An overindulgence of anything, even as pure as water, can intoxicate!
I got introduced to the world of steemit through my cousin. He said it's mostly like Instagram but you get paid for good content through likes from multiple people. So I went ahead, applied and decided to join. I put up my very first post which was a game of thrones cake I made, the one that kick started my career as a baker. The throne took close to 72 hours to make, each sword hand cut and stuck. This I thought had to get some sort of appreciation right? Wrong! not one upvote.
Not a problem, I was new, I had no followers and may be I had not used the right hashtags.
I was told to comment, follow, connect and upvote posts of others so that I can build my followers pool. I did so and followed every rule that is. I also did a little research on what time to post, how much to post, what posts are trending etc etc. Check my blog if u want I have put up my cakes, shared recipe, written on travel, participated in colour challenges, shared my photography and also my art. But the max you would see is one upvote or two. u can see the number of posts I have submitted, all comments on images and stories I genuinely liked. I have built a good followers pool in a very short time and met some genuine people.
As a newbie, pulling out my phone every half hour (initially every five minutes) to check if I have got an upvote is extremely frustrating. When you work you think about it, when u eat you think about it, when you do absolutely anything you think about it. It is then that I went to the trending section and realized that some posts are absolute garbage and yet they earn hundreds of dollars, and other absolutely stunning pieces are ignored. I am not saying I am good, but you need motivation to survive. Steemit is sheer luck. You don't find many people who are here to support others in their art, everyone is here for the money and the dirty business of upvote.
For the last two days, each time I put up a post, I go to the hashtag, scroll down and browse through all the new posts. The ones that are genuinely good and have got less votes, I go and upvote it because I know what it feels like to put up your hard work and not get a single bit of appreciation for it or get appreciated but not upvoted.
I won't be dragged into this abyss of an addiction. I will post what I feel is the best I have done. If the world has to see it, it will.
Thank you for listening to my rant!!