Hello friends and followers and robots. As I've now had a couple of months on here I thought I'd share my thoughts about the platform.
First up I know nothing about cryptocurrency and saw steemit as an ideal opportunity to get onboard with no capital; I would love to be able to invest some capital, but alas this is not possible for all of us.
The lures of steemit as a social media platform for me were the transparency, lack of censorship and rewards for good content. I did find the sign up process a little confusing and slow but I expected it having done some research. I did think that whilst this would inevitably put many people off from using the platform, it would probably encourage a more determined and possibly sophisticated contributor.
This notion was further emphasised when I first began to use the platform. It has a long way to go in terms of user friendliness for someone not too tech savvy like me. There's lots I still don't know but I am finding my way around a bit.
I've seen lots of discussions and hot topics about the blockchain and everything to do with the world of cryptocurrency. This does seem to be a very good place to learn the ropes. I have yet to engage in this type of conversation as I don't have enough crypto to worry about at the moment. I'm still concentrating on how to get the most from steemit as a social media platform.
I've used facebook and twitter in the past but never posted anything of value. It just seemed like a waste of time and effort. And then I heard about steemit whilst watching one of @dannyshine's you tube videos. He was doing what he does...going around educating the public with a megaphone. This particular episode of his was about cryptocurrency and steem in particular. He pointed out that it was possible to get onboard if you don't have any money. This was music to my ears.
As some of you reading this will know, I've got some interesting stories to tell and things to say about the world. The thing is that I never really had the right platform to do it on until I found steemit. The fact that good content is rewarded was also music to my ears. Maybe this could be a way of providing a little extra to help get by. I quit work a few years ago now to look after my wife so I spend a lot of time at home. Things are hard when both of you don't work, so any rewards made are more than welcome and provide good motivation.
The first few weeks were a little discouraging looking at the figures but a couple of people in particular provided me with enough motivation to keep smiling. Both @steevc and @slobberchops have been voices of encouragement for me since day one and I can't thank them enough. Without them it would have almost been like talking to an empty room. The value of contributions such as theirs is probably massive for the platform. They introduced themselves to me and have been there since. They were making the effort to find good content creators and keep them here, creating good content. To everyone out there doing that I would like to thank you all.
After a few weeks I wrote a short, upbeat post about my 20th wedding anniversary and it was noticed by the @illuminati-inc curation group and it's partner @curie. In an instant I jumped up a few rungs on the ladder and had earned some steem power. This was great for me. The financial reward wasn't very large but the big thing was that I knew people were out there, looking for good content to promote.
Boosted by the curators, I dug out my old travel diary from 20 years ago and wrote a long series about my cycling adventure around Norway. The first episode received a big @curie upvote and once again I instantly jumped up a few more rungs of the ladder. Fortunately for me the weather was lovely at the time and I spent most of the 9 days it took to write sat in the garden with a big smile on my face. It was an absolute pleasure to write and I think I've discovered a new skill. I got loads of great feedback from all across the place. Thank you to all of you.
As I enjoyed writing the Norwegian cycling blog so much and so many enjoyed reading it, I wanted to keep up the momentum so I once again went back to my early adventures. Writing 'Adventures of a Hitchhiker' has been just as much fun again, but I feel like I'm learning how to write. It's great. I feel like I've found a vocation I enjoy. An unexpected benefit of jumping onboard. Once again my series was noticed by curie and 'The Mad Monk' received a big upvote sending me further up the ladder of reputation.
The ladder of reputation was another thing that I liked about this platform. Good content creators would have higher rankings yes? Well it works to an extent. When I joined up I soon came across the bidbots. I've seen a fair bit of discussion about this and to be honest most of it is about crypto and blockchain. It's all out of my scope for now. I'm more interested in the moral question. It disappointed me to see that votes and resteems were sold to people and this seemed to be perfectly acceptable and normal. Everything in me recoils from this idea, but I'm certainly no expert.
Thanks to my friends, followers and the curators I have managed to climb up to 50 on the ladder of reputation in my first 2 months. Maybe this shows that we don't need to use bidbots. I certainly hope so.
I've come across quite a few interesting characters on here. I will write some separate pieces about some of the people I follow and some that follow me. I've seen a few people do that now and it's a good way to meet new people so a big thanks to those that share their new found friends.
All in all after just 2 months on here, I love it. I'm happy that I'm gaining a steady audience and am making connections with people, some the likes of which you don't come across everyday. As long as this keeps on going the way it has been, I'm not looking anywhere else. So it looks like I'm going to be around for a while, sorry folks.
STEEMONKEY🐒
Image source: pixabay