In 2017, not too long after YouTube changed its monetization rules. They had a rule where you needed 10K channel views before the 4k watch hours and 1k subs. (which was modified to 500 subs and 4k watch hours to unlock partial monetization)
I was on a site like Facebook called Ong, social, which rebranded to something else (I don't remember). With Ong, they paid for impressions on your content. Close to Facebook's bonus program, and a user talked about Steemit when it was in. Hive came into play before lockdowns, or I didn't know it existed until lockdown. My Steemit posts crossed over.
I joined due to unemployment at the time, due to autism, before other problems came in during lockdowns.
I liked the idea of making money blogging. I saw it as a jumpstart while working to remonetize my channel. I lost monetization when YouTube updated the rules, allegedly after Logan Paul did something problematic.
At the time, I couldn't get my mom to understand why 9-5s weren't made for neurodiverse minds. And how the workforce is stacked against autistic folks,
Also, employers don't want to hire autistic people. And/or obtaining workplace adjustments is difficult.
Interviews are against us. For example, the question "Tell me about yourself."
Autistic brains are literal thinkers; we'd think it's an invitation for info dumping about us, like where you're from. During a new school year, the teacher asks the new student to tell the class about themselves. They tell the class where they moved from, hobbies, etc. When in doubt, our brains may default to what we know.
We're autonomous thinkers, meaning we'll only do the task you mentioned. Not anything in between. If employers aren't clear in their directions, this causes miscommunication.
I have examples of miscommunication getting to me,
I started virtual therapy sessions. The email containing the link to join the appointment came in 25 mins past my appointment. I thought whoever handles the doctor's messages forgot to send it or something. I always opt in for text alerts because I'll easily miss an email.
Long story short do to getting the emails too late, led to me being dropped as a client because they flagged it as a no-show.
If there's miscommunication between something so simple, imagine a job. The therapist didn't even reach out to rule out technical difficulties (could've been why the email was late) before dropping me.
I follow a creator who makes skits about how our autistic traits get us into trouble at work. One example is we're direct communicators, "Hey, can you help me with this?" In the skit, the neurotypical employee was talking about how they were behind on a task, and the autistic person saw it as venting, not asking for help. Their manager reprimanded them for not helping the neurotypical employee.
Remember, employers don't want us in their workforce. They claim they do, but then treat you differently when you actually work for them. They know they can't say they won't hire us because of our differences, they do it in subtle ways where you can't prove discrimination and where it can be brushed off as "you weren't a good fit." Or the job's been filled. (when it wasn't)
I was earning well from Steemit/Hive until I struggled to earn one dollar when my earnings dipped in 2018, and I had a repeat in 2022 with Hive. And again, when my old account was hacked.
I've received hate from people who didn't understand why I turned to crypto blogging. The reality is that different folks have different paths when it comes to job seeking.
If abled-bodied folks are struggling to get a job in a dog shit job market, that tells you how bad it is.
When my earnings nosedived, I couldn't figure out what people preferred. I tried gaming, vlogs, vlogging challenges, tech reviews, tutorials, and nothing worked. That also prompted another person to attack me. It felt harder to get seen than on YouTube.
Some disabled or chronically ill people could work by pacing themselves and taking medication. Someone else may be unable to work. We're not bad people if our disabilities or illnesses render us unable to work. Blogging and making videos on your schedule is different than being on someone else's time.
That's why I turned to YouTube, streaming, and crypto blogging because I can accommodate myself. Choose the workflow depending on what my body could handle that day.
When my sinuses and vertigo is bad enough, and they work together, the dizziness renders me bedridden. I can post from my bed with my phone or tablet. Verses a boss who threatens to fire me for not coming in.
Lockdowns showed us that even "real jobs" aren't reliable because people were unemployed overnight, with zero warning. Which is why having an emergency fund is important.
I wanted to have my own website and thought these sites would be a test run for something better.
Maybe there's still time for me to grow as a crypto blogger.
