My-Niche Contest: STEEP - My Steemit Experience
No blogging experience, no crypto knowledge, rudimentary computer skills, basic whatsapp is my sole social media experience – and I’m joining Steemit - to do what?
To maybe…earn a little money? To see if I can write? To see if anyone would be interested in the stuff that comes from my mind?
I apply. I log in the next day. Well, I try to. Nothing. I try again. And again. Nothing.
A message: Wait. You’ll be notified. I wait. And wait.
My application’s finally approved. I’m excited and scared – which can mean a great adventure or a painful belly flop.
My mind churns. What do I write? What do I write? One day passes, two days, three days… a week. I am exploring Steemit, trying to absorb everything I think I ought to know before I engage. Like, what are the rules? Where are the rules?
Then, before I’m ready, I see a message: It looks like you haven’t written anything yet.
I panic. Am I being thrown out? Is this a warning?
With no one to ask for advice, I decide the safest option is to write something. And to write something once a week. This would secure my slot and give me time to explore more.
It takes me a few more days to prepare something. I also read and bookmark several posts about html and markdown that refuse to make sense.
Now to post my first creation.
I have five title options, so I’ll start putting the text in first.
Did one of the articles hint that one can see and edit a post before loading it? I can’t see anything else but the words I'm typing where I'm typing them. I can’t trace the article that had said that, either.
It takes me four hours to finally post. I am relieved.
And I discover the picture I had chosen has refused to appear. A trend that continues in the next few articles.
About two months later, I discover that the markdown editor only shows up after I put in the title and start typing my content. And that is where the pictures show up! Finally!
Despite the mishaps, someone has been voting for the first articles. I am more grateful than words can ever express. Does this mean I am creating value, even if it is for a single anonymous person on the forum? Perhaps with time I could draw in a couple more people.
Then I discover that the default setting for posts is upvote! Horror! I have been voting for myself! And that arrow that I have been clicking on below my comments… No! No! No!
Is it true that everything is recorded for eternity on blockchain!?!
It is a steep learning curve. It is perpendicular.
I decide I am going to proceed at my own pace. I am going to learn slowly. I am going to experiment with different kinds of writing until I find what I enjoy most. I will continue to embrace the mistakes I make: I have no doubt that I have only just begun. And soon, perhaps, I will discover how to change my passwords and my settings. In the meantime, I'm powering rewards up so that I can see if and when my SP climbs.
What I already know, is that my pecuniary interest has waned. Instead, I’ve discovered a platform that can support and foster incredible social change across the world.
Steemit is not perfect, but its promise is breathtaking.
This is what I choose to focus on.
This is my entry for My-Niche Contest #4 organized by @awolesigideon.