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This is quite a long read, but the post is divided into two sections. If you want to skip the strategy and go directly to the pics, you can jump straight to the My Top (Steemian) Picks section

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With Smart Media Tokens incoming, I couldn't help but think about the similarities between the concept for that and the unique position we find ourselves in. Living on the STEEM blockchain means that we ourselves are in a position where people "invest" in the things we put out. Whether it's writing marvelous fiction, taking amazing photographs, making wonderful music or drawing magnificent art, we're not only producing output, but we're making a whole economy flow just by doing what we love. Of all my past criticism of the platform, this has always stood out to me as an overwhelming positive.

I still do feel like the love isn't spread around as much as it should be, but that's not something any amount of whining can change. What I can adjust are my expectations (thanks again @lukestokes for that perspective) and the content that I put out. I can't make people like the posts I put out, but that doesn't stop me from hoping that it would reach the eyes of those who would appreciate it. Sometimes, it often feels like people aren't even opening my posts because it was me who created it. I can't help but shake the feeling there's some prejudice there, like I'm wearing whale-repellent or something. And, if someone else more likable posted the same thing, it would get more attention in terms of votes and comments.

That had me thinking about altcoins like BitShares and Ripple, coins which have a lot of upside but are sorely being overlooked. The technology behind them is objectively way better than many other coins that are experiencing tons of greater success, and yet people aren't even giving them a second look. Perhaps they're not as attractive as the other bullish coins or they don't have the same hype behind them, but yeah, the same goes for many Steemians. But, at least cryptos get some pump-and-dump love now and again, which brings me to my initial thought.

Steemians = Cryptocurrency

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Think about it. The folks that made Steemit were really on to something when they created this awesome platform. Not only did they sought to monetize posts and comments, but in effect they made the creators as investments. The creators themselves are the investments. As "investors" we either follow the investments and/or set up auto-voters so that we could re-up on our investments and, in turn, help them grow. It's not as simple as that, but you get where I'm heading.

While your own STEEM Power is low, the dividends (or curation rewards) isn't all that much, which is the same thing when you have low volume on stocks. In the same vein, you can comment on posts of and interact with potential investors hoping to get their attention and lead them to invest (or vote) on your posts. The returns here would be even more, and would help in increasing your STEEM Power so you could pay it forward and invest on other people.

This isn't a revolutionary idea, I know, and I'm sure that many other people have realized this as well. I'm just writing this for the purpose of those who have yet to realize the value of commenting thoughtfully and by investing smartly. You can't expect to grow if you're just pawning away yourself. This is a game of give and take after all. You have to give if you ever hope to receive. I pray that the spammers realize this and change for the better.

If you're one of those investments like me that feel like you're not making what you're worth, just keep at it and don't compromise the quality of your work. Sometimes you might feel like you should just phone it in and post about STEEM, Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency just so you could get votes with very little effort. Yes, the irony is not lost on me, but bear with me as I try to make a point. It's not like I post about STEEM every other time. Take it from someone who actually averages around the $10 range (I get lucky with streaks of pumps like in my recent posts, but that doesn't change the fact that I have low lows), it's not sustainable to make posts about things you're not passionate about. It'll reek of desperation and people are going to smell something fake a mile away. It's best to stick with what you know.

Before I get into my investment strategy, I wanted to briefly segue to...

A Brief Discussion About SUPPORT

If you're a trader, you already have a different definition for support, but for the purpose of this discussion, I want SUPPORT to mean a different thing.

STEEM + UPvote + POst + ResTeem

Please keep that handy mnemonic in mind as that's what I feel sums up the concept of support in the Steemosphere. I feel like this is how we invest in other people and how other people invest in us. It's something we can't live without, and it's something that we shouldn't be stingy about. We keep preaching that we're all in this together, so let's be together. Alright? Now, wasn't that brief? Let's move on to...

My Investment Strategy

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It's two-fold, since you're an investor and an investment. As you steadily build your portfolio of posts, you'll establish an identity and hopefully attract investors (followers). On the flipside, you have to invest on other people as well, even if that's just to help you get more exposure. Personally, I like interacting with people who interact back, and I feel so happy whenever they succeed. It somehow feels as if I had a hand, however small, in the success they reaped. Comments help posts become discovered, so I make sure to leave thoughtful comments about the post.

My strategy has been criticized before, so I just want to say that this strategy is my own and I'm not imposing this on anyone else. I don't think it's the best strategy (obviously), but it's one I'm comfortable with doing. I've made a lot of friends, many of which I consider a friend outside of Steemit now, and I feel that wouldn't have been possible without the strategy I've used. Sure, there are tons of opportunities I let pass, but it's the price that I'm willing to pay.

Voting

Personally, I care very little what a person's rep is. Whether they're an enormous whale or the tiniest of planktons, I'll vote 100% for posts that I feel really took a lot of effort, original and doesn't seem to be just an attempt to milk the rewards pool. I don't really have a hard and fast rule with this, because I basically just vote on posts that I enjoy. Since the rewards are limited, I try to dish out 100% whenever I can. But, that's just for posts.

I've been know to be quite the avid commenter. It's because I feel that the comments are the lifeblood of a post. If no one's there to interact, then how would you know if those views and votes have heart behind them? As such, I spend 100% votes on comments on my posts. They're not worth a whole lot, but it's my way to thank people for stopping by and leaving their wonderful thoughts. My heart is filled every time I read thoughtful comments from people who took the time to really digest the post I worked so hard to make. Comments have the same rewards as posts now, so you're essentially making tiny posts on other people's posts. Why waste it by leaving "Nice post" or a solicit to your own post? But, that's a discussion for the next section. I don't always leave 100% votes though. I won't say my reasons behind it, out of fear that it would be twisted, but it's really all up to you to decide how much you want to give.

Commenting

As I mentioned in the previous section, I consider comments as the lifeblood of every post. If a vote earning hundreds of dollars has a paltry number of views and only a handful of comments, doesn't that strike you as suspicious? Even when a post earns only a dollar but has tons of views and an active comments section, I still consider that something superior. Why? Because people are discussing it. Not many big whales might notice it, but it's something worth talking about and you can quantify the number of people who spend time on it.

Time, yes. That precious commodity that's arguably way more important than STEEM Power. Don't quote me on that though. As much as we want to, we don't have all the time in the world. Heck, it's so precious, we couldn't even use STEEM to buy some of it. With that in mind, we can only comment on a limited number of posts. It's understandable that many posts we want to comment on fall on the wayside. The dilemma on how to prioritize them is a complete and utter nightmare. That's why I base my priorities on my supporters.

This was a real sticky spot when I discussed my strategy before. I'm not sure why it wasn't fully understood, but I'll try to outline it better here to avoid misinterpretation.

I leave comments on supporters' posts first before I go to posts of other people I follow, then branch out and try to discover other posts. That way, I reciprocate the support and forge an already established connection without making people feel taken for granted. It's one of the worst feelings I feel, so I don't ever want to spread it to others. I want everyone to feel included, and that their voices are heard. People took the time to read and thoughtfully comment on my post. That's time they could never get back. The least I could do is to do the same for them.

Some people don't even take the time to reply to my comments, other people just vote on it and move on. That's cool, I mean, I can't dictate everyone to reply. It's kind of hard to see a comments section that all have replies though, with my average length, yet thoughtful comment the only one the original poster didn't reply to, but that's cool. That's their prerogative. Who am I to demand attention? What I'm saying is that, if you comment on my post, expect a reply and a corresponding vote. If your comment is thoughtful, then expect a vote and thoughtful comment from me to your post, without you needing to redirect me to your page. That's just how I operate. Again, this is my way to maximize my time.

I filter out people by those who comment on my posts, but I do give infrequent commenters a shot. What I do is that I leave a thoughtful comment on other people's posts about 2-3 times. If that doesn't lead them back to my profile, then that's cool. My posts might just not be what they're looking for or my attitude doesn't sync with theirs. I move on and find other people to support. No harm, no foul, no hard feelings.

I'm not obligating anyone to comment on my posts just so they could receive votes and comments from me. I repeat, and I really want to emphasize this because my words have been twisted before. How I arrange my priorities are up to me. I use SUPPORT to categorize people, but when the number of people becomes too much, I subjectively arrange them. I will get to everyone eventually, and I will not let the payout window lapse.

Like I said, a lot of other people don't even care about who comments on them, and they're the people who earn tons of votes and comments. What I'm trying to say is that if you feel like you can leave people who comment on your posts hanging, then by all means do so. I'm not guilting anyone or anything, everyone has their own way of maximizing their time. They're probably too busy to reply to minnows or they just reply on people that would net them more meaningful votes, and that's fine. That's just not how I go about things. If I eventually receive 100 different comments, I would probably change my strategy regarding this as well.

Resteeming

Back in the rough and tumble days of Steemit without any reputation or ranking, new users would be surprised to know that resteeming wasn't even a feature. Were you surprised? I mean, were you surprised though? Anyway, resteeming feels like you're hyping up coins or investments. When done correctly, it could serve as a way of helping your investment grow. But, if you flood your feed with tons of resteems, then people won't even bother checking them out. It's a delicate balance for sure.

For me, I try to resteem undervalued posts and posts which I feel deserve more attention than it's getting. I usually resteem posts that have stagnated a bit to inject some new votes and interaction its way. While I don't have a lot of active followers, as long as I bring a vote or comment someone else's way, I feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Don't beg for a resteem, because you're almost always going to get denied. If your post is worth a resteem, and the people are awesome, they'll do so without being asked.

Following

We get to another touchy subject, and one that I feel many people just take for granted. Maybe I just have a tendency to overthink things, but I'm becoming more and more wary of who I follow. There are a lot of people who have developed a strategy of thoughtfully commenting once so that people would follow them, and then they wouldn't return to any of your posts. As far as they're concerned, they've already hooked you in. It's a new age of spammers, and admittedly, I've been hooked by a number of people who do this strategy.

There are other people who spam resteems and flood your feed with other people's posts. That's cool that they're attempting to help other people, but when you lose control of your feed, you lose its initial purpose. I, for one, would like to vote on all of the people I follow. Currently, I'm not able to do so because I've followed a lot of people I don't want to follow anymore. Think of them as bad investments which seemed attractive at the time you invested in them, but they turn out to be nothing but empty promises.

I want a following list that actively engages with me. I don't post multiple times a day, heck I usually only post every other day, so I don't think I'm asking for too much in terms of comments. To that end, I developed an algorithm to weed out the people that I objectively want to follow, and I peppered it in with a few subjective exceptions just because I enjoy reading their work even though they don't comment and/or vote on my posts. I plan to make a post about it after the holidays, but I don't plan to divulge the exact algorithm because I've been thinking of creating an open source project about it. Also, I don't want other people to nitpick on the algorithm as well.

But, like investing in cryptocurrency, the best strategy is to buy low and sell high. Would you buy cryptos that are already at its peak (whales) or will you take a chance and invest on a coin that still poised for an uptick (minnows)? I can't dictate what strategy you should pick, but I know what I'm going with. Nothing wrong to play it safe by investing on blue chips, but if you really want a bang for your buck, might I suggest you pick among the more hungrier coins. Diversify your portfolio.

I want to emphasize that you can follow anyone you want, I'm just detailing how I sort out my "investments". Why would I spend time collecting "investments" that only cause me emotional grief and/or waste my time? Some people want to collect people they follow, and that's cool. To each their own.

My Top (Steemian) Picks

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Oh wow, I didn't imagine this post would be as meaty as this. So, I'll try to keep this brief. This section was actually my intended focus for this post, as this was just supposed to be a sort of endorsement post for the awesome Steemians that I feel deserve tons of attention. Yes, this is a veiled thank you to my awesome followers, under the guise of an investment tutorial. So here are my picks:

(This is arranged in no particular order)

BOOM (@meesterboom) coin. I was fortunate enough to get in on this coin while it was going from hundreds (Minnow) to thousands (Dolphin), and it has shown no signs of slowing down. A natural entertainer, this coin not only churns out the funniest posts on the platform, but this also returns comments and votes on your posts. It's never too late to get in on this coin, and you won't ever regret investing. I've got a lot riding on this coin, in fact you could say I went all in, and it has never failed me to this day. If you're looking for a complete package then look no further.

DREEM (@dreemit) coin. One of the best investments I've made this year. I watched this coin grow from a couple of cents (Minnow) to the thousands of dollars (Dolphin) it's worth today. This is one of the hardest working coins I've seen here, and apart from its awesome fiction and philosophical points, I feel it's most important feature is that it makes everyone feel included. Did I mention that this one has photos and poetry as well? It's a mixed bag of everything you need in a coin. You will never regret positioning yourself in this one. I surely haven't and I went all in on this.

FYN (@ryivhnn) coin. One of the most underrated coins out there. This has a lot of similarities with the DREEM coin, but instead of fiction, you get art, and a whole lot of heart. If you're in this for the interaction, then I'm not sure why you haven't invested in the FYN coin already. An added bonus is that this coin has recently spawned sidechains that I feel is a split of its different personalities. If you're a completionist, you might want to give the GORC (@gorc), TRIX (@pixietrix) and CUB (@shadowlioncub) tokens a go.

XTIAN (@artistchristian) coin. An up and coming coin, you might want to get in on the action early before you miss out. This coin was called RUNR (@allstarrunner) back then, but has pivoted with a renewed sense of purpose. I see a huge breakout looming in 2018 for this, so get in before everyone else does. Like FYN, this one's art-based and has tons of interaction that goes with it. Why invest in one when you can invest in them both? I surely have, and I'm thankful that I went all in on these coins every single day.

NAQ (@naquoya) coin. It's a coin that has experienced a massive bull run before but has dipped off a bit, for reasons I don't want to get into here. I just have the utmost confidence that this coin is going to bounce back stronger than ever in the coming year. If you're looking for fiction, then this one's a great bet.

EZZY (@ezzy) coin. This one's a no-brainer. I've invested on this coin when it was still obscure. It got a lot of boost when it won a Golden Steemit Award, and it has shown no signs of stopping from then. Now that this coin's a juggernaut, often times like I feel like it's too out of reach for me, but for this one I know that it's worth a shot. I was lucky I got in on this blue chip early, but this coin is already too well-known and hard to reach even for an early investor like me.

FOXY (@lukestokes) coin. I have a special affinity for this coin, mainly because I've gotten the pleasure to work with its founders even before their ICO. One of my blue chip exceptions, this coin has tons of upside with no noticeable negatives. Another thing it has going for it that sets it above other well-known coins is the MHTH (@lukestokes.mhth) network it's using. While you won't get tons of comments, you can never go wrong with this one. Quality over quantity.

TRAF (@trafalgar) coin. This coin practically prints money. Another blue chip exception, this coin is reminiscent of one of my favorites, the BOOM coin. Tons of laughs and tons of witty retorts. Personally, I've received vote dividends from this in the past, but it's quite variable in my case. Others are lucky to receive one every time though, so who knows. Take a chance and maybe you'll be luckier than I am. This coin also has a tether (@traf) which is like a bite-sized version of the main coin. Invest in both and thank me later.

TERRY (@surpassinggoogle) coin. Personally, I haven't received a lot of dividends from this, but many others are reaping the rewards for their investment. Community-driven, this coin is worth a look if you're looking for a bonafide bullish coin. I've been rethinking about my investment to this for months now, but I will never regret having it in my port for the past several months. Like the EZZY coin, I've witnessed this coin go from obscure to mainstream, until it's too out of reach for me.

As much as I want to go on and on, I feel like this post has become too long. I didn't include the obvious blue chips because everyone already knows them well. I'd much rather invest in unknowns and undervalued coins and watch them grow. Here's a mixed bag of blue chips and up and comers that are worth a look: DOM (@verbal-d), PAUL (@therealpaul), HAN (@hanshotfirst), CUR (@beginningtoend), IRA (@irastra), EXP (@finleyexp), DEB (@kiwideb), SYKO (@sykochica), MERE (@merej99), DAD (@dadview), ZEPP (@zeppelin)

And, if you would be so inclined (and if you liked this post), I hope you could spare some room in your portfolio for the JED (@jedau) coin. I feel like it's often overlooked and severely undervalued. But, that's just my opinion.

Did you feel like I missed anyone? Sound off in the comments section if you have more investment options to add.

I wanted to get this in before the holidays, as I might not be able to go online until after. So, let me take this opportunity to say...

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Happy holidays to all and none!

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