You know nothing
Been on Facebook 10 years after building up a profile on MySpace, Twitter for 7, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Snapchat, Reddit... and now, another feather in the Social Media hat, you just signed up at Steem.
You have dreams of waltzing in to take Steem by storm, to show these backyard hacks how social media actually gets done. After all, you have seen the rudimentary user interface, you have read the poor content in Trending and you know you can do much, much better because, you have skills.
If you are already in, you already know that this place isn't like any of the other social medias and acting as if it is, is likely going to result in not very much of what you aim for. The inclusion of money available for everyone makes this place fundamentally different as unlike every other social media, everyone here starts their path already monetized.
What this means is, even if you know what you are doing on the other platforms, competition is already high and, the platform itself is not going to help you get yourself included. You are on your own. At least at the start.
Someone the other day said that they didn't realize earning here was going to be about "who you know". Really? On a social platform who you know didn't seem an important factor?
'Who you know' is one of the most important factors to being successful financially here in the long-term as it is those you know that are likely the ones that are going to be the people supporting with their stake, not an advertiser who has no idea who you are. That means, who you are as a person and how you behave is going to affect this too but, this doesn't necessarily good behavior and people get rewarded, there is plenty of room for scam.
So you have skills? Right, like that is going to help you here. Maybe in the long-term it will but at this point, it is still going to be the who you know that is the most important factor as for the most part, skills need to be demonstrated in order to get support and, without an audience, who is watching?
I hope you brought some cash because the organic audience is not very organic currently and you are likely going to have to buy your way into the eyes of the audience but, this is hit and miss at best also and comes with very little actual audience for long-term actors. You might make some profits though, those you pay definitely will.
Oh, you didn't know about all of the various kinds of bots, never traded cryptocurrencies, don't understand witnesses, or POW, DPOS, Blockchain, Dapps, wallets, reward pools, private keys, hacks, phishing, decentralization, chats, apps, delegation, upvoting, flagging, stake, vests, curation, immutability...
Oh, you are used to all of those management type things being handled for you? Seamless user experience, help desk support, centralized control and bad actors filtered and removed behind the scenes?
You know nothing, Joins Now.
You are in a new world, a free world, an uncensored world. A world where you have responsibility for both present and future but when you step in, the past is still going to affect you and potentially haunt you. Your past and, the past of the stake that is held that can support you or, anyone else over you.
Your content might be brilliant and hailed by all on the free platforms yet here, that means close to zero. You are building from the ground up and even if you bring 100,000 people in from your other platforms, unless you or they buy in, they can't help you too much. They will help those here already though as they push the demand for Steem by increasing the competition on it. How much do you hold?
This is different, this is new and all of those other social medias you have played on before are all possible here plus, much, much more to come. You might have dreams of taking this platform by storm but, in all likelihood, your dreams are going to be dashed on the reality of decentralized freedom, non-algorithmed content discovery and levels of technical and human behavior complexity you are unlikely to have ever encountered before.
There is plenty of good but, there is also a great deal of shady and most likely illegal that goes on in various ways. There are community projects that do their best to help and there are maximizers that do their best to take all they can.
Much like life, there are all types here and your experience and what you consider success is going to depend on what kind of person you are. This could mean you earn very little yet, accomplish your dreams. At the very least, you are going to learn a great deal Joins Now.
You sure you know what you signed up for?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
Great summary - I'm going to point newbs I'm trying to explain Steemit to at this post.
One thing that was very different in 2016 was that you could do 10 posts that paid less than 50 cents each and then get over $100 for the 11th one - payouts were so random!
Even though I've nearly been on here nearly two years, I still get a shock when newbs treat me like some sort of wealthy royalty.
It's fun though!
I have seen where someone only follow and comment on people over 60 or 50 , something like that . That is an issue where your just looking out for a quick vote a form of spam . as if those people will not realize you have no idea what your talking about . All you have to do is follow the content that you can engage in .
ooohhhh crap I forgot to check your wallet before making this comment to see if I should LOL
I'm pretty middle class!
I mostly don't worry about rep - but 25 ers I avoid like the plague because they are usually fake accounts
I agree about the 25ers . I would be very comfortable in that car . My car is 18 years old and I have no planes to get rid of it . They keep moving the bar on what is middle class . But I do consider myself to be in that group .
Not really sure what I am... 41 rep + 213 followers.
Basically no SP...
You are no more or less then who you are .
rep , VP, SP or followers don't mean anything in who a person is .
When i came at the start of 2017 it was random too except, steem was 8 cents. I didn't know the history or where it was going... Stupid me, I knew nothing.
Thanks for the support :)
Now you really are wealthy royalty!
Time for a new car!
LOL I am going to say the same thing it 2019 except the .28
Very true. In addition the general audience here is very different. Most are crypto fanatics or at least fans and the majority of content is probably still skewed that way. You have to know your audience and being the biggest selling content producer of Facebook/ YouTube etc means nothing if the audience here isn’t interested in your content!
Yes, and the stake that votes on content is skewed that way too.
You know nothing, Jon Snow
That was worth the upvote!!! many many minnows when start dont have idea of the things here, some of them need help on the way but the true is that you have to be autodidact , smart and innovate to stand out from the rest
When I read "who you know" in the real world it usually means that you have some connection to an established source of power who isn't available to everyone. My mother-in-law's friend the Supreme Court Justice, my dad's friend the bank executive, and so on.
On Steemit it's more about who you can get to know. I've found so many people here who are actively looking to form relationships with people they never heard of yesterday. That may not last as the user base grows, but all the more reason to make the most of it now.
This is right. It is pretty amazing really considering the platform type and money invested here that we can still meet almost anyone. Of course, there is the abusers who DM, memo and rub the big names at every opportunity too...
You are very right
When I first joined Steemit, it felt like I had landed on some alien planet. You're right, it is nothing like anything else out there. I really love the sense of community, it makes it worth overlooking some of the lawlessness.
Don't overlook the lawlessness completely, it is a good way to understand the ecosystem. I have learned more thinking about the negatives than the positives.
@tarazkp Fabtastic read and pretty much right on point. I’ve only been on one month and I’m learning every day. Things to do or not to do. Trying to network as best I can. Times to post. I also bought some Steem to help give me a tiny leg up which I think has helped a tad. But yeah...lots of things I was unaware of. Just means I have to grind through it and keep on soaking and absorbing information. There are plenty of great folks here who are willing to help with advice. At least in the circles I’m running around in here which is kinda geek culture. Anyway, I’ll be checking out your stuff. This is a great read and I resteemed it as I hope new fish will look it over and take some the info given here and utilize it better than just running around asking for follow for follow and shit like that.
I think for the curious, this place is a wealth of experience and interesting things to observe. Find the right people to interact with and slowly spiral outward into building a larger community and the benefits will come.
@tarazkp Definitely. What other advice would you have. I feel as though I’m posting mostly decent content. There is some filler for now as I’m trying to see what sticks, but I’m posting original and informative content. I’m trying to use the chats but find mostly any interaction I’m aiming for goes unanswered. Discord I’m stull figuring out as it’s a tad confusing. Ive signed up and sponsored @steembasicincome for a few folks that I like what they have to say. I’m upvotibg and trying to interact through comments sections here to try to branch out and strike up meaningful and informative conversations. Feel like I’m chevking boxes off. Anything else you’d recommend me doing or not doing? Any honest advice welcome. Thx man.
Back in mid-autumn, a certain social media mogul (who fits the description you've given here) made a post stating that in order to be "big" on Steemit/Steem blockchain, one must be well-positioned in the standard social media bastions, fb, yt, twitter...
It seemed to make sense, but I felt content to focus on Steemit and just forgot about it.
Fast-forward to today, and apart from a few sporadic posts that have done very well (particularly in their first week or two), it seems their average posts are making $4, with a lot of posts under a dollar... Even as they're boasting about huge success in the business world.
I scrolled and scrolled and scrolled to eventually find myself laughing uncontrollably. No disrespect or "shade" intended on their remarkable off-blockchain accomplishments, but it was simply bizarre to me that some so otherwise popular and successful could flounder so much on here.
Then again, I'm 3 - 5 large supporters away from the same situation, so instead of scoffing, I'm grateful that I've made a connection with them. I've been fortunate, and my moderate success could fizzle at any time.
It has been the same with nearly all of them that have come in. I remember one saying 'do you know who I am?'...
First weeks, the whales are excited they are here and give them some votes and they think it will continue even though they don't offer anything new for the table.
MY luck comes and goes. Lately, it is a little more gone than here but, that is the ebb and flow. It is also part of the issue with very few large manual curators in the waters reading and observing what is going on.
This was a great read. In the few short days I have been a member of Steemit, I have met some wonderful people. I've also met some not-so-wonderful people. In the days of the who and what you know scenarios, a good combination can exist, in my belief. Not knowing anyone from any of my other social media platforms on here feels so risky to me. I feel vulnerable at times, but I also feel like a free spirit flying in the wind ready to catch that on big giant burst of a breeze that will help carry me through Steemit.
It is a strange social experiment where one doesn't have to carry their past with them. It should be freeing in a way.
This is true
I've been tinkering around on here for about two months, and yep, I know nothing still. One thing I have realized is that it has to be a labor of love. I don't see any significant success in my future, but I love what I do, and I'm going to be doing it somewhere. Might as well be here, where I might make something...eventually.
One day, you will sit back and realise how far you have come and how far others have pushed you too. At least, I think your kids will have better experiences because of it.
:) I like how you didn't make a fluffy sunshine and rainbows rose-colored glasses version of the welcometosteemit post ;)
Lol, you mean, the american dream?