Welcome to SteemIt - Managing your expectations

in #steemit7 years ago (edited)

When the price goes up we get new users.  New-Users here are often referred to as Minnows, some find it demeaning, I think it is cute. 

Welcome New-Users!  (Minnows)It is great to see so many new-users signing up and checking out SteemIt.  It can be a tough learning curve if you are new to the Blockchain and Crypto.     As your Steem Power grows your voting power grows, your curation rewards grow, your following tends to grow.  Like any new job or industry you will learn some tricks and your skills get better.  Add to the that the potential for the price of Steem to grow, and the time you spend on SteemIt, could be well worth it.  As with all investments there are no guarantees.  There are some who push the best case studies, or "Get Rich Quick" ideas about the platform,  (it is possible, but not the typical results) but I am not excited about having a bunch of frustrated users, who are thinking they are doing something wrong because they haven't hit the Jack Pot on their fourth post.   I subscribe to the "promise less, deliver more" ideal.

Let's Talk About Some Financial Expectations:

(Everything thing I write here is based on my perspective and not meant to be seen as an official guide)

  1. You will likely not trend or earn a lot right away, it takes time to build a following. 
  2. Like anywhere else that you join or work your influence builds over time.
  3. There are voting bots and not all votes are equal.  Votes are weighted with the Steem Power the account holds (At least for now) So, accounts that have been established and that hold a lot of Steem Power are the votes you want if your goal is earning.
  4. Flags and down-votes happen.  When someone flags or down-votes your post it can reduce or remove the value of the votes you have received, changing the potential payout of your post.  Don't "bank" on having those rewards until the pay-out has occurred.
  5. You will see posts calling out other users, criticizing the site, making allegations, I got caught up in this when I was new and it wasn't helpful.  My suggestion is to make sure you understand the site and the users a bit, before you get sucked into the rabbit hole of "It isn't fair or so and so is cheating". 
  6. Just have fun, post about what you know or are interested in.  Post some questions, find some challenges, make comments. More on this in my next minnow post.
  7. If you quit your job to work on SteemIt, make sure you can afford to make that decision, the site is in beta and still under development.  Market conditions, the site, the reward pool and many other things are subject to change without warning.
  8. Make some friends!  Networking is a part of this game.


A while ago I made a new twitter account and despite making witty comments I rarely got a like or retweet.  They don't even deal with  money and you are still expected to build your own audience.  Earning here is possible, but not guaranteed.  While I agree there is too much money swapping between whales -complaining, threatening to quit, likely will not change that.  Oh and some people here aren't very nice.  That is the price you pay for an immutable blockchain.

 Don't drink and Steem.  ;)  (kidding, err mostly) Best of luck (plus some patience and effort) there is no guarantee of success - like anything else, keep trying and you will get better at it and also learn some of the finer points of success.  Welcome and enjoy remember you are among those savvy enough to recognize this is a sexy, cutting edge experiment, rough around the edges, but really cool for those who can handle it.  


@whatsup

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I wish I read this when I started , I literally knew nothing . Just watched a YouTube video of someone who was a whale and always wished to get up there . Man , 6 months later and it has been a rollercoaster ride but I am glad to be part of a paltform Of which Ive met the greatest people ever and learned so much

You have mentioned some of the vital points for minnows and newcomers and they should read this article...

very nice and informative.

Thank you and Have a great day.

Great article Whatsup! Ive included it in me new magazine. Enjoys! https://steemit.com/news/@jacobts/jts-steemit-magazine-1

The vast knowledge. The impeccable sense of positivity. The straight calling out the BS of privilege and ungratefulness. How did I get so lucky to have a friend in you I wonder! I am so excited to share this with my followers, they will enjoy the glimmer of hope that is laid out here!

I love being your pet minnow & I could not be more proud of your hard work and dedication. The more Ya know!

I have not been having any luck catching your posts right after you post them these days. I agree that one has to manage their expectations when dealing with this site. A lot of minnows ask me...... how can I get the attention of a whale? They don't understand that the site should be about building your own brand...... and interacting with and following other people. The way to attract a whale is the same way you attract a potential mate.... be attractive. Be fun. Be interactive. Be engaging. Be cool.

"Why won't you go out with me?" has never gotten anyone any attention from a potential mate. Or from a whale or from anyone ever.

I love this answer!!!

I'm not a whale and I'm not close to it, but if I had to give someone new advice here, it would be a quote from Stve Jobs that I use practically as a motto.

"I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

Excellent addition.

You will see posts calling out other users, criticizing the site, making allegations, I got caught up in this when I was new and it wasn't helpful. My suggestion is to make sure you understand the site and the users a bit, before you get sucked into the rabbit hole of "It isn't fair or so and so is cheating".

Amen. I've noticed quite a few new users getting sucked into that drama, which is really sad to see because they haven't had much time to get to know the platform before they already decided to take sides. One of the things that attracted me to Steemit was seeing the writers who exuded an attitude of abundance. That completely opened my eyes to the potential of crypto, and I am a better person for it. Having negativity and scarcity be the first influence for minnows bums me out because it brings over the dominant values of other platforms.

I hear you. However, if we get discovered and big money comes into crypto, none of that will matter. Build a stake and a following and enjoy your own ability to view the abundance!

That's true, and that's what I've decided to focus my energies on. I truly believe the long game is in all of our favor. :) Thank you for your guidance.

It can take a while to make much, so make it fun

I love your Santa Avatar! :)

That's thanks to @skyleap. I love this community

Very good advice. If I were joining knowing what I know now, my intro post would have been later and different. Having said that, I was conscripted in to the #steemwars, and immediately into #teamaustralia, which gave a pretty handy start to things, but while it gave me things to post about regularly, it didn't help me with thinking about what I was going to be posting as a normal regular thing.

That just took time, and understanding what I want to write about.

What I would say though is that even with the bold, you undersell point 9. Networking is not just a part of this game. If you network well, you will not just gain followers, you'll gain friends, and you'll gain friends that will regularly vote on your posts. Or friends that will resteem your posts, or both. Better networks will get you better coverage, more views, and more upvotes, and more rewards.

Regardless of what you do with the rewards, at least some of it will build up your steem power, which will build up your rewards and the cycle will continue. I didn't set goals or times that I hoped to make certain levels, but I was sure happy when I passed 250SP, and then 500SP which took less time to get to, and I suspect that 1kSP will be my next level I notice.

The things I do try really hard to do though, is post once a day, and read and reply to comments on my posts. Depending on my voting power, upvote them too.

its just amazing to be here honestly earning is another thing and may differ but having fun and getting rewarded is a great thing