So it's been half a year since joining (well, 3 days shy but close enough). A perfect opportunity to write up a summary of my experiences here and chart out my development. To begin, I want to show my mindset when I came here to shed the most light on my growth.
Heading into February, I was more convinced than ever that the whole crypto thing was a scam. I was about as ignorant as one could be regarding blockchains and Bitcoin. In fact, I was only aware of Bitcoin and Ethereum. I thought Ethereum was a cool name though.
I mean, who would spend real money on some fake internet numbers and believe they had some kind of value, ya know? The massive pump and dump over the winter had further solidified my belief this was a huge scam. But it also intrigued my interest, as I am drawn to why people do what they do. So I began watching videos in late January on the crypto markets. Studying everything i could, I stumbled across day trading videos, the usual con artist crap one would expect. But then I saw it.
Steemit videos. First, there was the woman whose first post here made her 545.75. Then the Jerry Banfield and his student Joe Parys, showing again and again how hundreds and thousands could be had just from writing. Suddenly I saw a practical application for blockchain and crypto. One that a normal person could have. It helped that I had made a living off of self publishing for a few years (still getting residuals from it). I began poking around Steemit, and what I saw further encouraged me. There was some really low effort crap making hundreds on the trending tab. I was quickly consumed with enthusiasm, as I knew if these low effort posts could make that much money, I was going to be rich. And quick. Thank you Jerry, you are my guru. Or so I thought, hahaha.
My introduction post was a far cry from the woman I mentioned above. It did a whopping 1.74. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Little did I know that was actually really good for an introduction post coming here knowing no one. My second post left me absolutely bewildered as I entered a contest that Jerry was running. I mean, I almost felt like I knew the guy after spending dozens of hours watching his videos. Something was wrong, terribly wrong here. He didn't even vote my post, nor comment. That post made a whopping .07. Being the stubborn guy I am though, I plodded ahead with 8-9 more posts thinking maybe the next one would suddenly give me these huge payouts I saw people getting. I mean, I was pouring my heart into them and many of the high paying posts were absolute shit. Of that next string of posts, half of them didn't even earn .01. WTF is dis shit!!!!!!!
So I kept studying Jerry and that's when I saw my problem. I needed to use vote bots. I stumbled across his videos and his protege Joe showing how they got you visibility and you made a small profit on the investment. But I would gain lots of followers and grow grow grow. So now I had to bite the bullet and get involved with the exchanges and buy some of those scam coins like Bitcoin/Ethereum etc to get to Steem to transfer here to pay the bots for their service of gaining me a large following. So I spent time studying the best route (yes, I like studying) and bought a little Litecoin due to it being cheaper to move and got me a little (very little) Steem. Excited to have found the problem, I quickly wrote the post of posts and invested in the bots that were going to make me an important person here. VIP, here I come.
I was quite confused when the next string of 5 or 6 posts I used the bots on did poorly, not even returning my investment back to me. To add insult to injury, the bots were mostly the only eyes that even saw my posts, although I did get a few votes spread among them from others with worthless votes to give. They evidently were not impressed enough to leave any comments though.
Had Jerry been lying to me?
Screw this, I thought to myself. I decided I was going to power down and get my money out of this scam. Plus, I had been doing a little position trading by now and could throw the money in something that wasn't a scam. So while I began the long drawn out process of pulling out the little I had invested, I spent more time reading others posts and commenting. Finding some really interesting people, I saw many great comments in the posts and began talking with these people. Uncovering a side to Steemit that isn't noticeable on the surface where people are paying for visibility.
I had found people who get their writing shadow banned or outright banned on other social media. The types of posts Fakebook would hide from me. But I found something even better than that. I found people who care.
Not necessarily about me as they didn't or don't really know me. But I watched as one person was helped buy his medication. I discovered the familyprotection group, and watched incredulous as they helped some of the families in peril be able to afford things many of us take for granted, like food and paying the lights. While watching all of this the cynical wall I had built up over the years melted. Well, a lot of it anyway. It inspired me to watch people doing what people should be doing.
This woke me up, made me take another look at what Steemit can be. Slowly I dipped my toes into joining. I mean, helping others by something as simple as upvoting. Sure, at this stage its small, but pennies add up to dollars over time. And the more I kept looking and connecting, the more people I found who CARE, whose actions match their words.
I have made several connections here since that turnaround in my vision. Found many heroes, many of whom I am probably just a small blip on their radar. And maybe always will be. And that is ok, the only regret being that I will probably be unable to be a gift to them as they are to me. I am grateful for many of you (not going to namedrop here), grateful for being inspired to be a better man.
Now for the numbers:
73 posts
1703 comments
Given 2778 votes
Received 3034 votes. Until recently this was flipped the other way. I was convinced the only way to have more votes than given was using vote bots. This flip occurred thanks to @fulltimegeek deciding to curate my posts. I am not sure how long it will last, but am grateful to you FTG for your support as it is helping propel me quicker to reaching Minnow status. You are one of the heroes I mentioned, and that was well before you decided to curate my posts. Thank you for showing life is more than about squeezing as much money from it as possible.
Bought 153.561 Steem
Spent 61 Steem on Delegation so I could give more votes, votes that are beyond the dust threshold.
Donated 52 SBD to the @familyprotection community.
My SP currently sits at 255.807. I am halfway to Minnow status.
I believe the math above speaks to the awesomeness of Steem(it) and what is possible here. Without a doubt it is clear that the longer I am here, the more I invest in US the quicker my growth accelerates. Thank you to so many of you (to numerous to list) for showing me there are others who dream and act on those dreams, for thawing out my heart. I look forward to sharing my 1 year observations/facts in another 6 months. In closing, will say this. Even if Steem were to somehow fail, or fall to negligible value I will still have come away from my time here with something much more valuable than money. May all of you who are blessings in others lives find such blessings placed in your own paths.
Making (mining) STEEM is becoming harder these days! Jerry is a full of sh!t, just forget him! But if you plan everything perfectly, STEEM might be a life changing blockchain!@practicalthought,
Cheers~
I'm sorry that your introduction to this platform was via the likes of Jerry and Joe but am very glad that you eventually discovered the real Steemit.
This is a fantastic place once you understand where to look and find the good people to interact with. There are some fantastic communities to become a part of here. I'm glad you've found some of the good ones to spend time with. :)
Thank you for your kind words. I love some of the communities I have found here, and look forward to being able to support them more as I grow here.
Great progress.
You sure picked the worst of times - I made heaps on both cryptos and Steemit last year but have lost heaps since Feb.
But nevermind, these things are often cyclical...
Thanks. I do believe once the establishment fully has their regulations in place to make more than the sheeple that there will be a bull run the likes of which have never been seen.
This blew me away - Steemit was $1.02 on November 26, 2017. One month later it hit the all time high of $7.31 on January 3rd 2018.
social content site (with benefits).Nice story @practicalthought, and well done for sticking with it! There really is a nice community here, once you cut through all the BS and just go about treating Steemit as a
Here's wishing you a great next six months and beyond!
Thank you :)
Yeah, I try to avoid the BS and have lucked out so far once I saw things more clearly and tossed my preconceptions out the window.
This is a great #Steemstory! Thank you.
Thank you for coming up with the idea and reading it. :)
Great post, I kept hearing "Come for the Crypto and Stay for the community." It took me a little while to get to where I could see it.
Thank you :)
@practicalthought I just read your post and you said everything! Well, I've never paid for bots because this isn't my character but if you get to know people and support each other it just brings us closer together and the real content, passion and thoughts are getting recognition! Everyone can do what they love where else no one would notice it on a different platform. It's like a huge family who cares about others! Giving and receiving gets important again!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
This sums it up so nicely. Thanks for reading and the nice words.
"Like" is now worth two cents here. :)
I've been in crypto since 2015. Began mining ltc and btc. Branched made few nodes that'd pickup passive income.
Disposed of passive income in trades "something like $20" grew that ten times. Split that in half, one went to PoS small cap that yields 117% annually. The rest to steemit to grow.
I find this article rather comforting then the news or etc.. i wish you'd do one again about spiritual forces. Always a favorite.
But alas glad youre here, glad you comment on my posts. Some interesting thoughts sometimes. Which also allow me to consider and grow.
You are a treasure here despite
I appreciate what you share here, information that elsewhere scammers (scammers because they charge for it) charge hundreds and thousands of dollars for. You (and those like you) are exactly why I rent delegation. So many who joined when I did are gone now and I hope, small as it might be, that my support can help keep those like yourself who provide such value to stay.
Thank you. I know it isn't quite the same, but my heart has drawn me into engaging in this form of writing via my VOP posts. I believe this is exposing for everyone the war taking place here right now in the battle of good and evil. Being from Tucson, it maybe a little more real for me than many as I know the area, know the players a little better than many. I am hopeful that I can help sustain the attention. So far, my posts on them have all (for at least a few days) made the first page of Google. I need to keep at this as many of the posts on the first page are defaming them and making it like the evidence isn't here.
Thank you so much for sharing your process with us!!
Thanks for stopping by. A nice surprise given how incredibly busy you are.
Aw, thanks. It has been a crazy busy period. I really want to step deeper into Steemit again, but for some reason I still have a hard time navigating certain parts. Sooner or later I will put my head into it and figure it out.
I feel like I should be saying, welcome to Steemit, @practicalthought!
I think when it's all said and done, STEEM is going to benefit from the jerry's and the haejin's and whoever else has been doing the shilling (and shystering) to get people here. Unfortunately, there's a negative net value there because a lot of other people who came in because of them are now gone because they were never able to get past the $$$$ or lack thereof and connect with people or a community.
I'm glad, though, that you were able to find those who make it worthwhile. And I'm glad to say that you are one of the reasons why I'm still here. I suppose it's meant to work to mutual benefit.
Here's to another six months. May it be more successful, less full of pitfalls and vipers, and increasingly more valuable than the last (however you want to quantify that last part).
Thank you, I feel the same. I have always felt honored that I am one of the few you follow. I am pretty picky about my follow list, and was surprised to see you are more so. The fact that you do so well in that engagement league you participate in is a testament to the high regard the community has for your conduct and integrity.
I'd like to think that, and it's very kind of you to say, but I'm afraid that my main reason for any level of success with the engagement league is my wordiness. :)
I learned fairly early upon getting here that it wasn't going to do me much good to be following a thousand people (I actually figured that out after I did it on Twitter), so I've gone in and pruned it periodically, mostly as people have dropped out, but occasionally when people change what they're writing or their tone to something that I can't really engage with anymore.
I still need to up the amount a little, though, because I do run out of things to read on a regular basis. Right now I'm behind again, but I've spent most of the morning so far going through replies, which is great for engagement.
I'm glad we've been able to connect. There seems to be quite a few of us more seasoned folks ambling around here, and it definitely elevates the level of the conversation for me. Not that there aren't some good kids, too. There definitely are, and they are sorely needed. There's just a lot of them who aren't, or are still in the maturing stage, and it's kind of like listening to nails on a chalkboard at times. :)
In a few days I will mark a year on this platform; and, have mentally written the draft post several times. Perhaps, I will post a review in a few weeks.
I would recommend some ingenious developer create an annual survey for a state of the Steemit update; but, I'm not 100% sure it would serve any useful purpose beyond repeating what's said numerous times throughout the day in other posts.
Thanks be to God; and, may your journey be filled with His blessings as well.
Peace.
Thank you :)
I will be curious to read your post on your anniversary.
✌!
A valuable and encouraging post. With your writing and narration skills your future here is undoubtable.
Thank you :)
Just like cryptos.. steemit itself is volitile.
Good times come and go. The best way to enjoy steemit is to not really care about the money...
Easier said than done tho.
Stick around tho. Another bull market will have this place roaring!
Happy to read this great well written post!
Congratulations for this 6 months at steemit and for discovering the bad and good faces.
Hope to read more from you.
We need more quality writers and less Jerry’s scamming guys
Thank you :)
You are right in regards to people making Steemit what it is. Most of the great ideas grow in the community and not from Steemit as a company. The day to day interactions with old and new users alike does have a remarkable draw. I've established friendships with people who I've met with in the community (3D world LOL) sourced from this platform, spent hours on the phone with folks I met and worked with on Steemit. I've never had a facebook account or twitter and my normal posture towards social media has always been anti as I never agreed with how it corrupted peoples lives. But we do have something remarkably different here. A great post and glad you stuck around. Keep up the awesome work. Up voted and definitely resteemed. :)Wow. What a great write up. I remember first arriving and not using bots for my first 8 months. Then @davemccoy and I started @newbieresteemday and I started using them to help people, and then started using them on my own post. But interestingly my most profitable vote ever came from before I ever started using them and recently I walked away from bots. I just went off them.
I know I said I wouldn't name drop, but davemccoy is definitely one of the heroes I had in mind in my post. You didn't miss anything not havinf a fakebook account. I deleted mine some time back, after downloading all the info they had been collecting on me.
Thanks for the kind words and looking forward to seeing where we will be after we have a year under our belts.
It's good to be reminded that the majority of the world still thinks like this. The road to change their minds will be just as long and arduous as the journey you've been on. Baby Steps.
Yes, baby steps. The crazy part is how few it takes before someone with an open mind (like myself) can suddenly begin reframing everything.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am sure other folks like me who have only been here a few months will find it valuable. I agree with wholeheartedly about the community aspect of Steemit.
It looks like we both joined Steem at the same time and came to similar conclusions about Steem. I never got to the point where I was going to power down (it seemed way too long) but I have been through the motions of this place and the toll it has taken on me.
The Steem brochure promises a utopia full of profit and content, but soon after joining you realise there are no water slides, the plants are dying and the corrupt capitalist overlord whales who preside over this place all prefer to eat alone at the massive dinner table, snacking on minnow and plankton as they pass by.
But as you say, eventually you discover the good side of Steem. There is a moderate minority of people trying to do good, Curie and Utopian are two prime examples of curation groups trying to pay people what their content is worth and it's beautiful. You've got locality specific curation groups and that's also beautiful as well.
The public and highly visible part of Steem is ironically the bad part. The whales manipulating and buying their way onto the trending page. To find the great content you have to put on your hazmat suit and gloves, then go digging through the trash to find it, but it's there.
I try and dedicate at least an hour or two per week specifically for seeking out great content writers and following them. I am not always successful, but more often than not, I find someone who spell checks and properly formats their posts, with interesting subject matter and that is good enough for me.
Not sure if you have come across it yet, but @thedarkhorse runs a curation contest called pay it forward.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply and glad to see others who also joined around the same time and didn't quickly quit.
Your story is inspiring, thanks for sharing it helps me to stay positive.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, i have really found it valuable to me.. 😊👌
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