It's been one year since I discovered Steemit. What a ride it has been! At first I didn't get it, I treated it just like any other social network. It seemed rather primitive in its design and features. I assumed that since it was only freshly launched the month before it was in early phase of development.
I gave it a shot, and not much happened. So, being more invested in other social networks I forgot it for a time. Then as the cold dark Winter months had me in their grip, I was focused on change and finding brighter options ahead of me. As I'm sure most of you know, trying to gain decent exposure on other social networks can be like trying to paddle upstream in a barbed wire canoe. I found my way back to Steemit and started to investigate if it could be a viable option.
I was vaguely aware that you earned some strange cryptocurreny called Steem. I had heard of Bitcoin long before then, and a bit about the drama around the Etherium fork. But beyond that, it all seemed a bit complicated. However, since crypto talk dominates a good part of Steemit, I started to read, and read, and read. Then the penny dropped.
Cryptocurrency
The world of cryptocurreny started to open up to me. Steemit was a doorway onto that world. But it was more than that. Now I understood what had Steemit content creators so excited. You bring your creativity to the world and actually earn something. Yes, you could actually pay for things with your Steem, even if you had to make a few hops to do it.
I started posting again. This time, I started to get a response, even some votes and followers. However, life has its ways of pulling you off to other directions and let Steemit lie fallow again, that is until a few months ago right before crypto fever went public and there was flood of people who came to see what it was all about.
Money Money Money
You see, the word on the street (internet) was that there was a new social media site that PAID you to blog. Naturally there were many who doubtful, dismissive or even suspicious. There truly is a great deal to wrap your head around. I was trying to explain it to friends as best I could with my limited knowledge. Ultimately in the end I was saying, well it costs you nothing, so the only thing you have to lose is your time, and you are already doing that on Facebook, so why not give it ago here.
Get Rick Quick
Sadly I have to say, that around this time there were many newcomers here who were looking for a get rich quick scheme, by using all of the old tricks that they'd used on all of the other social media networks. I feel that this tide of spam postings has subsided somewhat, as people started to find out Steemit isn't that simple. A vote here has no relationship to likes elsewhere. You have to build an audience up.
Then came the crying, wailing (pun intended) and gnashing of teeth from the newcomers about how the whales have it rigged. "Its no different to the real world!" This maybe the internet, it maybe a social network, but behind it all, there are still humans interacting with each other. People are people. Somehow there is a fantasy that in internet land its all rainbows and unicorns. Nope. In fact, if you have a bit of technical knowledge, you can abuse the system even more. You only have to look at the tsunami of viruses and malware that abound today. And... so we see the rise of bots on Steemit. Automated attempts to game the system.
Down the Rabbit Hole
You know, I did start to follow the stories down these rabbit holes for a time, about the problems, issues and intrigues. But all the while I kept posting here on Steemit. Then I realised something. While there might all of this gaming the system going on, I'm quietly building my audience here on Steemit. I'm also discovering amazing people, projects and valuable information. Steemit IS working for me.
Make Steemit Work for You
I'm promoting my artwork and I'm earning from it. Yes, sometimes a nice amount, sometimes not so much. But I keep going. Think about that for a moment. WTF!!! With my Facebook page, I have to PAY to reach my audience. On Steemit, I am PAID to reach my audience. That is a major paradigm shift. But wait, that's not all! (Que late night TV steak knife advertisment voice over) I am also paid when I vote on other people's content, comment or share it. It's win win. It doesn't get much better than that... does it?
Yes it does. The best part of Steemit is the community that you can build here. Earning Steem is just the cherry on top.
If you're feeling a bit down, or challenged by trying to make your way on Steemit, I most heartly recommend you read Hiro Yamagishi's post about not giving up on Steemit.
The Future of Steemit
I do see a future for Steemit. I do think this evolutionary leap in social networking will inspire other projects. Yes, Steemit has some rough edges, but it is only a year old with much change and growth to come.
Think about it, the internet started off in the 70s as military communications project. It wasn't until the mid 90s that world woke up to it. It took until roughly 2000 before it was expected that you had an email address. Then came the dotcom crash. Did the internet disappear into the glitch of virtual reality. No. It evolved. A university project started out in 2004 that went on to dominate the world to become one of the wannabe dictators of the internet, otherwise known as Facbook. Bitcoin started out in 2009. In 2010 two pizzas were bought for 10,000 Bitcoin. As of this week, seven years on, Bitcoin hit a high of $4000USD. Let all of that sink in as a bit of perspective, and then compare the timeline of Steemit. Andreas M. Antonopoulos gave an interview just on this topic and comparing the path of growth Facebook took to where Steemit is now.
If you're reading this article, now, August 2017, you're still just at the very beginnings of Steemit. There's much more to come.
I'm happy to have found Steemit, and start meeting you all. =)
Full Steem ahead!
My artwork can be found on my website. LeoPlaw.com
Or of course here on Steemit, so please follow for more.
If it takes your fancy, subscribe to my newsletter.
Welcome to Steem Community @leoplaw! As a gentle reminder, please keep your master password safe. The best practise is to use your private posting key to login to Steemit when posting; and the private active key for wallet related transactions.
In the New Steemians project, we help new members of steem by education and resteeeming their articles. Get your articles resteemed too for maximum exposure. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch
you paint too? nice! glad to have found you on the #introduceyourself "hot" section heres a gif i made for newcomers even though you arenot quite so new hehe. ill follow you too, i want my feed to be pretty much all artists
Hi @web-gnar! Thanks for the gif welcome. I hope you're not too dizzy by now. ;-)
I'll be writing a new post today about my favourite artists on Steemit. So I hope I'll have a few more new ones for you to follow. =)
Thanks for sharing your story. I got on here June 2cd, and my life was completely changed. Things that i would want to share anyway catching folks attention? Over 600 followers? I'm humbled.
I heard of steemit last year but didn't start then. As I wish I had. Steemit is not just a source of income for me, its wonderful for my mental health. Years of wasted breath on the book of face.
That being said i do run an art group AND a steemit group on fb - Steemit Dreamit if you're interested. It's for helping people gain organic followings of people who are following you because they want to! No get rich scheming allowed. Or upvote for upvote, follow me I'll follow you....!
Happy one year on steemit. E njoyed reading your story. Full STEEM ahead
Thank you @chelsea88.
I don't count the followers. To me, they are people, not numbers.
Catching people's attention? Post, post, post... I don't always make sizeable rewards on my articles. So as I said in the article, I'm not on Steemit to make a living. It is a way for me to connect with other people and not to have bigger followers number.
I have never done, vote for vote, or follow for follow. I interact with the people here, I build relationships with them.
@leoplaw
Okay, I don't think I was over focusing on followers and i never said they weren't people??? My point was to congratulate you, express that I agree with you there is a lot of gold rush spammy people. And to highlight it is important to have organic followings of people to improve the quality of the relationships you build here.
Confused by your reply....
Because it's almost the exact opposite of what I was attempting to convey to you.
Hi @chelsea88!
Yes, I think you're right, there is some confusion over both of our replies. Perhaps you feel my comment was directed specifically at you. My intent was simply to reiterate my position on people first and explain my activity on Steemit thus far. Having re-read our comments, I feel we're on the same page, real relationships with people first.
Steemit is wonderfully refreshing after the book of face, or Off Your Facebook as friends of mine like to call it. =)
Please tell me more about your FB groups. Links?
Wishing you a most excellent week ahead Chelsea. =)
Thanks for clarifying that. =)
I have Steemit Dreamit that I already mentioned:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/841836085982525/
Then I have an art group, Diverse Arts and Crafts:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/111983139252037/
Artists can go share/ promote their work there
You have a great week also :)
Cheers Chelsea! I'll check them out... when I finally logon to Facecrook again. I'm having too much fun on Steemit at the moment. =)
But I will when I do make my next up date there.
I hear you steemit is the best!
Enjoyed reading this post tremendously, Leo!
Your enthusiasm both with steemit, as well as with your art is inspiring and contagious!
I am lucky, that I had a good start here with you as a friend, patiently helping me with all my questions and pointing me in the right direction many times. Thank you again for all your support and for this beautifully written "story" :-)
Ah well, you have an infectious enthusiasm of your own Reinhard that you bring to whatever you do. I'm very happy you decided to join us. =)
Hehe... thank you Leo! When you do something, why not do it with passion, right? Wish I had found this earlier 😱
Yeah, and I wish I had consistently posted to the site right from the start. Anyhow, we'll make the most of it. ;-)
a year already! I never knew about Steemit until Peter posted on his Facebook page, and then Reinhard urged me to join. Still got a lot to learn.
Hello Otto!
I have been trying out other social networks for quite some time now. Many people bleat about how terrible Facecrook is, yet, are unwilling to do anything about it. I think Steemit will suite you very well. I can't say you will bring all of your old audience over with you, because as you have found out for yourself, there is a bit to wrap your head around. I think we have to wait for the critical mass of the network effect before we see swarms of our friends joining us here. There wasn't much I could tell Peter about it until I finally started to figure it out. Then it was also the right time, because some of Peter's other friends were talking cryptocurrencies with him, so the pieces fell into place.
Hi Leo,
you are right - everyone bitches about Facebook. I will still use it to stay in touch with people. As for posting: I will be comfortable here. I like the way you can post (images, links, HTML) , and I just share my posts on other social networks, primarily Facebook and Google+, some on Pinterest - I never did get the hang of Instagram and now that I have a Android phone, I still find it a pain in the ass to use.
Yes, Instagram is a pain, but Snapchat is worse! I gave up on the later. However, Instagram is THE place to be seen for your artwork. It is a massive uphill battle on that network, but I'm finally getting some traction. Twitter after all of these years is starting to go somewhere. My work is even doing the rounds on Tumblr. That is also another network for art.
What I find interesting about Steemit, is that, yes of course talk of cryptocurrencies dominate here, but if you look at the trending categories, art is always up the top. That says a great deal about the audience on this platform and believe, makes it worthwhile to invest the time here.
Yes, I too have reshared my articles from here to other platforms also. Steemit has breathed new life into blogging again.
definitely true. I am on Tumblr also, but don't use it all that much. On Twitter I have 2 accounts: one for myself, and one for Visionary Art. Logged in to VA I share mostly blogs and content from other artists, whereas my FB posts (and stuff I chose to share from Steemit) are auto-posted on my personal Twitter (so I don't need to log in there - you can only log into one account) . This is why I like Steemit: for example I can just lift the HTML of some interesting blogs I had written and just need to delete a few codes not allowed here, like 'span style'. Also, drag and drop images is excellent! Apparently that was not always so.
I am new to using an Android phone, so my gallery from which I could share stuff is almost empty. I just can't be bothered with searching and downloading my work to my phone just so I can share it on Instagram.
Sites such as Steemit, in the long run, are going to leave FB and the like in the dust bin of history. When people wake up to the fact that you can earn $ for your time on social media, instead of paying $ to have your content seen, it is a no-brainer.
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I took almost three weeks off steem and found that it was exactly what I needed to recharge and get back in the game. Tomorrow Im going to make a strong steemit push again reinvigorated about the future of steemit and my journey of life.
Onwards and upwards @gniksivart! =)
Glad to hear your are motivated again.
Im really glad for you @leoplaw becouse i totally agree with you. The Spirit of steemit should be to create a great community with people interactivo, becouse of the value of doing It itself, not becouse of the money, at least not foro the easy money. So im glad of your succes here and glad becouse you are a steemian. Keep It Up!
Hi @jorgegp! It's with the conversations like this with people like you, here on Steemit where it all starts. See you around Steemit. =)
Good article that gives me hope as I learn to use steemit.
Be patient, be consistent, give it time. The same formula has also helped me out on other social media networks. But most of all, reach out to other people on Steemit. Without the people, Steemit is just another website.
Enjoyed reading this blog and want to welcome you back to steemit my friend. I am glad you had a right choice to came back in the awesome community.
Blogging and building relatiinship is the best thing that I have found in this place. I believe that majority using this platform is kind hearted people and willing to give help for those whose in need like what I already many times just by staying here less than a hundred days.
See you on top buddy. Can't wait to see ourselves and go to the moon with Steemit
Thank you for dropping by Hiro! It's taking a while to discover the people that interest me here. But eventually, one by one, they appear, such as your good self. =)
Because of this, I find Steemit very engaging, like Facebook was back in the beginning, or some of the forums I used to participate in. Then Facebook turned that all into meaningless likes and no conversation.
But with Steemit, it is back to basics, back to the people.
See you out there Hiro! ^_^
Great insight from someone who's been through a year with the ebbs and flows, feeling the doubts as well as the hopeful future.
I'm new to the platform and there's a lot for me to learn. Creating content takes time, thought and advanced careful planning. But I find it rewarding when I see that there are those out there who learn or appreciate the hard work one puts in. It keeps me motivated. And on the other side, I also learn from the content I find within Steemit.
Anyway, thanks for sharing!
Hello @offoodandart! Yes there is much to learn, and it is indeed a steep learning curve. I have no crystal ball, I cannot promise you how Steemit will turn out, for you or everyone. What I do know, is that I am seeing value in it right now. The greatest value on this network is the people, interacting with people such as yourself. So I wandered over to your profile, since your username made me curious. You are indeed a foodie! I like to cook and so you've scored yourself a new follower. =)
Yes, creating content takes time. Seriously, I need to manage this a bit better as it has cut into my studio time lately. But, as you have noted yourself, there is a good deal of worthwhile content (once you sort it) and there is much to learn.
Greetings.
Thanks for the follow. I'm following you as well and have checked out your artwork. So impressive and wow, such talent!
Looking forward to exploring your work as well as those that are yet to come!
I'll be watching your profile for inspiration in the kitchen. =)
Please do. Thanks :)!
I liked reading your post, It is motivating to know what others have been going through. I am new to this network and of course I am betting on it, I hope in the future it will be the social network of greater reach, I hope to read you soon...
Patience, Persistence, Posting... regularly and People.
It has its ups and downs, but I find it far more entertaining and rewarding than Facebook. =)
You're right my friend, I no longer waste so time on Facebook.
Sorry? Face what? ;-)
What an awesome and encouraging post! I am new to steemit and still trying to figure things out. It really gives me motivation to dive right in! Following you and your beautiful art
Thank you Audrey! =)
I have a few bits of information that might help you out with understanding how Steemit works.
For many new people, the voting and points system seems complicated at first. Here is an excellent post and entertaining video about how it all works.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@sethlinson/announcing-steemit-explained-a-new-animated-series
7 reasons that low/no payout is not the reason to quit on Steemit
https://steemit.com/steemit/@hiroyamagishi/7-reasons-that-low-payout-is-not-the-reason-to-give-up-on-steemit
Artists are really valued here on Steemit. Congrats for the one year anniversary here on Steemit. :)
I am truly surprised at the support art receives on Steemit. Naturally also very happy about that. =)
Thank you @zararina, I intend to be around for a few more.
Right. Keep it up! :)
Thanks @leoplaw, for sharing your experience with us. It's great to see how Steemit has worked for you. It is very important your advice and encouragement that you give to not leave Steemit, no matter that we do not go well, what matters is to keep trying until you achieve the path to success. I wish you many more successes. The human being never stops growing. Greetings. ;)
Thank you @rivendels! You have an interesting Steemit project, philosophical discussions over coffee. =)
Following.
Awesome article. Great to meet you. Love your art... that horizontal piece behind you especially. Inspires me to think it would be cool to have a Steemit museum. Perhaps I'll post to see if anyone has space...
Thank you Lisa! =)
Do you mean digital or brick and mortar?
Welcome to Steemit! Nice to meet you :)
Greetings @god-is-love!
Many thanks for your personal account. I have just joined Steemit and it is encouraging to learn more about how others have found the community and forum useful.
You're welcome @enbestoraver! The best thing you can do is connect with other people here. It is the way you'll learn the most about the dynamics of Steemit. You will also learn of heaps of interesting things outside of Steemit also! =)
Very good reading thanks to share your experience. The platform concept and community are so young that it is indeed hard to step back and have and idea of what is happening now. Long life to your art.
Thank you @eyegasm! Yes, we will have to participate with Steemit to determine its future.
Great post
Hell yeah Congrats Big TIME!
good.nice article.follow me
WAow Nice Article .
Thanks for share ans motivate me :)
Congratulations.... Hope you give support and passion for me to be able to survive like you..
Thank you had been sharing the news or about the other steemit is very interesting to we wait gait you for the next hopefully more than once.
Hello sir nice post . I vote n follow u. M new here my first week to join steem it follow & your support plz
Welcome to this platform. We wish a lot of things that you want here. I am Reza from Aceh, Sumatra wants to meet you. Please follow me on @elhakimi and I will give the vote to you. Thank you..
I have to be like you
Hey great post.
I recently started up on Steem and im looking to start doing some projects of my own :) Namely a cooking show (Still in the development stage ).
Always looking for good people to support and to get support back! i'll be writing a blog more regularly in the coming week!
Followed you, please follow me and let's rock this Steem train!
Welcome to Steem Christopher! Cool, I'll be looking out for your posts. =)
Thank you !
@leoplaw Do follow me @samhenry & I'll upvote you.