After spending 12 weeks on Steemit, I thought I would share my journey and experiences with the community. Steemit has evolved at a rapid rate, but it’s users have evolved even quicker. I’ve seen complete Crypto noobs turned into ICO investors in the space of 4 weeks. It’s a really exciting project to be part of, and one which is certainly going places.
How did I hear about Steemit?
I came across an article around the 8th June on CoinDesk citing Steemit had experienced 1600% user growth in it’s first month. Before I thought about it too much, I had signed up and I was reading The White Paper. To say I didn’t understand the White Paper, would be an understatement. Although I had been investing in Cryptocurrency projects for 2 years, I found the Steem Economic System particularly hard to get my head around..
Many people get fearful over things they don’t understand. In the case of Steemit, the abstract alone was enough for me to commit a Bitcoin to Steem Power and have a play around with the Platform.
I don’t know how to build a house, but I know how to (and want to) live in one
My First Week on Steemit:
After having a look around, I realised that there was only a few (genuinely less than 10) Quality Content Creators on the Platform. Steemit felt chaotic, and there was no cohesion on the trending list. There would be a post with a single link in making $00’s next to a @stellabelle post full of original content making the same.
Here is a list of things I am NOT:
- A Writter
- A Blogger
- A Story Teller
- An Individual with an Extraordinary Skill
- An Individual with an Extraordinary Life
- A Social Media User
So, my expectations were ZERO. But nonetheless, I thought I’d post a few things to have a little play with my investment.
My First Post:
I made the biggest mistake in the Steemit Book. I see so many new and established users doing this, which always makes me think back to my first post. In fact, that is a lie, it makes me think back to my first 16 posts…
I posted about something I didn’t have specialist knowledge on.
It was complete crap. I ended up realising I was wrong, and posted a rebuttal to myself a day or 2 later. The rebuttal actually did quiet well earning $37.11 in Total Rewards, which was enough positive reinforcement for me to rethink the content I was going to post..
Why did I post like this? - Because other users were being rewarded handsomely for the same topic.
If there is one tip I would give any new Steemit users, post about only things you have a special knowledge of (or at the very least, post about something no one else is posting about…).
1st Post - What did I learn about Steemit?
Well, even though my post was horrible, because Daily Active Users were <300 at the time, I still had some engagement with the community. I didn’t get trolled, or blasted for being an idiot. Users like @smooth explained to me why I was wrong, and I leant something in a constructive environment.
This is was when I believed Steemit was on to something…
My First Trending Post and Beyond..
It’s making me cringe to think back. For the next 16 posts, I continued making the same mistakes. I wrote about topics I had no special knowledge of, reposted links and articles, and generally added zero value to the platform.
In this time I had been noticing that many new users couldn’t understand why Steem could ever have any value. So I took to the White Paper, read it through a couple of times, and it all began to make sense to me.
This resulted in the first piece of original, half useful content I posted on Steemit. Since then, 85 Blog Posts later, I have probably read the White Paper through 10 times over, and although I am by no means a Cryptocurrency expert, I have good grasp of how everything works, and how to explain it to anyone willing to read my posts.
My White Paper is no longer so white..
How has Steemit Changed?
Well, the most accurate way to put this is, in every way…
- Quality of Content has Increased Dramatically: This is something many new users will have to take my subjective words for. It’s easy to forget that Steemit is still in beta, and we are only ~4 months into the project. I am incredibly intrigued to see the what kind of content will make the trending list in 12 more weeks time..
- It’s Becoming More and More Social: Many users collaborating, and online friendships formed. The social aspects of Steemit have began to prosper. Physical Steemit Meet up's all around the world, including the recently announce SteemFest.
- Users Numbers have Ballooned: These numbers are hard to quantify accurately for a number of reasons, but I can say with an unrivalled level of certainty, The Steemit users base has undergone aggressive growth.
- High Profile Users with Social Following Joining:
- Changes to the Steemit Protocol: Working on making Steemit a fairer, and more meritocratic ecosystem.
- The Rise of the Curation Bot: Love them or hate them, in some design, they are here to stay
- The Rise and Fall of the Posting Bots
- The Rise of Posting Whales
- Steemit 3rd Party Developers bring the community a wide range of Applications
- Steemit was hacked, but came back stronger with upgraded security. Oh, and not one user lost a penny
- I could go on and on….
Today
Where do we find ourselves 12 Weeks on? I believe the last 12 weeks have laid the foundations for Steemit to become a future competitor in the Social Media Space. This is going to take time, but as citizen all over the world become more concerned over their customer data, and freedom of speech, Steemit will be there to welcome these users with open arms. This is the killing application of Steemit in the long run, and one which I hope the community begins to shout from the rooftops the loudest.
We have a fully functioning Social Media Site, a safe environment for users to express themselves in whatever way they feel necessary. We have a community which will silence unacceptable behaviour, and promote hard work. Things are not perfect, but look how far Steemit has come...
What will the next 12 Weeks bring?
Who know, But I will be here, learning, continuing to evolve and trying my best to promote Steemit for the potential game changer it could be..
There is still a long way to go, but who would have bet Steemit would get this far...
