Indeed! I was thinking this myself last night. For the first several weeks after joining Steemit i thought I had found writers heaven... a place where I could produce quality posts that actually had meaning and purpose and fulfilled a yearning I have within to share my thoughts and myself, while at the same time creating an income. The last week or two I've come to see that indeed it is a business here, and that if I want to be successful both in sharing my thoughts and in creating an income then I must treat it like a business. Why else am I scrolling down my feed this morning searching for opportunities to comment and make connections and develop relationships? I assure you if the possibility of future income were not an incentive I'd be out walking the dogs instead. (God! I hate being so blunt.) But for me at least it is true. Sure I do enjoy the relationships I've developed, and I treasure the opportunity to write and share, but still, were it not for the promise of future financial benefit I'd be doing something else. The proof of all this is the simple fact that those who post information on how to succeed here on Steemit are the most likely to prosper. I am not alone. Even the title of this post demonstrates this. It caught my attention. It was pertinent.
So, this is what I've decided: be myself. Create good content. Serve others because that is a good thing I enjoy. Continue to develop relationships. Treat this as a business. Be practical and see it for what it is: a fascinating new venture into the "Attention economy". I'm retired because of age and health challenges. Frankly this is a very good option for me. Perhaps I can serve both masters... My heart and my wallet.
@mistermercury first of all, thanks for your contribution, I really enjoyed your point of view on this whole Steemit debacle. Your bluntness is in place because, of course, this platform wouldn't be nearly as successful without the financial incentives - it would be just another blogging platform.
It's good when people can admit that they are in for the money but at least they try to earn it from good content - I can absolutely appreciate that. And why not? Writing good stuff, interacting, reading...Steemit is almost like a second job! So why not have some perks from it?
I have been blogging for years and never earned any money from that, I never even imagined that I could earn anything (aside from a few insults now and then ;)) with my pointless ranting about mortal coil, blah, blah, blah...so I just blogged for fun. I have changed platforms several times, and now I am very new on Steemit. The difference is immense! I can constantly feel the pressure at the back of my mind (one that I never felt on the other blog platforms), that evil little goblin that keeps whispering "Post, comment, post, read, comment, post..." I keep resisting it but maybe Steemit isn't for me - I am not mentally balanced enough to treat this as a business and live with this constant anxiety :D
Anyway, I am already writing too much bullshit, great convo though :)
You and I have a similar experience.
And I too have felt that anxiety. I don't feel it any more, though. Experience on the platform and an established network have helped.
And now I am able to upkeep an awesome part-time blogging gig writing about 1-2 hours every weekday morning.
It's a dream 🤗
Keep at it.
Glad to hear that it's not just me :D Thanks for the advice, I am not too worried, I am sure it will pass soon and I will be more comfortable here :)
In your conclusion you hit a very pertinent point: serve your heart and your wallet.
I kind of treat steemit like a business in the sense that I am interested in trending metrics, I try to design content for appeal, vitality, and relatability, and I am always "networking" to expand an ever-growing list of personal contacts. That's my wallet.
In my heart: I simply enjoy making this content. I write about what is interesting to me, and if others like it that's great, if they don't that's also great. My history has shown that I will write for free to no audience simply because I need a place to put my thoughts. And when it comes to "networking", I actually am very curious about the people I reach out to, and they have taught me so many valuable and interesting things. Most of the people I follow here are people I know pretty well. We chat, joke around privately -- they are simply my friends who also happen to have a stake in this community.
I have made my contribution on another reply but just wanted to say thanks for the post, extremely valuable to those who like me (new as I am) have the interests of the platform, as well as of self, at heart. Sounds almost as though Steemit should split into two, those who think our way and those who see it purely as a potential cash cow. Or maybe we should just form a big subgroup with the motto: "Think not what Steemit can do for you, think what you can do for Steemit!" Following you, keep up the great contribution.
It's a hot topic right now, and one I intended to cover more in future.