Before I go into a full explanation of how I think I achieved the #1 reputation ranking on Steemit, I want you to look at this chart from steemwhales.com that shows the top 5 reputation spots on Steemit: 1. @stellabelle 2. @tuck-fheman 3. @dantheman 4. @cryptoctopus 5. @gavvet.
So, looking at this chart, one must wonder, "What do all these people have in common?"
A careful examination leads one to the realization that in fact these 5 people do not have a lot in common. But there are a few things that are worth looking at more closely.
The first thing that jumps out at me when looking at all the rest of stats is this: all the top 5 people's accounts are worth over $100,000. The second thing is: we were all early adopters.
@dantheman of course leads everyone else in terms of account value, Steem Power and curation rewards. He blows everyone else out of the park in those areas. But it is interesting to note that @dantheman is the ONLY whale with an account value over $1 million that exists in the top 5 reputation spots.
This leads us to looking at the total number of posts.
@tuck-fhemen leads the pack with his post # of 2,754. I'm in second place with regard to amount of posts with 2,553. By the way, post # represents the total number of posts and comments. So the #1 and #2 spots both have a very large number in the post category. This is significant. @tuck-fhemen and I both post a lot and comment a lot. I noticed this tendency when I first got into Steemit. He and I are similar in the amount of social interaction we have on the platform and we are very different people. Our paths now rarely cross, actually as our social groups are composed of different kinds of people. However, when he writes a funny, raw post like the one listed below, I find myself dying of laughter because he tends to say what everyone is feeling but is too afraid to write. He seems to take on the role of the everyman and he does that extremely well. He doesn't cover up his raw feelings, instead, he purges them, but he does this in self-deprecating, humorous way. Self-deprecating humor goes a long way in building social bonds and trust.
A closer look at one of @tuck-fhemen's posts that got a whopping 435 votes and you'll quickly realize that @tuck-fhemen uses a combination of irreverence, honesty, collaboration, creativity in music and art, not-caring-what-people-think-of-him and humor to create his posts which then become popular.
But you'll notice that not all of his posts are high dollar. Mine aren't either. But he and I are very consistent and we put a lot of time into both creating posts and commenting. I believe we both care very much about Steemit and view it more like a new home than anything else. He gives useful advice to minnows like, "it's better to write 15,000 posts that each earn $1 than try to write one @dollarvigilante-esque $15,000 post." That is actually very good advice.
He writes in such a way that doesn't seem to care whether he gets upvotes or not. This is crucial. When you read his posts like, How I Made $1.32 in 12 Hours on the New Blockchain Based Social Media Site Steemit you can't help but see yourself in them. He eviscerates himself very well in a comedic way. He's also poking fun at all the serious people using click-baity titles.
But all of this still doesn't quite explain how I managed to achieve the #1 reputation spot.
After all, I believe I arrived later than all these people. When I joined Steemit, I was around the 11,710th one to do so. That means many people had a good month on me. I arrived on June 8, 2016. I arrived in Steemit with 0 dollars invested and 0 friends. I have not put in one dollar into my account, which means that all the rewards I've received in Steemit have been sweat equity alone.
Let me tell you what I think is responsible. And like I said, it's what I think, not what I know for certain.
When I first became active in Steemit, there were no monetary rewards for commenting. There also was no reputation rank. There was only money for post rewards and curation.
Guess what I did from day one in Steemit?
I took off my mask and got honest. I was myself, raw and unfiltered. I didn't hide anything, and in fact I did the opposite. I exposed myself, psychologically, that is.
I got into some arguments, but I feel that I was never disrespectful. I expressed strong emotions, for sure. I also set a daily goal of posting 2 articles per day, every single day without skipping a day. I became consistent and persistent.
In addition to writing, I spent a huge chunk of time commenting on other people's posts even though there was no monetary reward for doing so. I found posts that interested me. I tended to shy away from controversy as I dislike confrontation for the most part. I also don't dwell on negative emotions or things beyond my control. Steemit is actually teaching me how to express my disagreements in a productive way, though.
I didn't know that my efforts in commenting would ever be rewarded as there was no mention of a future reputation ranking system. So, why would I do this if I was receiving no money for it, no compensation?
I did the opposite of what everyone else was doing for this one reason: high quality engagement and feedback in society is in short supply.
I was doing what I felt was lacking in the "real" world. Real feedback, connecting in an honest and deep way......I think many people who are in relationships also do not get honest feedback. When you cling to something that you think might vanish, you don't tend to give your honest self to it.
Fear is the unforgiving slave master of truth.
Fear is the cause of much of the problems that exist right now, in Steemit and the "real" world. Even I experience fear on a daily basis. I have a very strong fear of going broke, like I did in the past. But now I watch this fear, and I observe it instead of acting upon it.
I've been thinking about this problem for a long time now. When I was in corporate America, I noticed the thing that was most disturbing to me was this: I and everyone else in the company was treated like a refillable lighter. My unique ideas were dismissed, my efforts went unnoticed and it felt like 95% of the employees hated going to work. We all carried around this downward spiral attitude that was caused by not being recognized for our unique gifts. We were also all afraid of being fired at any minute.
Corporations are run just like factory farms, with little to no regard for life.
We are treated like cattle and we are treated very poorly, most of us. I never had managerial positions at companies. I never wanted to be "over" other people. I never wanted to order others around. I wanted to be recognized for my hard work and original ideas. Guess what? It didn't work out. I came to realize that I was not going to fit into someone else's hierarchy. I wanted to do things my own way, with my own values which are largely based on cooperation and voluntary action.
Just because we are adults does not mean that we no longer want gold stars, though.
We all want and need positive feedback in addition to money. I think we're all dying for this kind of recognition because we have not received it in a very long time. I have many years built up where I received little to no feedback for my hard work. I believe I am not alone in this respect.
Let me switch gears and give some ideas how you can improve your reputation. What is reputation anyway?
from dictonary.com:
"Reputation is the word which refers to the position one occupies or the standing that one has in the opinion of others, in respect to attainments, integrity, and the like."
Here are 5 concrete things you can do today to improve your reputation:
#1 Challenge yourself to write 100 high-quality, engaging comments on other people's posts in one day. (Key: high-quality). Afterwards, write a post that details all the fascinating things you learned about other Steemians. Mention the Steemians's names in your post who affected you the deepest.
#2 Write something gut-wrenchingly honest, something you've been meaning to write but that you are afraid to admit.
(if you're afraid, then most likely many other people will be afraid also. You will stand out.)
#3 Study what @thecryptofiend does and how he responds to posts. He's a prolific commenter on all the Secret Writer posts and I constanly upvote his comments because they provide such enormous value.
#4 Find 5 people on Steemit who need help. Most Steemians don't know about the resource, Steemithelp. Educate yourself on some common questions, then go out in search of people on Steemit who could benefit from you helping them. Write a value-rich comment.
#5 Create the next absurd Steemit trend (male makeup tutorials created quite a trend some weeks ago, what's next?). Use your creativity and come up something super wacky. I have something planned in this area, but I don't know if it will become a trend or not. I know that no one else has done it, so I'm trying it. For minnows who want to be inspired, study @roelandp who is a master at creativity and trend-setting on Steemit.
There are lots of ways to increase your reputation, but sending private messages to whales and orcas begging them to read your posts is not in the list.
Oh, and if you have a really low reputation score, the first thing you should probably do is let go of hate. Hate is not rewarded in Steemit. Just choose one day to let hate go, then see how it feels. If you can't let go of hate for one day then my next suggestion is get some quality counseling. Most people have sought out counseling at some point in life, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you want a better life and want something different than what you currently have. The presence of hate indicates unresolved personal conflicts.
Good content and advice! Thank you for being open and sharing, Stellabelle! I started posting every few days and consecutive days and I got my first post over a hundred! Consistency is key, and helping newbies also helps you (upvoted and following now). Thanks again!
Exactly. If you see the potential for Steemit as a platform then the long game is just as important as having a trending post (if not more so). If you build up your reputation, post consistently good work and stick with it is sure to benefit you eventually.
If you look at the big Youtube stars as an example they didn't achieve success overnight it took most of them years of striving and persistence. Even then there is no guarantee but if you don't take this step then you can only blame yourself for failure.
The Beatles got turned down by multiple record companies before they hit it big. They didn't give up and kept playing, honing their art and getting better.
Imagine if they had just given up at the first hurdle because they didn't get instant success - we would have lost out on a huge amount of outstanding music and modern culture might be completely different.
True. Persistence is the missing piece that few really put their minds to. It's hard work to look failure in the eye, day after day. But some things are worth fighting for, every day. Thank you for always providing such value in your comments. You made me re-think the way I was commenting actually...
Appreciate your advice Stellabelle! Trying to get this out there ----> @nycactivism . Please look. It's a calendar of NYC activism related events! Hopefully can get it to REsteem! Many thanks again for your advice. Just did my introduceyourself post 3 days ago! Will start posting more photos....
@thecryptofiend, great reminders to not give up even in the face of difficult times. :) I'm encouraged.
There is this really important bit, that they had in that old childrens song here in Russia. It is a song about friends. And it has the line that goes something like "And even if [one] falls down, just gets up and goes again". Amd the context is that is because they are surrounded by friends. So that is a good thing for thread starter (my bad, I actually ment @ratel) to understand. If you treat people around as friends, it is eaiser to get more friends.
And here is the song I was talking about.
Nice, even if you don't understand any word. The pictures speak for theirself. Full of love and friendship. Reminds me of the artstyle of "The Mole" by Zdeněk Miler. My father had this film projector for such film rolls with many episodes of DEFA movies including also The Hare and the Wolf. Fond memories of my childhood. Me and my brother watched the movies with drawn curtains because the low light intensity of the lamp inside not comparable to todays technology. The projector was rattling like a sewing machine and was hot after minutes, smelt of melted plastic and lubricant. Sometimes the film teared apart and my father took a few minutes to bond the film and we were bored from waiting. The mole and his friends had always that positive attitude no matter what happened and there was a lot going on in the woods! ;)
Thank you for sharing, i'll ask who knows that russian movie.
Helping newbies is a huge part of it. As you have noticed, the whales, have indeed, stopped upvoting the Secret Writer posts. Does that mean I discontinue it and cave into frustration? No. It means I continue doing it because I SEE VALUE IN IT. Even if the whales no longer value it in terms of money, I see value in it for others as well as myself. I have perhaps a different value system than even the whales. This is a perfect example of having a bigger stake than just money. Some of the Secret Writer posts in the past were profitable, but that profit has pretty much died off, in money terms. But those posts still get around 200 votes, mostly from minnows. The minnow vote is valuable to me. If there were no minnow votes, now then, that would indicate that perhaps there is no inherent value in the Secret Writer.
Yeah, my latest strategy for improving the community is to scour the new posts for good content and give advice on improving posts. Good ways to get followers worth following and vice versa
I learned from @cryptos that another great way to do this is scouring the 'pending payout' posts. You can give deserving but forgotten posts some love before it's too late.
@tee-em I would love it if you could check out my posts and give me some advice!
New here and I would certainly welcome any constructive criticism you feel inspired to share ;) please & thank-you. I wish you well xox
200$ may not be much compared to the 1-5k posts (which still happen less frequently - but they do happen, and for some countries that kind of money would be 1 year of work), but they are not negligible. Many would kill to even have a 20$ per post consistency, not an avg of something like 500+ per post (if we average good payouts of >1-2k and bad payouts of 100-200$).
Agree!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who is actively trying to improve the content on Steemit. To that effect I created this campaign (please give me feedback, I just want to help):
I will upvote every constructive comment I get on Steemit with 5-10 cents in order to create a WIN-WIN-WIN.
You win by having me upvote and follow you, I win by having great comments and more followers and above all Steemit wins by getting better content.
Read about the rules and conditions here.
Please respond here or on my post with any feedback you have, thanks!
Congratulations! This is greatest post,i read it carefully so that i can also improve my ranking because rank is very important to get success on #Steemit.
which idea appeals to you the most?
Actually when users have no rank than every one giving up vote to all but after ranking ,most of user not giving up vote or comment to those people who have less rank. so who have good rank they should help to those users who are writing good content but not getting more up votes or comment on their posts.thanks.
I have read your post, but not all 78 comments so far... I simply don't have time, so forgive if I repeat someone else. Just my personal feedback.
I only came across you yesterday on "Secret Writers" which I just think is a BRILLIANT idea to allow people to share anonymously very deeply held, and often severely negative and life changing experiences in a safe and secure environment, and receive some hopefully encouraging and positive feedback.
I sense for some of the writers it could be the first time they have ever released some of this negative energy that is perhaps holding them back in life for years.
So, just another example of the positive impact Steemit is making on people's lives, quite apart from any monetary reward system. Keep up the good work @stellabelle I will continue to follow and read your valuable articles and comments :)
Thanks for the praise for the Secret Writer project. It's like the culmination of many years of trying various things, failing at most of them, and then searching for something that can hold my interest long-term. I am fairly sure I have some attention issues, for it seems that after 3 months of doing a thing, I lose interest. This SWP changes daily, so I think it's good for people and I am happy that I get to pay people every day for their secrets.
trying various things, failing... I beg to differ. The only failure is not trying :)
Maybe you are not meant to be involved in things long-term. Have you considered that? Perhaps you are an "innovator" type personality who is better engaged in the "ideas" stage and delegating or handing over the development and day-to-day running of things once a project or idea is up and going. I am sure you could appoint or elect moderators in due course, much as FB allows on their 'pages' or 'groups'. Just a suggestion.
That you have provided a platform for individuals to express themselves anonymously is a valuable commodity worthy of praise. Very well done! You deserve all the praise you receive :)
Yes, I am an innovator. I tend to start things and then hand the finished projects over to others. I've been doing this for a while now. I want to focus current efforts on building out the commerce infrastruture here on Steemit. I have a ton of ideas, one of which is really exciting to me. It's the black swan idea. It literally makes me shiver when I think about it. That's the one I want to focus on in the near term. It requires the right team, the right personalities in order to make it really work like magic. I live by Kamal Ravikant's expression, "On the other side of fear is where the magic is." I do the things of which I am most afraid.....The Black Swan Event is just that....
Yes, I am an innovator. No surprise there then :)
Black Swan.... hmmmm... can have very catastrophic negative conoctations and memories, this term. I am quite sure that is not how you are using it or intending it in this context though :)
2 simple ideas I thought of (a) Re:Commerce and "Official" Steemit merchandise - T-shirts, Buttons etc,. Slogans like Full Steem Ahead , Steem on By, I'm Steeming! (How about you?) Steem Zone etc.
(b) If you have their ear, get the Whales to start a Mermaid category for you ladies on here :) Best Wishes for now!
@stellabelle, You absolutely killed this article...
It's so easy to get caught up in wanting everything now, when in reality those who are successful on Steemit put in the work.. CONSISTENTLY...
How many others are going to show up everyday and post TWO high quality articles? How many others are going to take the time to read and engage in a genuine manner while leaving comments?
While I'm still new here and have yet to find "success." I'm determined to put in the work. I'm obsessed with the process not results, because I know in the long run I'll be better off.
I might not make money at first, but just meeting one new person here will make it worth while.
I especially liked your tip on being raw and genuine. I have a post on how I overcome gambling addiction, that while I've shared before, know it will bring value to the community. I hope to post it very soon.
I'm also noting the things I "don't get" at a newbie and plan on sharing my learnings.
I'm serious.. I haven't been this excited about something in many many years and am going to do my best to bring as much value to the Steemit community as possible.
Thanks for sharing. :)
Also, by posting high-quality, well planned comments, your name achieves some visibility. This visibility helps in a number of ways. Additionally, if your comments are helping Steemit grow, a whale might take notice and upvote you. There are some days that I earn more in comments than posts. It's part luck, but the more high-quality comments you have floating around, the more chances you will have at being rewarded in some way for them.
Luck is always a part of success, but people often overlook putting in the work. I appreciate you. :)
Everything that is worth achieving in life is never easy. It takes hard work and dedication to be successful in any endeavor you choose. Shortcuts and get rich quick schemes never pan out. Success is and not a straight 45 degree angle on a chart. It has it's ups and downs. These things might all sound cliche but they are the truth. I've learned in order to grow in my life and career I've had to step outside my comfort zone and I'm successful today in Corporate America as a result of it. My desire is to go the entrepreneurial route and my journey is still in progress.
Wov acording the comments, a lot of fast readers here! :) I started reading the article after 10 seconds of posting and just finished it.
Good post! I also think honesty and being yourself is a key of success.
Your advice about let the hate go is very true. You cannot create good things if you are jealous and full of hate.
I think it is also important to not blame others or the system if you are not successful, just try to learn from others, and improve yourself.
Yes, it's easy to fall prey to jealousy. It happens to me too. Some of my artist friends are doing much better than me, money-wise with posts recently. It makes me pause and reflect. Then I have to ask myself: what is the goal? Is it to create value or money, or both? Right now, for the last days, I've felt overwhelm, as I have a long backlog of secrets to publish. The Secret Writer Project is actually a job now. I'm probably due for a break.
Back to jealousy. When writing posts, it's better to just forget about all the other posts out there. Or, if you're feeling frustrated, stop posting altogether for a few days and pour out your heart on commenting. See what happens, experiment with different strategies. There are loads of people hungry for comments.
Stellabelle, I also think that the presence of hate or even anger in us is pointing us to what we need to look at about ourselves and can be clues as to what we need to do next in our own lives. These things then point us to what will release us from the hate or anger. :) Sometimes, if it's something that we can do nothing about then indeed, letting go of it is the best thing to do. :)
Spot on! I left a similar comment. Reading Byron Katie and doing some of her worksheets really helped me resolve so many long-standing issues in my life.
Cool, just checked out Byron Katie and found this interesting under the Money Category on http://www.byronkatie.com/2015/11/thought-thursday-35/
On Work and Money
When you lose something, you’ve been spared—either that or god is a sadist. How do I know I don’t need money? It’s gone! I’ve been spared: what I would have done with that money would obviously have been much less useful for me than losing it. —Byron Katie
Great post, thank you. I wrote something similar recently because I think reputation is really important. It's who we are in the mind of others. Thank you for including the comment about the importance of letting go of hate. Along with that, I hope people can let go of they insecurities. Often people lash out to defend what they think is their honor, but is more often just a tragic expressions of an unmet need.
"a tragic expressions of an unmet need." That is a powerful and correct statement. It is usually because of our unmet needs that we are so horrible to one another....I couldn't agree more.
Thanks @stellabelle. That's not my quote, it's from NVC, something I think the whole world needs to know a lot more about. I'm quite proud of that being one of my first posts on Steemit. :)
Keep up the awesome.
Congratulations, I'll study and work towards improving!!
I love these two!
Thanks for this. I was feeling a little downtrodden this morning when the picture I took kept (and still keeps) showing up upside down. Even when I flipped it and uploaded it upside down thinking it would flip. It has to be me, I just do not know.
I am determined to keep on keeping on however. You guys and gals are stuck with me, I'm afraid.
I am determined to welcome the newbies (at least 10 per day) because somebody should.
Also, I am trying to gather as much information on steemit as possible so I can write some tutorials.
Thanks again, it is posts like this that inspire me to keep plugging.
You are definitely on the right track. One of the jobs I assumed when I first joined was welcoming all the newbies. The bots were about the only ones who were doing this because at that time, there were no rewards for comments. It was when Dan noticed that no one (besides me and a few others) was commenting, that he realized that that was a big problem. Then things shifted and we got the ability to be paid for comments. I did a lot of welcoming in those early days. We need more people welcoming newbies, it's getting so crowded!!!
"Just choose one day to let hate go, then see how it feels. If you can't let go of hate for one day then my next suggestion is get some quality counseling. Most people have sought out counseling at some point in life, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you want a better life and want something different than what you currently have. The presence of hate indicates unresolved personal conflicts." This is so important. I let go of a lot of hate when I left my toxic marriage but it took about a year. The first step was in forgiving myself for having married a man with so many red flags, but I did some mirror work and ultimately faced all of the fear, shame and self-hatred that had previously consumed my life. Thanks for this wonderful piece, @stellabelle.
I was in a similar situation. I lived in a hate-filled existence for many years. It was horrible. I treated myself bad and all those around me in a similar way. The cause of my hate was a failed relationship and terrible judgment on my part. I had a bad time forgiving myself for choosing the wrong person. I definitely am much happier now that I have forgiven myself......
Your line about letting go of hate really hit me. I think that's why I'm here. Ultimately, Steemit is a market, and in any free market, producers are obligated to let go of the hate and produce value in order to succeed. What I like about this platform is that there are many ways to produce value, above and beyond your writing product. Commenting, interacting, helping, listening, learning from others - mutually beneficial actions necessary for success. What benefits you will benefit me, ultimately. I see much less hate here than I do on other platforms (my friends tend to debate politics). Am following you because I look forward to more of your ideas.
I appreciate you taking the "let go of hate" thing. I think it's a tragedy actually how easily we resort to hate instead of logic. The experiment that I was talking about actually works. I used it for a different challenge and mine dealt with self-love, namely the fact that I don't yet have that quality. I chose one day and asked myself, "What would someone who loves themselves do? I decided that someone who loves themselves would go to the gym, taking care of their physical self. Then, I guess they might take themselves out to eat a healthy meal, then maybe get some necessities that they had been neglecting. I reversed all the energy that one usually throws onto another, and decided to put that energy into myself. It worked for one day. Then the next day, I resumed my habit of neglecting my basic needs. I have a new taste for what it feels like, though.
Well, that's a start. I'm sure you'll eventually get there. It can take a lifetime.
Your piece here inspired one of my own, and taking your explicit advice, I mentioned you and linked your article in it. Thanks for the inspiration. <3
https://steemit.com/steemit/@daoine-sidhe/why-steemit-produces-more-value-and-less-attitude-than-facebook
Sign under every word! I did the same thing. Amazing! :) This is the way up!
Thank you for this helpful advice! I have been wondering as well how you can increase your reputation score, or how you managed to get so far. First of all, my respect to you for sticking to steemit since day 1 and being 100% honest and exposing yourself. You really poured your heart out and got rewwarded for that.
I think in this anonymous cryptocurrency world we need more people like that, people who are just genuine and follow their passion. Too many people on here nowadays are just after the money and don't even love the content they're putting out (let alone plagiarism..)
Anyway, thanks again for helping newbies out with your knowledge and experience. You are such a valuable member of the steemit community. definitely keep it up! :)
Thanks so much. I am glad you've decided to hang out here in Steemit! Thanks also for your gift. That was a big surprise!
There's a Maori word here in New Zealand "Ako" which basically means "The students learn from the teacher & the teacher learns from the student" I am loving the sense of community here in Steemit. So much knowledge sharing and good quality content. It's like having an amazing conversation with someone. Heart fulfilling. You are all awesome people. I hope there's a huge Steemit party one day!
me too! I have learned more on Steemit than anywhere else. It's like a school. I would love to attend a Steemit party someday.....
So many good advices every day for 25 hours . I count over 800 posts and over 70 followers , no idea how many blogs I put out but I do it in my semi silent way , learning step by step . I rather go with my own flow . I can't stand making plans I just practice to tell stories in word picture , feedback or whatever. Value is relative and people will always be people and follow what or who is popular first . Do I care about being highly ranked , paid enough or liked . What you think ??? Damn I made 200 !!!!! Whatever dollars ! That's massive and more than a maid here in Indonesia gets per month hard work .
By the way I put lots of emotion into my comment on your first love story . 🐉🐲🐩 and enjoy commenting the most on newbies pages and stories to help them to get 1 cent more for their efforts and tell them to stay motivated . This is what makes me happy !
We do need more people like you who are full of energetic light. For sure.....
Thank you ! I feel your light and honesty
your soul is so refreshing @stellabelle I have learnt a lot from you to entice me to write, I love that you have a demonstable faith in something reflected in your deep care for your self and others souls and recognising that there is more to life than money, how self love and loving others is also valuable, and you are also brave and open to share your fears about finances. I have been feeling my fears about money since living off my plantation six years now, and finding that, the more i face them the less i fear I have, the richer the life
@stellabelle thank you for this valuable insight from a rare honest perspective. There was a lot to learn from the value based aproach you have taken. Above everything one lesson that stood out as a takeaway is:
Focus on adding value by engaging with thoughtful comments to other blogs.
Keep sharing, I will follow your work going forward because I do believe you are delivering valuable material.
I can't get past this post. You catched me a second time. Everything you write is very interesting, but not always there is a desire to say something in response. The second time I see your brave and honest story and I admire your generosity. You give a powerful formula for success. It is very accurate. This is your precious experience. It is the fruit of inner work. It is your intuition and the natural tendency toward introspection. Damn, I take my hat off.
I saw your videos on Youtube. I was very amused by the video where you put clown makeup on the face. I feel your strong emotion which is expressed in irony.
But the video of your car impressed me even more.I saw the world through your eyes. And it was wonderful. All of these figures and their combinations. It's so close to me.
I wish you to always stay in touch with your inner child. This baby is a miracle!
I have seen many people who did not find the field for implementation. You have found! And I'm glad of that fact! I am glad that you share success and wealth with less fortunate persons.
Thank you for such an inspiring example! Good luck and prosperity!
Thank you so much. It is your comment that I loved so much for it shows the wild inner spirit of you. Your comments were unrestrained joy, and that definitely shone through. I promise I won't lose being a child inside. Everyone has this capability, but few pause long enough to hear the whispers of the child-mind.
I love how you try to help steemians and you provide ideas. Everything is well studied and you provide "proof" of what you mention, like the chart of the top five reputation.
I have started the #couponing tag a few weeks ago. I understand not many people are interested or know about it. Since you have more experience posting i wanted to ask you @stellabelle if the time you post really matters.
I also provide comments, but nothing to the extend uou do, so i will spend more time doing that as well. Thanks again!
I think you have this spot on.
The way I found you initially was through some of your insightful and honest comments and that brought me to your writing. I think taking time to comment is in many ways the forgotten part of Steemit.
A well crafted comment can really make someone else's day in addition to actually forwarding the discussion. Comments are my main way of finding new people to follow - it tells you a lot about the person and can reveal how they think. It is a great way for good thinkers and community contributors to show their true nature.
It is also a mark of character - are you someone who is truly interested in promoting the community or are you just hoping to cash in by "run and gun" posting?
Although a simple praising comment is always appreciated it takes little time and doesn't really show you have read the post. It makes sense for photo posts (like I do) but not for the longer form writing posts.
That said I do enjoy people who do take the time to offer constructive criticism for my photo posts even more than those who just praise them. It shows they are actually taking the time to help me get better.
Even if you really 100% like something it helps to tell the author what you like the most. Both of you benefit from the exercise.
Thank you so much for the shout out. I've noticed a lot of people who take a lot of time to read other people's posts properly and do try to move the conversation forward.
I think people always appreciate that. I am not the only one who does it but it is very kind of you to say so.
If there is one thing that I think your post points out it is that the most important thing for reputation is to be a good member of the community.
It may not be immediately profitable but you will enhance both other people's and your own experience of Steemit.
Earning people's respect is worth infinitely more than a pile of cash.
What most people don't understand is that steem is a social network. It generates tokens by people "mining" (I think term "minting" is more apt for this kind of thing, no?) posts. Attracting new people. Generating good content, and especially a good community. In a setting like this reputation trumps any other resource. This is a lot like slashdot karma.
(Insert the joyoftech stip about slashdot karma here :-D)
Thank you, @stellabelle!
I didn't know about www.steemithelp.com, and this idea to write 2 posts a day really inspires me! :) However today I spent 16 hours to prepare the video report from yesterday's Steemit Meetup in Russia. So I'm squeezed like a lemon, and for me this second post is too much for today :) But tomorrow I'll definitely start to do it! ;)
You guys had a meet? Cool! I want to drop by once I get back to Moscow.
I started with the notion that I should make a habit of doing a post daily. But I am also currently away from civilization, and sterm eats through both my battery and traffic quite a bit.
Perhaps, once I am back to civilization...
For me, it's more difficult raise my reputation because after a ban I restarted with 1 rep. The route to becoming a good steemian it's difficult and exciting.
By the way, I'm following you and upvote i hope you can see my work and appreciate that
I would've been nice if I saw such a post when I first came to steemit, but then again I seem to have already done some of the things in the list of concrete things that you suggest people do... and I haven't even done it to improve my reputation.
Being an early adopter sure does give you more time to get to know how things work and it is easier to get to know other early adopters like you while the community is small, but as it grows it will get harder and harder.
When I first learned about steemit, read an article about it, I have decided to check it out, however I did not immediately register and started using it. I had that planned, but the tab with steemit.com remained open for more than a week before I actually registered and started using it properly. Prior to that I was just taking a brief look into it and was still unsure what exactly I'll be doing if I join. Now I know I should have registered earlier and not wait...
Still the experience is experience, as you get to learn and try new things and improve yourself over time :)
From an outside perspective, I think when your greatest from an outside perspective, I think when your greatest assets is your pure utopian believe in the system.
You have really gotten into the minds of the creators and embrace their philosophies. You have push these philosophies and positive and creative ways.
You should be rewarded well for your allegiance!
Cheers
hey, thanks for that. I do have an optimistic side to me underneath the external layers of cynicism.
Very helful ! I am new on Steemit and was worried how to build up my reputation here.. Feeling very relaxed after reading your post. Thank you so much :)
your rep is higher now.
Yeah I am very happy to see that :) Thank you
Thanks for this post, it certainly will help me as I'm a newbie to Steem, and promise myself to be like a sponge and absorb as much as possible. Cheers!
As always @stellabelle, you amazed me on how wide your thouhts about everything that happen in the community. You have so much knowledge to share, very well informed and very concerning.
Thanks @stellabelle. We all can use these insights.
The last paragraph was really a great conclusion. There's been a ton of resentment lately in light of some huge payouts. Some folks know that they've produced better content for pennies, only to see someone come along and reap thousands because they said "Hi, I'm here" or posted something with no real value but got popularity points turned to $$.
Why not be happy for folks when they bank large, regardless of how you've done? It's not like they did something wrong. I consider Jeff a friend, and was delighted to see him bring in so much so quickly. A twinge of jealousy? Absolutely. I could have held all the pennies from my intro post in one hand. But I had to check that and ask myself the honest questions, recognizing that I am not bringing much of a following. So I need to bring value. Hopefully I succeed and build up a decent reputation for openness, honesty, intelligence and valuable insights... oh and sarcasm. :)
Thanks again.
This is my first comment on Steem. I have been on the platform for less than 5 hours and i think this post is incredible. Not for any Steem related reasons but just as advice for life. People forget the reputation and the money for a moment. Let these words impact your life outside of the online space. Let them change your perception of the world around you. It is true that hate is the most destructive emotion that can be felt. And it is not love but acceptance that is the opposite of hate. I have been in management positions for much of my life and I can tell you that you get much more out of your team members when you think of them that was as opposed to employees. Life is a group effort and if you have the ability to be a coach or mentor, have at it!! Making others better makes us all better.
excellent points. Learning how to disagree respectfully is also a skill that few people understand how to do (myself included.) Steemit is really teaching me how to be honest, even when i disagree with others. Hating has no place here, as there are no economic rewards attached to hating. This is I think the most revolutionary aspect of Steemit. This is the thing I love about it.
Thanks for sharing this. I am not sure about how the reputation works, but I think that being constructive as well as active generally describes a person that has built up a good reputation. Other than being a good author, or a whale of course.
From your post, I've realised how much more interaction I could have, so I've decided to try some of the things you suggested. I don't know if I will be able to make 100 quality comments in a day, but I will most certainly try!
I have not yet done it either! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by adding 100 high value comments...
Thanks @stellabelle I don't know about 100 high quality and engaging comments. I might try to aim for posting better comments over time.
I'll admit, I would not have believed that you have not put a single dollar into steemit, had somebody told me. I did put money into steemit. Quite a bit, in fact, so now I feel a need to make that money grow and it feels a bit like curation is my only way for now.
After a few days, and a few cents later. It started to feel like I was giving everyone else money through curation and was getting nothing in return. I had a mental picture of a mountain of people formed from the bodies of those who had scrambled before them. Each one, desperate to reach the top.
I have been trying to get my head around the monetary incentives steemit offers to high quality content and have made a mental commitment to not focus on the anxiety stemming from not receiving the monetary rewards that inspired me to come here to begin with. Instead, I am thinking of content which interests me that I can share which has value. All the while treating steemit like a skill that I want to develop.
All in all, here is still a fun place to be.
As a matter of fact, I have begun to disregard curation rewards altogether, and I now am trying to focus on minnow frustation, which is growing. As more and more people enter, there will be more people posting. It's not possible that all those posts can end up on the 'hot' page. It's just not possible. The next phase of Steemit might be in a marketplace, or in small tribes that have formed around certain interests. I have decided, just like in the beginning, to refocus my efforts on something that I can control: helping the reputation of those people who provide real value to my publications like the Secret Writer. A commuinty has formed around that content, and it is community that I crave more than anything. Money is important, I am not going to lie, but I do feel better about myself since I have refocused my efforts around trying to solve bigger problems like minnow frustration.....
Yes, I have been thinking along the same lines.
There is minnow frustration and perhaps a focus on less #minnowsunite and more growing of communities. Me, for example, my interests which spring to mind are: family, fatherhood, investing, prepping, crypto and photography. I just invest time into other peoples posts which interest me.
I have only wrote two posts and do not intend to write any more until I am ready and the irony is that I have been gaining followers without writing content on my blog. So I think, just get involved in the community and other things will follow.
I didn't realise until yesterday that my powering up earns compounded interest. This has really fired me up and led me to realise that every bit of steem I can power up is pure gold.
To sum up, if people could just put just a little bitcoin or ether into steemit and get involved, their votes would add up and they can get that compounded interest. It really is so addictive.
I have really got so much from this blog entry, thanks again.
I have only been around for a short time but from following you, I think the most important thing you have done is work ridiculously hard. You are constantly posting, commenting, and chatting. You also hustle like crazy to find new ways to succeed on here. Your Secret Writer idea gave many people an opportunity to be heard. Also, you have been incredibly helpful and have shared your expertise. Not only in posts like this but in chat as well. You have also encouraged people like me to just keep going... but be patient. Thanks
thanks for you comment. I have identified with the "entrepreneur" title for some time. I started many businesses, all of which failed with me as the CEO. I took some writing clients to pay my bills, but I consider myself to be a person with too many interests and too much focus on the innovative stages of business. I like to start things, then I hand them over to someone else to finish. I am a starter. I work my ass off actually. I am glad you took notice. I constantly adjust my strategy based on needs. I have switched strategies constantly since coming into Steemit. Right now I see the big problem of minnow frustration. It's not going away, and in fact, it will get much much worse. There are too many writers actually. Even I have lost the whale support, for the most part. This just means I need to re-think my role and the needs of the platform. I see a great need in the minnows. I'm working on an Ideas For Minnows post, that goes beyond the scope of writing........
I believe we communicated about ADD before. What you're describing is a perfect example of when ADD becomes a huge asset. You have been able to pay attention to EVERYTHING happening on this site and can change "on the fly". Most people are not wired that way. Many people get rattled by the significant changes that have happened during the infancy of this community. They see frustrations. You see opportunities. And you are dead on about "minnows". That is the group that desperately needs to be served right now. I can't wait to see what your next move is. I am very confident that you will find a way to make helping minnows a profitable endeavor for all involved. I have the will to do the same. I just don't have the vision.
Fear IS the mind killer. I like what Timothy Leary & Robert Anton Wison say about how conciousness operates, with different level circuits (that somehow are quite similar with that pyramid of that guy Maslow).
Apart from a couple of irrational fears, like going of the rocker and flinging myself under the incoming train against my own will and better judgement I don't have any fears, really.
But in current culture there is another killer, and it is somewhat more insidious than that. I mean if you have The Fear (in a sense that Hunter Thompson uses the term) it is something quite tangible & concrete. Something that you know you have. Like what you said: "The fear of going broke".
This thing? Anxiety
Perhaps it it has to do with overcrowding. Or maybe it is the corporations that dehumanize you, and not the overcrowding itself? Or maybe it is The FNORDS? (I wonder if there is anarchopunk rock group by that name or not? If not someone needs to get one together like yesterday!)
Anyhow, my anxiety is quite mild, and it is also about money. It was actually much worse before, but got better after I realized that I have it. I mean it is really true that the first step is realizing that there is a problem.
Still, once I started planning my budget, things got much better. It did take quite an effort, but I like the results. I had a couple of tries before that weren't that successful, but this time I had a good way to encourage me. I found some people that depend on me being able to help them. It is a temporary arrangement, but it works. Also, by the time it ends I plan to have that as a solid habbit.
I think someone called it "the cat principle", that is you might be ok with skipping on doing something even to the point of not having the food on your table. But you do have to care about the cat. Or it will meow really desperately at you, and cats do it using the same frequencies as babies, and humans usually get the urges to do something to fixing it.
Anyhow, I hope that steem can help people get rid of their fears and anxieties. But first they will have to learn to use their heads. Thank you on your tips as to how to go around to doing it!
Cheers!
The only people who do not have fear are sociopaths actually.
Fear is necessary in order to survive. Properly managed fear can be quite useful actually.
It is when it is unmanaged that it wreaks havoc.
Actually, I don't think that socipathy works that way, but it is true that socipaths don't have the conventional fears that most "normal" people have.
If you mean fight or flight response, I wouldn't call it fear. It is a biological trigger that makes one respond much faster than the rational mind can process. An instinct.
What I am talking about is that a lot of people have blocks, and those blocks they call fear. Sometimes it is the same mechanism as fight or flight and it akes them freeze in certain situations. Sometimes they use it to not to do something. Sometimes people overthink and worry a lot. I am guessing word worry is much beter description for something that sociopaths lack!
And a lot of worry comes fromthings that person has no control over. That is what I am talking about. I don't worry about things I have no control over, and change ones that I have instead of worrying about them. It is just you used word fear in your post, and I used it as well. There are different meanings to every word, sorry about that misunderstanding.
And that gives me an idea. I really should write the post about The Fear. I really like Hunter Thompsons writing, and I think he was on to something. Too bad they cut that monologue in The Rum Diary movie, because it summed up his views really well. I even think it is central to understanding his writing.
This post has been invaluable to me. You, along with Trace Mayer, made Steemit make sense when I was still trying to figure out the lay of the land. I reference you and this post in my #introduceyourself post here:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@geke/the-creator-of-those-geke-venns-is-now-on-steemit-and-advice-for-minnows
It sounds a bit goofy to me but (for lack of a better phrase) your posts and comments have a strong 'feel-good' quality that I'm enjoying, irrespective of the subject.
Hey, thanks for that. I am not a perfect person, but I do have a certain addiction: sharing knowledge in the hopes that others will benefit. I decided last year to just sort of forget about my own unresolvable problems, and try focusing on helping other people. I've gotten a lot of confidence through that kind of work, and good feelings too. I am generally happier, so there is a selfish component, but I'd rather be doing good work and having everyone benefit that doing work and only have me benefit. Groups are stronger than individuals...
A lot of times it is also a good way to solve ones problems also, not always, but. Anyhow hope it is working out for you, it definitely does for me.
;)
Did you see my tweet?
I rarely use Twitter, link me please.
Thanks for the nod above! :)
Okay i try to be honest, some of your gifs suck. But i like your honesty :)
"I did the opposite of what everyone else was doing for this one reason: high quality engagement and feedback in society is in short supply." Very good insight. This is why Facebook sucks. Everyone is trying to impress each other. I have to do in spurts because of my health but hopefully I can implement each one at some point. Thanks Leah!
Thank you for this. So many people are missing the importance of comment. Complainers are focusing only on the success of their blog posts, and not mentioning how their comments are doing.
Great post again! Thanks for another refreshing read. Namaste :)
usually the most honest people are the ones who lie to themselves the most.
Today, I was rereading one of your previous posts with the business ideas for minnows. I keep coming back to the one about making 100 quality comments. That is my goal. I need to work on my comments anyway. I am trying to be a kinder, gentler commenter:)
You're actually a really good commenter. I recognize your name and associate it with quality comments.
That really means a lot, thanks.
Thank you for this post. I am not even a week old on steemit and posts like this really help. Does someone know what is the scale of reputation on steemit and how can I see steemers reputation?
Here's where you can see the reputations: http://steemwhales.com/?p=1&s=reputation
I am not sure what the scale is actually.
It's logarithmic like the Richter scale for earthquakes and I saw someone post a formula somewhere - can't remember who it was now but they actually looked at the code to pull the formula out. If I find it I will post it.
Thank you very much Stellabelle for sharing these valuable tips and facts with us, I hope I can grow in this platform as well as learning from what we all share!
This is a great post, I
ve read it carefully, greatfull for your advices Ive look through the acounts of steemits you metion it`s very informative. of course reputation is very important in all sspheres of our life and of course in steemit. sertanly I will follow your advices. Thanks alot :)Stellabelle, I feel you truly do deserve your #1 spot and as long as you're with us here in Steemit I will have a sense of relief - We all can learn from you and from others. Keep on doing your thing, I appreciate it!
I appreciate you saying that! I'm not the most cheerful person in the world, so I thank you.
first time reading one of your post stellabelle, I try to stay off the main stream stuff and finds lots of interesting blogs in the new section. Its more enjoyable using steemit the way you describe it, as to say.. enjoy the social aspects of the steem community rather than go after the money. i commented on a post this morning, poor lad didn't know how to put links in his blogs :/
my reputation before the follow feature update was (5) which is very good then somehow after the update went to (1) and it suppose to be over 50 , i got no downvote whatsoever on my posts or comments , slack channel down for maintenance , its crazy
I have just searched your history, and found that dantheman donwvoted one of your comments. For some reason it is not visible on steemit, but here are the transactions:
this is the comment:
https://steemd.com/tx/3c53272c527ef6eea0a35819d409f68727fc79c4
And this is the downvote:
1714 3691793 a2dbeebe0e7945900aa9e99e12e8c4f75eb67015 vote {"voter":"dantheman","author":"mustafaomar","permlink":"re-edgeland-how-to-completely-transform-your-psyche-part-1-20160801t013718630z","weight":-10000}
More readable: https://steemd.com/tx/a2dbeebe0e7945900aa9e99e12e8c4f75eb67015
There was an adjustment after the initial institution of the reputation system. Everybody got downgraded. If you really think there is a problem I would suggest going into the chat and using the #steemithelp.com channel to get assistance.
Posts like this one is the secret of success and nothing else..