Old School versus New Paradigm

Hi Friends,
I wanted to create a post to encourage you, and also myself to make this transition to using Steemit, not just as blogging platform, but as a way to build community and get rewarded for our efforts. I especially like the fact that it is not controlled by any overlords who can demonitize someone for their contrary content - let's leave that up to a consensus of us users.

I consider myself Old School. Yes, I am old (a senior) but I am NOT stuck in the old energy that persists. Over a 50 year span, I have experienced many of the frustrations that anyone my age has. I consider it a blessing to have been a child in the 50's, a teenager in the 60's and in college in the 70's... today I have the benefit of 30+ years of computer programming experience in corporate, military, and educational environments. I can see where this Crypto thing is going and how fast it is happening, and I consider it a good thing.

Okay, here is my struggle. Like I said, I am what I'll call Old School. When I started making jewelry the internet didn't exist. If I wanted to find customers, I did a show, or a crafts fair, that sort of thing. This was great for many years. What was good for me was that I didn't have to try very hard to get anyone to buy a piece of my work. Most often people appreciated it and there was no need to 'promote' it -- the work spoke for itself. This was great because I didn't really like the idea of promoting or spending money on advertising. I liked the fact that my work had a reputation that came from itself.

Well, this is no longer the case. With the advent of platforms like FaceBook, Instagram, etc, where a user can get a video to go viral simply from the promotion, this changes the game. Now, even though (I believe) I have a product that is the BEST product of it's type available and is normally sought after, it has now become necessary to also promote it because it is now lost in a sea (glut) of other 'promoted' information. This is what we call a free market, which is ultimately good for everyone.

I am not faulting this new paradigm, but truly trying to reconcile how to not get lost in this sea of information. I am embracing Steemit as a platform to get my jewelry-for-sale out there to the world. In the past I have done eBay, Etsy, had my own website for may years, etc. None of these formats seem to be working very well any more due to being taken advantage of by too many users, users hacking the systems, and users selling stuff they don't even have.

I am going to begin posting some of my pieces (as for sale items) in order to build a community of like-minded people who are willing to support me by upvoting, re-steeming, etc. I am a true Master Artist only looking to have people who like it and want to own it, be able to connect to my work. I will consider using Steemit as my promotion method. I really like the concept of peer-to-peer support and so I'm committing to this. One other thing I will say about my jewelry - as in a previous post - I make a very limited amount of hand made pieces, and do every step and process myself. I am not a manufacturer or importer. I create one-of-a-kind Sterling Silver (Gold by commission) pieces that are heirloom/museum quality collectibles.

Thanks to everyone who has followed me. Please upvote me and follow if you're new here.

Here's a pic of a couple bracelets