The first welcome for me on the Hive Blockchain was a huge vote on my Introductory post. It was exciting and no welcome could be warmer than that! Could it be that I was expecting things to continue all rosy?
The Problem
I tried my best to be a good blogger, never skimping on any writing principles and ensuring I trying to follow all best practices. I noticed a basic fact, me efforts seems to be noticed by a few, so I was quick to make an inquiry, as frustration was building up, so I quickly contacted @Josediccus.
Here's our wonderful conversation:
@zestimony: Truth be told!! All the same, I really need some guidance on how to make the best off the Hive Blockchain, that's why I felt the need to contact you as someone who has gained some reasonable amount of success so far. I understand I'm a newbie and these things take time, but I'm still certain that with guidelines and good coaching I'll be better off.
You know there are things you later found that you would have done differently.
@Josediccus: The blockchain is difficult, yet easy. I started out like u. Your motivation determines how far you go. Firstly don't depend on the chain for money, build free connections, post very quality contents. Build real relationships don't build relationships for upvotes. Be realistic. Plus if you have money, invest, the blockchain is loyal to people who iinvest. Look at @starstrings01, he was a newbie too,
The secret is being overly creative. Find people who suit your goals
Post constantly even when u don't get rewards Just post. Keep pposting. One important thing, join communities. @zestimony: Thanks a lot for the guidance. This may be a long conversation so it's okay even when you don't reply swiftly. I'm at least appreciative of the fact that you're giving me a hearing.
The conversation continued, but these were the vital areas key to this discussion. @Josediccus is no doubt and intelligent and kind fellow, he guided me rightly but I was quick to forget his wonderful advice and suggestions, out of desperation.
At least, the recent events and experiences I'm gathering has reinforced in me the need to have given strong heed to his words:
The Blockchain is difficult, yet easy.
~@Josediccus
I underestimated the above statement, which could mean that as a newbie, the Blockchain could be difficult, but as one grows, it becomes easier. That statement explains a lot of our experiences as a newbie; it also shows why one may feel neglected and a strong urge to beg for votes. Based on his statement and advice, it is a fact to succeed on the Blockchain, one needs to take a career approach to the Blockchain, it requires time and real efforts (for Godsake, money is involved, so you should expect nothing less that work).
But out of curiosity, I went further to see if there's a shortcut to success on Hive (I was honestly still frustrated), so, I spoke with @Startrings01. Here's our conversation:
@zestimony: Firstly, I don't know how bad my posts have been. But I believe it's on par with most high quality once on the HL community but it isn't recieving the desired attention. Especially, this last one. Could it be a result of my perceived inconsistency on the community? Lack of HP? Or inability to update my beneficiary status with @lazy-panda, owing to lack of RC? Or is it a combination of all of these factors? @starstrings01: okay the thing is, for hive learners, I am not in charge of curating the featured post to lazy-panda, there is a different moderator for that. and lazy-panda can vote a post up to 2 days old. Also, setting lazy-panda as 10% do not mean your post would not get curated. And also, there are way too much post in the community that the whale account can support there are about 64 newbies in the initiative, with over 2000 members in Hive learners but the account can support about 20 posts per day because of depletion in hive power. @zestimony: It's alright. Thanks for the clarification.
That was a good counselling session, thanks to @starstrings01 for the clarification. With this, I had to chill and observe for sometime, while trying to keep up with the pace.
But this week, it was too much to handle, that I quickly spoke up in reply to the newbie initiative task 2 post. Here was the issue this week. I had two posts in Hive Learners community, this and this. Both posts did not receive votes from @lazy-panda which got me frustrated. So in the newbie task 2 post, I was quick to speak up:
@zestimony: Thanks for publishing the task two! I'll be sure to attend to it. However, with respect to vote begging, don't you think some Newbies are either deliberately or unwittingly being kept in a situation where they are left with no option than to beg for votes? The voting is part of the curation process and the amount of vote one receives equates to the value of the content as judged by the curator, so vote begging should never be reported. But imagine a situation where a newbie has tried to engage with others, supported and 3 days later his/her vote is ignored by @lazy-panda, it begs a lot of questions. First, I understand that we all cannot receive the same vote values, as we all have different reputations, HP, and a diverse set of following. But the lack of @lazy-panda vote after 2 days or even more of posting defeats the purpose of the newbie initiative programme, as a result we start begging for attention. I'm a victim of this, and I'm guilty of vote begging, because I believe the quality of my contents are not short of standards. But at the time of writing, I've two posts that have not received curation rewards, one 3 days old (which @bruno-kema later pointed out that I'm at risk of being muted for I've not mentioned the source of the lyrics cards, even when the source Musixmatch has been watermarked with the card, but I humbly added a footnote and comment to indicate) and the other 1 day old which there are currently no complains yet. And if a new set of tasks is administered, these posts risk being relegated to the background. I've been made to understand that the sweet spot for receiving votes is within the first 24 hours of posting, and I've confirmed the accuracy of that. So, if after 24 hours, nothing is done, it's honestly a source of concern to me and some other newbies alike. I suggested the use of unique tags for post to rule out the likelihood of leaving some persons out unknowingly so that the curators are not stuck in a series of hl-exclusive posts but focus on the task at hand, and I'm happy I was heard. But it seems I'm being a victim! On behalf of myself and maybe others having same issue, please, just give us the votes we need to progress on the Blockchain. We don't need to receive the best posts in a particular category (that's for the chosen ones), we just need to receive the rewards for our passion, and the rewards everyone else is receiving! Let's not pretend the votes are not important, that's our goal. When we seat crafting beautiful comments and posts, applying markdowns, designing cover images, and sharing link on Discord, that's what we aim for. And it's heartbreaking if after all these are done, we start being left with the feeling that our posts have been left out. Granted. Curation may even take place anytime within the 7 days of the curation window, but it plays with ones psychology when curation don't come early. It breaks the heart and causes discouragement. We hoped to have a hearing here on Hive Learners, and I believe my rants will get to those concerned. Thanks. Sorry if I've said somethings you don't agree with, I'm just expressing myself.
@starstrings01: The thing is, at first votes are not assured on Hive so as no one should be entitled for votes. Yeah I know it encourages the newbies but it's tough trying to help a lot of people with the voting power available. More so, vote begging is not limited to hive learners community alone but the whole hive community. @lazy-panda is not the only curator on hive, though for the Community but yet still votes posts above 24hrs timeline regardless the voting penalty attached. The purpose of the newbies initiative programme goes beyond just supporting authors on their posts. Yes, we have little voting power to go round for 64-66 newbie but yet doesn't mean the purpose is defeated. We go a long way to explain a lot to newbie what need to go about hive. This video alone was done by me when I haven't fully recovered from my illness. I had to gather the strength to stand up, look good, comport myself to make this video so that this would be possible. I spent sleepless night to edit this video on phone while having headaches and running body temperature just to fulfill this same purpose you call defeated. We are back the same entitlement of a thing. Like you, it is the same for others as well. There are a lot of quality written post out there that did not receive a single upvote. These are based on reasons that the author hasn't gained visibility. It's normal for this to happen even though you write the best quality post if you are new to hive, with little to no engagement with people on the platform and with no visibility. For now, we are doing our best and the initiative is running with limited support which we try to make it go round. We can't give what we don't have.
@zestimony: It's alright. Thanks for clarifying. My key take aways here is that first votes are not assured, so there's no guarantee as to whether or not a post gets curated, it's left for the curators and the amount of resources available at their disposal. Secondly, no one is entitled to any votes, we should just write and share and hope it gets voted. If it doesn't, we move, hoping for that the next post receives the desired attention. It's alright. Thanks for making clear all of these. I'll try to rid myself off the entitlement mentality and go in sync with the community. Still, I'm sure me voicing out my grievances won't be used to judge me and undo me.
@starstrings01: Hive works like the way real life works. All our efforts is not guaranteed we just need to keep doing what we do and hope we get noticed and at the same time try to get better and learn from mistakes. Then after, we don't know when, but our efforts would surely be rewarded. I know how you feel, and I have felt it before. I know the pain put into quality post and not being rewarded. It's all a gradual learning process. Smiles... You said your mind out its better than keeping them to yourself. I am glad you were free to express and no offense is taken for that.
What a long and interesting conversation that was!
I was Wrong and Desperate
As @starstrings01 have stated, being on the Hive Blockchain is like life itself, we don't expect rewards for all efforts but over time, our efforts will accumulate to future and more consistent rewards. So, more honest passionate efforts was required. I was wanting it quick which was me not being realistic. Also, because the Hive Learners community gave us a hearing, I was quick to rant about my problems, even if I had a POB post within same period that was not given any attention regardless of the relatively significant amount of engagement it attracted.
At the end of the day, the following were the key take home points I got from my endeavor towards more visibility and my cravings for more votes:
Hive is difficult yet easy:
The difficult stage is the early stage of ones growth in which most of us in the newbie initiative programme are going through. With time and efforts, coupled with a fair dose of consistency and engagements, we will grow pass this stage and get to the easy part of being on Hive Blockchain.
There is a Limited Amount of Resources:
Like every Hive account, @Lazy-panda also operates on resource credits, though, as a whale, there's significantly more RC available for voting than that available for an average Joe. As highlighted, he has a ability to vote about 20 posts per day, which does not equal the amount of posts shelled out daily in the Hive Learners community.
More Engagement Equals More Visibility:
The need for engagement on the Hive Blockchain cannot be overemphasized, in fact, it's the bread and butter of one's growth on the Blockchain. So, as much as newbies like I am focus on making more good quality posts, the role of engagement with other users cannot be ruled out.
Votes are Earned and Not an Entitlement:
This is another important lesson I learnt. Thanks to @starstrings01. No one is entitled to votes, and no one owes anyone votes on the Blockchain. Votes are earned based on the consumer's judgement of the worth of the content you shared. If it's good enough, an upvote may be given to show support. So, the safest thing is more quality and more creativity.
Imagine begging for a vote, and then you receive a downvote? A vote is a vote by the way! So, its best to allow it happen naturally through the curation process.
Hive Learners community did Not Promise Us Votes:
The Hive Learners community promised to help us learn and be accustomed to what's needed to survive/thrive on the Blockchain. And the Hive Learners team has not failed on this promise. They also promised to help us stay engaged on the Blockchain which they have not failed as well. The votes are add-ons and not a must, if it comes, I should be grateful, if it doesn't, I'll just have to put in more efforts to earn visibility over time.
My Admission
I was wrong and too forward. But I hope my experience and this report will be useful to newbies like me, especially those feeling ignored and left out on the Blockchain. It's a normal feeling, the Hive Learners team are putting in real efforts to make sure they try to meet everyone's needs, but you know, not everyone can be pleased.
Humility is not every man's possession, but I've to swallow my ego and admit that I've been wrong all along and will learn to be patient, hardworking and creative and merit my place on the Blockchain.
If you're a newbie, I implore you to learn from my experience and not give up. All whom you see today worked their way to the top.
My Proposals
If we could limit the amount of weekly activities by one down, we could help meet the needs of more persons.
Could more delegations to lazy-panda help? I'm not an expert here, not I'm certain with time, the 10% beneficiary set for lazy-panda will achieve something great. So, we should always give our support.
Newbies may also consider investing on the Blockchain, a very common way to do this is to buy Hive and power up (not a financial advice though). More Hive power means more Power on Hive.
Final Words
If you made it to the end, you're a wonderful person! Thanks for listening to my rants and watch me progress from entitlement mentality to being a more realistic newbie. If you've been slighted somehow or misunderstood my stance on some matters, feel free to comment let's talk about it.
I remain Chukwudi Ofurum | @zestimony | Thanks for visiting my blog | Disclaimer: To @Josediccus and @Starstrings01, I have carefully selected the content of our private messages that fits the purpose of this post, other private messages remains private and will not be used for any content.
Making a Case for Vote-Begging: I was Desperate | Ecency
Zero-Day EXPLOIT (CVE-2026-441): Is Your Crypto Wallet at Risk?dlmmqb ·
@zestimony: Truth be told!! All the same, I really need some guidance on how to make the best off the Hive Blockchain, that's why I felt the need to contact you as someone who has gained some reasonable amount of success so far. I understand I'm a newbie and these things take time, but I'm still certain that with guidelines and good coaching I'll be better off.
@starstrings01, he was a newbie too,
@lazy-panda, owing to lack of RC? Or is it a combination of all of these factors?
@bruno-kema later pointed out that I'm at risk of being muted for I've not mentioned the source of the lyrics cards, even when the source Musixmatch has been watermarked with the card, but I humbly added a footnote and comment to indicate) and the other 1 day old which there are currently no complains yet. And if a new set of tasks is administered, these posts risk being relegated to the background. I've been made to understand that the sweet spot for receiving votes is within the first 24 hours of posting, and I've confirmed the accuracy of that. So, if after 24 hours, nothing is done, it's honestly a source of concern to me and some other newbies alike. I suggested the use of unique tags for post to rule out the likelihood of leaving some persons out unknowingly so that the curators are not stuck in a series of hl-exclusive posts but focus on the task at hand, and I'm happy I was heard. But it seems I'm being a victim! On behalf of myself and maybe others having same issue, please, just give us the votes we need to progress on the Blockchain. We don't need to receive the best posts in a particular category (that's for the chosen ones), we just need to receive the rewards for our passion, and the rewards everyone else is receiving! Let's not pretend the votes are not important, that's our goal. When we seat crafting beautiful comments and posts, applying markdowns, designing cover images, and sharing link on Discord, that's what we aim for. And it's heartbreaking if after all these are done, we start being left with the feeling that our posts have been left out. Granted. Curation may even take place anytime within the 7 days of the curation window, but it plays with ones psychology when curation don't come early. It breaks the heart and causes discouragement. We hoped to have a hearing here on Hive Learners, and I believe my rants will get to those concerned. Thanks. Sorry if I've said somethings you don't agree with, I'm just expressing myself.
