Personal Values Clarification... and Maximizing ROI

Yesterday, I briefly started exploring the realm of "Ulogs" and what they might entail, in the greater context of the Steemit ecosystem.

They are definitely an interesting beast, particularly for those who really enjoy taking the personal angle with their content; they offer a sort of "freedom" from having to pick a topic and stick to it.

Of course, many of us write personal content. From where I am sitting, it feels like much of what I do here is "anecdotal," which makes it somewhat personal. At least more personal than the average magazine article.

As Always... "The Money Issue"

There are a lot of voices in this community who keep saying "ROI" (aka "Return On Investment") every time the discussion of what type of content is "good for Steemit" comes up.

Perhaps those of us who consider ourselves primarily bloggers tend to tar them with a harsh brush, pointing fingers and tsk-tsk'ing because their perspective seems to be "it's all about the money."

As the coffee started to grab hold a few minutes ago, I realized that my primary concern has typically been personal values, rather than monetary value. 

Personal values, in the sense that when I click the "POST" button — here, or anywhere else, for that matter — my initial concern is "Am I OK with putting my name on this?"

By extension, that also means that posting something is an extension of my identity; my "Brand," if you will. And if someone comes across that content — let's say five years from now — and declares "YOU did this?" I can rest peacefully with the knowledge that I won't have to cringe, duck into the nearest alley, or come up with a long list of rationalizations like... "Well, it was just for the money."

Which, in turn, leads to the inevitable "Oh, so you sold out..."

Maybe I'm Too Serious...

Of course, it's likely nobody will ever care. But that's my particular value set, and it informs my actions.

The thing that gave rise to these musings, this morning, was someone's commentary about "maximizing ROI" with their Steemit postings... and how I "probably didn't."

And I had to stop and ask myself "Do I care?"

I like the rewards here as much as the next person, and I think it's an awesome deal when someone upvotes my stuff! Do I expect my content to make money? Nope... not really. I'm just grateful when it goes.

Would it be amazing if I got some "drive-by whale vote" on a post and it went viral? Absolutely!

Am I going to bend myself into a pretzel shape to solicit such a vote? Nope. Am I going to BUY one? Nope. If it happens, it happens. 

Is that a shortcoming, in a highly competitive world? 

I don't know. But I do know that in order for me to enjoy my participation in this community, I have to feel comfortable "signing off" on every piece of content I set free into the ecosystem. 

Maybe that's a hoity-toity "high moral ground" approach... but hey, those are my values. Not telling you what to do with yours!

How about YOU? What are your motivations? What makes you care, or not care. Does the fact that content here is recorded on the blockchain — allegedly "forever" — influence what you choose to post? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180608 10:07 PDT