It's been a month since I joined Steemit, and I can safely say that I've never been part of a more endearing global community, brimming with life lessons. The beautiful stories and adventures that spin out of the steeming blogs day after day, astonish me. They bring a smile to my face, a tear to my eye and hope in my heart.
You know you're in the right place when a social media behemoth starts paying attention. Fellow Steemians have posted proof that Facebook is shadow banning Steemit related posts. With Steemit's user base constantly growing by the thousands each day, I imagine Steemit's communication with Facebook is something like this:
Hello Facebook, this is Steemit and I just ordered a million high-quality humans to turn into Minnows, Dolphins and Whales. I'll return the spammy ones!
Being Part of a Blockchain Community
“Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives. The vision of your true destiny does not reside within the blinkered outlook of the naysayers and the doom prophets. Judge not by their words, but accept advice based on the evidence of actual results." ― Anthon St. Maarten
A blockchain community? That was my reaction, when I first heard about Steemit. But I’m a believer and risk taker. People I know say that I live life on the edge.
If a door doesn’t open, I believe in kicking it open first, instead of worrying about it. (literally)
I decided to see for myself.
The first thing I saw was @darthnava's post, where papa-pepper was one of the first to contribute. Over the next few days, I watched help pour in, both in the form of upvotes and steem.
Sometimes, actions speak louder than words. The way this community reached out to a fellow Steemian, touched me. And as the epigraph of this post says, I stayed back for the community.
Doomsayers and pessimists may speak a different language, but I'm blessed with the power of positive thinking.
If empathy is the word that defines this Blockchain Community – I Want IN. I want to be a part of this experience.
Minnow-to-Minnow
Source
I may not yet be in a position to really know the outcome of any action on Steemit. However, I do have my thoughts on how, as minnows, we can try to make our presence felt:
Give It Your Best
There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself ~ Andrew Carnegie
All the support groups and all the individuals we have access to, cannot help us, if we don't help ourselves. I’m no saint, and I need money too, perhaps more than anyone else in here. But nothing has ever been achieved without working for it.
Be YOU
A blog is our own little space in the virtual world, where we share our thoughts and feelings. Pen down your feelings about ... anything that interests you. No two people are the same. You're unique. Allow your uniqueness to shine through in your blog posts. Be true to yourself, without getting overwhelmed.
Be Prepared
I may not have a single post to my credit, but my initial excitement waned a bit when I noticed new posts vanishing without a trace, within minutes of being posted. I found some really beautiful posts tucked away in the depths of Steemit, where not many Steemians venture.
Here I was, thinking that the only thing to focus on is quality.
What Works
As you might have observed - travel, photography, crypto and Steemit related posts tend to do better. Don't forget the contests. Come up with a contest that's really innovative and put yourself out there. You might say, that's common knowledge, but wait..
There’s something else:
Posts with whale votes are the most successful
When one whale votes, other whales follow
Resteems by whales or even popular dolphins work wonders
That's common knowledge too? Well, not for me!
Does that mean a minnow, with no power in terms of steem or elite votes, has no option but to suffer the pain of isolation?
Absolutely not! I think we minnows have every chance to get noticed.
What Makes Me Confident?
There are whales out there hunting for minnows worthy of their appreciation
There are plenty of dolphins supporting minnows
Several support groups have formed and continue to form, to help minnows get noticed
The ball is in your court.
- Join support groups
- Interact with others
- Create quality content
- Engage with your followers
- Be a giver, not just a taker
If there's one thing I've learned from experience, it's that nothing happens overnight.
The Steemians we see doing so well - they're reaping the rewards of their efforts. If you look at the performance of their past posts, you'll notice that they had the same problems like you and me. Of course, there are exceptions.
This is not a guide. I'm a newbie myself. But I like sharing my thoughts, in the hope that this will be of benefit to someone.
My Steemit Goals
Involve in the community, help where I can, offer quality and enjoy the monetary benefits that come my way.
Had to show you this
My first hundred dollars from Steemit!
Source
It's just a little over $100, but all I did was comment. I'm happy and I choose to look at it as a token of appreciation from the upvoters.
Thank you for reading this. I hope to get to know you better. Minnows, let's help each other and grow together. I may not have much voting power at this point but I would most willingly help you in any way I can.
Source
This being one of my first posts, I would like to thank these awesome Steemians who are doing their best to help Minnows.
Join Minnow Support here. #minnowsupportproject - @aggroed, @ausbitbank, @teamsteem, @acidyo, @Gmuxx and @canadian-coconut
The force behind Minnow-to-Whale Project @joeyrocketfilms
Join Discord Whaleshares here.@patelincho
Join "Be Awesome” Discord Chat here.@whatamidoing
For the help he extends minnows. Check out his high SBD Steem Pocalypse game
For his honest feedback on the content of this post @rOndOn
Upvoted and Resteemed by the xx_Votes_Plus curation trail! Want more earnings? Follow @dropahead in Streemian: https://streemian.com/profile/curationtrail/trailing/396 and/or fund @dropahead with more STEEM POWER! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for your appreciation, the upvote and the resteeming. Means a lot to me. Will check out details of the trail.
Do you know , my opinion about you is really great. I like to see you feel good in steemit , and sadly you came here on some hard times ! Your positive view, the willing to learn it's what makes you so great :) Keep steeming I would like to read your next steemit experience !
Thank you so much for your heart-warming comment. I've gone through a lot in my life. Now, there's no place for negativity. Now the only road for me, is the one that goes forward. With the kind of encouragement you give me, I will certainly keep steeming and continue giving you lots of posts to read. :)
Great inspirational post! I really appreciate the words of advise.
Thank you!
Unrealistically positive.... Whales only pump up their multiple accounts.. a resteem from a whale !!! Multiple Whale votes... most votes i got was 53 and not even a dollar earned without minnowsupport..
I understand if my positivity comes across as unrealistic, but I want to focus on doing the best I can and hope it works. If a whale doesn't vote for us or resteems our work, so be it. We can always grow together, thanks to the support we have. Thank you and appreciate your point of view.
HolySmoke! ... You are positive i'll give you that !! This gives me an idea.... a little experiment... i'll get back to you ...
click here!This post received a 3.4% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @patelincho! For more information,
Tips her hat to @patelincho! :)
I like your shout outs.... there is a lot of people on those lists I follow, read, and like too. You've done your homework. :)
The never ending scrolling problem of posts is hard to beat. I've just learned that my "average" payout is good enough. If I get overpaid for one post, but under paid for another. The average for both of them is good enough for me.
(Not like I have a choice anyway.....)
But I also consider payouts not just in STEEM or SBD, but in genuine comments.. much like the one you left for me today. I never would have discovered you otherwise. Well, perhaps I eventually would have... but it's hard to find diamonds in the rough.
Yes, I get that too... I love that. Somehow, reading the local newspaper never did that for me. ...but steemit is so personable, so different. So interactive and it's easy to reach the author. I love this place. :)
I've been doing my homework for a month. :) Well, it takes time to understand people. Some of the names in the shout outs are people that helped me, and the others because I value their principles/advice.
I must be doing something right, if my post lead you here. :) I spent an entire month commenting on others' posts, but I always comment on posts that either attract me or interest me. And yours was amazingly well written and it resonates with me.
Thank you for visiting my page and for your great comment. Look forward to reading more of your posts.
Thanks for such a great and informative post, have joined whaleshares :-)
I'm glad you found it useful. You'll find amazing people at Whaleshares. You might want to check out the other channels there too.
Love it. Great to see the minnowtowhale and minnowsupport. Makes a big difference around here and chums the water for us minnows to school in support.
Hey, thank you so much! You're right about the amazing support. It makes ALL the difference.
This is just the kind of info I needed as a new user (I joined a week ago), trying to find my way through the trees. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that.
Anyway, much appreciated! Keep up the good work!
I'm glad you found this post informative. And you're not alone, we're all with you, trying to find our way. Welcome to Steemit! :)
Where's the bathroom?
Thanks @joeyrocketfilms to share such a nice post! Bravo @knowledge1 , great advice for the newbies out there! Nice thoughts!
I'm glad you like it and thanks for the appreciation, Chef! @joeyrocketfilms has been incredibly supportive of us minnows.
rockstar!Most welcome dear! @joeyrocketfilms is our
Thanks for your inspiring words. Sometimes it seems a difficult task to draw attention to the posts I write. But then.... a post like this keeps me going on.
This is my first real post. You made my day by saying that, thank you! The way things work around here, we need all the inspiration we can get. :)
Thats a damn great post and thanks so much for the shout out :) Lol I swear I must be crazy or facebook is screwing with me, my business page hasn't been working right ever since I started posting steemit posts! Hahaha They're onto me!! They know I'm trying to take people away from there!
I know this is "not a guide" but there's tons of valuable information in here that can definitely help our fellow steemians so thanks for bringing value to the community with this :)
I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your work. Can't wait!
haha Facebook is onto you too? Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you found some useful info. You've been most helpful and I really appreciate everything you're doing. :)
:) it's my pleasure. Anything I can do, let me know!
Like it great post:)
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading. :)
Nice post.Even I'm also the beginner.
Thank you!
Welcome to this wonderful place!!
This is what this community should be about! minnowsupport! Thanks for voting for me as a witness. Hopefully I can gain some power to give some back.
True! There are some Steemians who are doing their bit to help Minnows. Wish you all the best.
Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Knowledge1 from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
Very well written post :)
Thank you! :)
This post has received a sweet gift of Dank Amps in the flavor of 8.89 % upvote from @lovejuice thanks to: @knowledge1. Vote for Aggroed!
A very wittily-written, well-thought out post. Welcome to the community dear! :))
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