
| #6 @joshman [ 25% - 0.101 STU ] |
| #7 @tombstone [ 1% - 0.055 STU ] |
| #8 @trudeehunter [ 51% - 0.053 STU ] |
| #9 @jpphotography [ 100% - 0.052 STU ] |
| #10 @mariusfebruary [ 1% - 0.041 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ โ๏ธ
ย ย ย ย ย With renewed vigor, I dropped "The Great Ecuador Exodus Pt. 2." I was no by means posting with confidence yet, but felt this was a learning curve I could conquer, and I began experimenting with the smallest amounts of markdown and formatting. I was little more pleased with the payout on this one. This post won @invisusmundi's Travel Writing Contest No. 1.
 |
| #1 @slowwalker [ 49% - 3.570 STU ] |
| #2 @canadian-coconut [ 62% - 3.230 STU ] |
| #3 @redpalestino [ 100% - 1.965 STU ] |
| #4 @jaki01 [ 100% - 1.058 STU ] |
| #5 @joshman [ 100% - 0.454 STU ] |
| #6 @aicu [ 80% - 0.352 STU ] |
| #7 @davidorcamuriel [ 100% - 0.231 STU ] |
| #8 @steemitworldmap [ 50% - 0.191 STU ] |
| #9 @curie [ 2% - 0.160 STU ] |
| #10 @coreyssteemit77 [ 100% - 0.077 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐.๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฅ
ย ย ย ย ย With maybe too much confidence, I decided to dabble in D.Tube. At the time I was learning how to use Shotcut, so thought I might as well release the video I had been working with. I tried to make a custom thumbnail, but didn't know the proper dimensions at the time, so it was cropped, and the lesson was learned.
 |
| #1 @slowwalker [ 49% - 3.570 STU ] |
| #2 @canadian-coconut [ 62% - 3.230 STU ] |
| #3 @redpalestino [ 100% - 1.965 STU ] |
| #4 @jaki01 [ 100% - 1.058 STU ] |
| #5 @joshman [ 100% - 0.454 STU ] |
| #6 @aicu [ 80% - 0.352 STU ] |
| #7 @davidorcamuriel [ 100% - 0.231 STU ] |
| #8 @steemitworldmap [ 50% - 0.191 STU ] |
| #9 @curie [ 2% - 0.160 STU ] |
| #10 @coreyssteemit77 [ 100% - 0.077 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง ๐๏ธ
ย ย ย ย ย I decided I was brave enough to turn what I hoped would be a strictly travel blog into a hot mess and/or life blog. I felt the need to try and post something just from the heart, without worrying about what audience I would target. I still didn't know an optimal image size for Steemit yet, but I was getting somewhat confident with my markdown skills.
 |
| #1 @redpalestino [ 100% - 1.948 STU ] |
| #2 @acidyo [ 38% - 1.753 STU ] |
| #3 @canadian-coconut [ 33% - 1.703STU ] |
| #4 @mariusfebruary [ 25% - 1.148 STU ] |
| #5 @travelfeed [ 65% - 0.890 STU ] |
| #6 @joshman [ 50% - 0.281 STU ] |
| #7 @ecotrain [ 40% - 0.080 STU ] |
| #8 @mammasitta [ 30% - 0.066 STU ] |
| #9 @eco-alex [ 40% - 0.054 STU ] |
| #10 @macoolette [ 20% - 0.051 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐คผ
ย ย ย ย ย I wanted to see if there could be any real-life connections I shared with any other Steemians. I didn't know if the post would be well received, but I ended up learning that @skramatters and I have some mutual friends by way of a conversation about Dave Thomas, Wendy's and some potentially stolen Greek square-burger technology.
 |
| #1 @canadian-coconut [ 22% - 0.960 STU ] |
| #2 @travelfeed [ 25% - 0.352 STU ] |
| #3 @curie [ 3% - 0.291 STU ] |
| #4 @redpalestino [ 15% - 0.267 STU ] |
| #5 @joshman [ 25% - 0.127 STU ] |
| #6 @blewitt [ 40% - 0.103 STU ] |
| #7 @helpie [ 15% - 0.064 STU ] |
| #8 @tombstone [ 30% - 0.066 STU ] |
| #9 @eco-alex [ 1% - 0.049 STU ] |
| #10 @eonwarped [ 15% - 0.045 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ก
ย ย ย ย ย I have had this conversation abroad so many times, and received a lot defensive feedback from westerners living abroad. I decided Steem might be the right place for this dialogue, and I got some interesting feedback from you Steemians.
 |
| #1 @canadian-coconut [ 39% - 2.141 STU ] |
| #2 @acidyo [ 25% - 1.602 STU ] |
| #3 @travelfeed [ 65% - 1.088 STU ] |
| #4 @jaki01 [ 100% - 1.074 STU ] |
| #5 @redpalestino [ 50% - 0.959 STU ] |
| #6 @joshman [ 100% - 0.661 STU ] |
| #7 @curie [ 3% - 0.382 STU ] |
| #8 @davidorcamuriel [ 100% - 0.270 STU ] |
| #9 @kevinwong [ 5% - 0.154 STU ] |
| #10 @kobold-djawa [ 100% - 0.081 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐ - ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ข ๐
ย ย ย ย ย I made this post for the #fruitsandveggiesmonday contest, thanks to @vegansofsteemit, @lenasveganliving and @plantstoplanks. I think this was the first post I created specifically for a contest entry. I still hadn't mastered or figured out the optimal thumbnail size is 800x480 and how to set one on Steempeak, but I won!! It also won 4th place on @invisusmundi's Travel Writing Contest No. 2.
 |
| #1 @ocdb [ 10% - 5.545 STU ] |
| #2 @canadian-coconut [ 35% - 1.968 STU ] |
| #3 @travelfeed [ 100% - 1.743 STU ] |
| #4 @curangel [ 12% - 0.861 STU ] |
| #5 @redpalestino [ 25% - 0.538 STU ] |
| #6 @joshman [ 66% - 0.448 STU ] |
| #7 @ctime [ 20% - 0.238 STU ] |
| #8 @ecotrain [ 39% - 0.193 STU ] |
| #9 @macoolette [ 30% - 0.083 STU ] |
| #10 @innerblocks [ 50% - 0.065 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐๐ - ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข
ย ย ย ย ย I submitted this post to @invisusmundi's Travel Writing Contest No.3, and it was the first post where I noticed my markdown and formatting skills had dramatically improved. Also, I learned the perfect thumbnail size (800x480), and with this knowledge I made my first click-bait thumbnail.
 |
| #1 @canadian-coconut [ 48% - 2.640 STU ] |
| #2 @acidyo [ 50% - 2.552 STU ] |
| #3 @travelfeed [ 100% - 1.489 STU ] |
| #4 @redpalestino [ 50% - 0.840 STU ] |
| #5 @joshman [ 100% - 0.635 STU ] |
| #6 @curangel [ 5% - 0.317 STU ] |
| #7 @z8teyb289qav9z [ 7% - 0.233 STU ] |
| #8 @ngc [ 7% - 0.081 STU ] |
| #9 @macoolette [ 30% - 0.074 STU ] |
| #10 @likwid [ 1% - 0.067 STU ] |
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ #๐๐ - ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐จ
ย ย ย ย ย This post has been submitted to @invisusmundi's Travel Writing Contest No.4, still awaiting results. I wish I had found the ReggaeSteem.io community before I released this post, as it was perfect for their platform. This post remains one of my most successful, and I'm quite proud of it. I was a little surprised to see I only got 50% of the rewards on this one.
 |
| #1 @ocdb [ 15% - 7.560 STU ] |
| #2 @trafalgar [ 44% - 6.106 STU ] |
| #3 @canadian-coconut [ 50% - 2.861 STU ] |
| #4 @likwid [ 28% - 2.281 STU ] |
| #5 @z8teyb289qav9z [ 35% - 1.320 STU ] |
| #6 @travelfeed [ 65% - 1.120 STU ] |
| #7 @mariusfebruary [ 20% - 0.873 STU ] |
| #8 @joshman [ 100% - 0.706 STU ] |
| #9 @ngc [ 35% - 0.556 STU ] |
| #10 @traf [ 44% - 0.545 STU ] |
Very well deserved!!!!
Congratulations my friend!! ๐
I just made minnow status too! Congrats. For me, it just snuck up on me, tbh.
Posted using Partiko Android
!trdovoter 100
Sorry, @theguruasia youโve reach daily limit of 10 successful TRDO calls!
Please try again tomorrow!
"Call TRDO, Your Comment Worth Something!"
To view or trade TRDO go to steem-engine.com
Join TRDO Discord Channel or Join TRDO Web Site
Congratulations @theguruasia, 100% upvote has been shared with your successful call on the post that shared by @justinparke!
Support @trendotoken projects by delegating : 100SP , 200SP , 500SP , 1000SP , 2000SP
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared runs a community witness. Please consider using one of your witness votes on us here
Congrats!! So glad to have you here. You add such value through not only your content but your positive attitude and commitment to the community itself. Thanks for being you!
And thanks for the lovely shout out for c-squared ๐ค itโs appreciated!
Congrats on your minnowhood and for the shoutout to steemterminal
Congratulations @justinparke! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Congratulations! This post is insightful. I have a long way to go and many more lessons to learn ๐๐
Congratulations on your well earned milestone! ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐
It is heart warming and inspiring to read through your journey recap. I hope this will also serve as inspiration to others who maybe having challenges on Steem. With good intention and spreading good content, better things follow.
Keep Steeming!
Congratulations on your Minnowhood! And what a wonderful informative post to celebrate it!
Steen On!
Congratulations on your success so far! You have mentioned some really great supportive groups and people that make Steem worth staying! I am so glad you have been supported and encouraged by many already.
I want to thank you for your recent interaction and support on my posts . The feedback and conversations are always appreciated. May you continue to grow and meet some more awesome folks along the way :D
Youโre very welcome ~ ๐
Congrats! It's always great to see when someone working hard and sharing great content starts moving up the chain. Keep on moving forward and being an awesome Steemian!
@tipu curate
Upvoted ๐ (Mana: 0/3)