Re: If STEEMIT is to survive and thrive, it needs to get FAIRER
Tonight I came across a post from a fellow minnow. And it really struck home. It is from @g-no who is like myself is also from @minnowsupport. From a few interactions I have had with him through comment sections of each other's post I think he is quite a nice guy. We are both minnows, but he is streets ahead of me.
But reading his post really hit home as I am feeling everything he is feeling. I work hard to stay positive and it is still ok to also question each of our own objectives. Hahahahaha at times I think there is a solidarity in all of us minnows getting together to have a pout ... lol.
This was my response to his post. And I decided to put it here as my own post as there are two honest questions I really want to get some perspectives on...
Absolutely understanding where you are coming from. It took me about 2 weeks to nearly get 200 followers. And comparing wallets you are running as HARD and fast as this girl and waaaay ahead of me lol.
I always think that people who got here a year ago was very lucky...
But it is what it is and I put my heart ... soul... and lungs into steemit to gain the little ground I have gained. And I am determined to become a whale.
But is it possible from scratch? I hope someone can answer that....
Another question is this..... do whales have a tendency to only upvote other whales?
6 hours ago I managed to write an article that got 40+ upvotes before using @minnowsupport and it's only worth $4.31. I did the research and used the tags from a post on a similar topic.... I even felt I wrote with more details and features....
Not spamming..... but this one
But I still love his platform....
Does anyone have real answers to my 2 questions?
I would love to get some perspective from some veterans.
Please help me further in seeking these answers by resteeming this for me
Regards
Yoda
I joined about a year ago. When I first joined, I barely got any upvotes on my posts. I spent months posting, barely making more than a few dollars. I had tons of very quality posts that I spent hours on (sometimes even days) go into my 'graveyard' with pretty much no rewards. I kept at it for months, and never lost sight of the fact that the platform gives everyone the potential to earn high rewards. There were lots of times when my friends and family were making fun of me for spending so much time and not making anything. It would have been easy to just say that the site was 'rigged' and give up. I stuck with it though and continued to build a following by producing quality content, and making personal connections with people in the community. Over time after about a year, I finally reached the point that I saw so many people at when I first joined (earning lots of rewards). It certainly wasn't easy, but it was 100% possible.
I admire your rigor..... and had to hear a comment like yours. upvoted and following you now. I love the fact that you stuck it through like I am now. I am in my third week and growth had been big. Yet I know that I will only deserve the prize if I am persistence and there will be no way to take a magic giant leap. Unless of course I invest. And I that will be my next article. I hope you follow so you can see my article and be there to comment as this has to be my favourite comment so far. Any chance I can get a resteem from you so I can get some insight from a wider audience and hopefully some more dolphins and whales..... Thanks in advance
Regards
Yoda
I have been on Steemit about a year also. You are one of my favorites. Your articles are informative and always very well done. I will use this as a reminder to others to vote for you as witness. Your attention to details is one of the qualities needed as a witness.
Thanks!! :)
I just joined and think this a is a great platform. It is difficulty seeing some who joined around the same time making hundreds. I guess its luck of the drawn. I just hope I can build and appeal to many more with my content. I admire your determination and it's something to aspire too.
It is usually a combination of consistently producing quality content, and networking (making friends). There is also a little bit of luck too as far as getting noticed.
Here is a guide of tips that may help:
https://steemit.com/steem-help/@timcliff/the-ultimate-guide-of-tips-for-new-steem-users
And may I ask, did you every invest any money into buying steempower?
Yes, although not much. When I first started, I bought $250 worth. The rest, I have earned by participating.
Wow... Did a couple of hundred bucks make much of a difference in your experience if at all?
Well to a large extent yes, because I actually started out purely as an investor (albeit a small one). I bought the $250 worth of STEEM because I thought it would go up in value based on what I learned about the platform. I actually ended up signing up for the site because I needed an account to be able to power up. I'm pretty sure I would have signed up anyway, but technically that was the reason I did it.
From a voting perspective, it didn't really do much. Up until recently, even when I had 10,000 SP - I was only adding a few pennies to people's posts when I voted. It wasn't until the 'whale experiment' started (run by abit and smooth) that having a moderate amount of SP actually made a difference in your voting. HF 19 changed it so that it was handled at the blockchain level (via linear rewards). These days, buying a small to moderate amount of SP can actually make some difference.
I think the $250 also helped because I always looked at the site from the perspective of an investor. We all 'own' a stake in the platform, so it is in everybody's best interest to make it succeed. I think the more people who have that perspective the better.
Wow.. so it enhanced your mindset more than anything else. That is awesome.....
I was wondering how much SP it would take before life becomes different.. lol
Hey maybe you can help me out here. I have been looking up what specifically makes a dolphin and a whale. And that information is impossible to find.
Do you know these facts?
They are lose definitions, but I have always gone off of what they have here:
https://steemd.com/distribution
(the site is currently down, but will probably be back by tomorrow.)
Based on that, I put a dolphin at 10 MV (or about 5,000 SP) and a whale at 100 MV (or about 50,000 SP).
what does MV mean?
This ^
Thanks.... that was an awesome comment. Any chance I have earned a resteem from you? And I have a question, did you every buy any steempower? My next major article will be on that. And hop I ger a follow from you so you can be there to offer some insight ;)
Oh crap.. I thought I already did hah.
asking is wise!
I'm in the same boat as you. Joined about 2 weeks ago and I spend a lot of time writing/researching posts. Followers are slowly creeping upwards...but as they say, Pimpin ain't easy. It has to take some effort and time before it pays off. If it didn't, then you'd see a million whales and it would be boring.
Ahhhhh you're right... If it was easy then it would not be worth doing. Think I earned a follow upvote and most importantly a resteem? ;)
You earned the lot! Hope it pays off :). Remember me when you're a whale :)
I will give me best to do so :)
Follow and upvote for sure! Have to be careful about resteeming, it has to fit your portfolio of posts or it'll turn off followers.
Thanks, you and another person have taught me to upvote according to the tastes and benefits of my followers :)
Followed and upped! :) feed me
You need like 300 to 400 followers before you start to get some decent money going. Focus on making comments for awhile for the most part.
My strat is to only make 3 or 4 blog posts per week and focus on comments more. Then as I gain more followers make more blog posts.
I like your straight talk @truthforce! I will follow you!
I have been thinking about the same thing, after hf19, even the power of voting has been increased for minnows, however the value of the vote increase to a point that no one want to waste their vote and end result is some quality posts without many of upvotes.
Yes in one of my posts today
https://steemit.com/steemit/@yoda1917/mark-zuckerberg-just-filled-his-nappy-facebook-s-dirty-tactics-against-steemit#@screenname/re-mark-zuckerberg-just-filled-his-nappy-facebook-s-dirty-tactics-against-steemit-20170628t133739
I was talking about how there is a perception that steemit is unsustainable because of an attitude of scarcity. Have a read and tell me what you think. And can you please resteem this and the link for me. I am giving my best to reach more minnows... Thanks :)
I have come to the conclusion that even though you hope to make money on Steemit ,you must first of all enjoy it. I think like all things in life the rest tends to sort itself out as you go along. This is not a race, it is a journey. And I do not compare myself to others. I am also new on Steemit but I am sure in time we will all get our fair share
Love your answer... and totally agree... I am loving it. And with other ventures I have learned that being passionate and adding value is the only way it will come back to mel upvoted. Hope I earned follow and an upvote and most importantly a resteem as I really want to reach more people and hopefully a whale :)
I wrote this piece to express what we are just talking about. I think you wil like it.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@yoda1917/how-minnows-and-newbies-can-get-lots-of-upvotes-part-2
I wrote this piece to express what we are just talking about. I think you wil like it.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@yoda1917/how-minnows-and-newbies-can-get-lots-of-upvotes-part-2
Im here over a year and have 284 followers, do I care? No I dont care, why? Because while Im posting, its the same people who upvote and reply to my work.
Follower numbers mean nothing, create a community where you create good content, thats what steemit is for. If you think steemit is about becoming a whale, then good luck, but I think you missed the point entirely.
I have a lot of respect for that answer. I had to tell myself that on day three when I was really frustrated. But can;t blame me for the hope of creating more time and money so I can do this more right? ;) Upvoted for your honest answer. Hope I earned a follow and a resteem maybe even an upvote? lol
Yeah but where else can you make posts and gain any money like this? If you were doing this on youtube you would be getting nothing until you have 10,000 views. On YT you can't start earning until you get 10,000 + views total on your channel, and YT only pays you about 50 cents to a dollar per 1,000 views.
You can make more money per week here as a noobie with almost no followers compared to having a few thousand followers on youtube.
This is a really great place :)
Try signing up for minds.com and post there too. You gain points there for logging in every hour and can use those points to promote your posts. It is all free too! That should help you get some extra views :)
You're not wrong there. And I didn't even know youtube paid anyone, but is sound ridiculous. In 2 week the total I have gained in US dollars is about $500. But I am striving for deeper skill and understanding :) I'll have to look into minds.com What exactly is it?
And thanks you your comments can I get a resteem from you so I can reach more people. And I hope I earned an upvote and follow. :)
What Im saying is dont get caught up on measuring yourself by followers mate, make good content and be happy :) Some of my followers have more power and so I can make a decent $20 from a good post, and to be honest I dont think my work is worth much more than that. When I see really good people earning hundreds of dollars, I know Im not in that league of content writing.
What you say is valid, compating myself to others is the best way to get frustrated. I have my moments, but more good ones than bad now. Thanks
Can you please resteem this for me so I might reach an whale for an a perspective. HOpe I earned a follow and an upvote :)
Great point
Any chance of a resteem of this article? And if I earned it I would love an upvote and a follow ;)
I started three weeks ago like everyone else... a minnow, people are saying I am doing real well :)
You are doing really well bro.... I have seen a lot worse lol.....
Any chance I can get a resteem of this article so more people get to see it, and an upvote and follow if you feel I deserve it ;)
First of all great post to start a discussion.
One of the biggest things that some people on Steemit and in life have valued incorrectly is their skill and it damages their accurate expectations of reality. Basically, people think that if you spend a lot of time writing a blog that it should be seen. That isn't how it is. There is a level of quality and uniqueness that resonates with people that is hard to teach. Most people think if they blog they will get paid. Sure, some will get a few bucks, but the ones that write the good stuff are getting more. @arbitrarykitten has picked up a huge following from scratch, and she did it because she has an amazing story that people want to hear. She provides content people want to see. Plus she was smart about how she "stalked" whales to get attention. My first post was two weeks ago and I've already generated over $600 and have 350 followers. I put in the work, figured out what people like and then delivered on that content. I've been doing this for years, but recently found Steemit. You can build from scratch, but you can't ignore the fact that it takes a level of skill and dedication to rise in the ranks quickly.
If you are tagging minnow support, you will get a lot of upvotes but not a lot of value. Whales don't just upvote other whales, even though they are the people they have seen on the site everyday for a year, but they upvote good content. I've had some whales upvote and resteem my stuff, and in talking to them, it was because they saw value in it. One piece made a guy laugh and he really liked it and shared it. Another saw something I was doing to make a difference in the world and supported. The point is, whales, like all of us assign value to posts and they upvote the ones that add the most value to them.
I think the biggest problem with g-no's post is that the person iscomplaining without putting in the work. They have a ton of money in their wallet, and can't get people to respond. Why? The blogs are way to short. They are just asking questions and not providing insight. He is posting what he thinks people want to see instead of his own perspective. Nothing comes easy in life, you have to work at it. The guy has like 15 blogs and most are short. The people that are succeeding are spending a lot of time on their blogs and putting out a lot more content. It is true, the best content rises to the top, but sometimes when starting it may get overlooked. If you are good enough, just keep pumping out content.
You do a good job on the site Yoda and you do provide some valuable insight and I think you will do fine here. So will I, but we have to put in the work to become whales. Remember, this site is still in beta and we are going to be part of the original 1% in a couple of years. Keep up what you are doing and we'll talk again on November 1st and we'll see how far we've come. Then you future self will want to tell yourself right now that all you need is patience and to put in the work. The same thing I am saying now. lol We'll make it, don't worry. I don't know about g-no because his perception is askew, but we'll make it.
Thank you , thank you, thank you... That is by far the best and most balanced answer I have seen. And not just because it is long. I like the way you say some whales still vote on good content. And that hard work and willingness is something that cannot be substituted... I have that... and the smarts will come through the hard work as I learn. and g-no is a nice guy. I know what he is goin gthrough and I have been through that space. I hope that this post will generate answers that will help him as well.
Can you please resteem this for me in the hope I may catch a comment from a whale. I would really love that :)
Why don't you find a whale, read his post an then comment. At the end of the comment ask for his advice on your post and put the link.
By the way, I wrote on this topic for my blog. I would like your advice. https://steemit.com/steemit/@walkingkeys/the-dark-side-of-steemit-and-the-importance-perception
lol, see how that works. Also, when you ask people to do things, make sure you upvote their comment to show you value their work as well. lol. Just kidding. If you write a follow up piece about what answers you got, then yes. For sure. Not that I don't want to resteem, but to be honest the post it's self doesn't provide value to my followers. I like to provide my followers stuff that provides answers and not questions. We all have questions. I hope you understand. But I will resteem if you write a follow up with what you learned.
Thank you, that is an honest answer. And challenge accepted. But I hope I at least earned a follow and an upvote ;)
lol, I've been a follower. And yes I voted.
Thanks
Please resteem this for me bro. I am trying to catch a whale ;)
I added a link to it in my post about it.
Oh And I already learned something. You demonstrated that followers need to be cared for and to be selective what to show them :)
yes!!!
I got here a year ago, and lemmie tell ya, it doesnt make a damn bit of difference. Ya know what does? Putting in the WORK. Some people get lucky, or have followings from other sources like youtube or instagram. Some people buy steem power. The only way to get there if you dont have these things is to dig your nails in and claw your way up.
When steem went down to 13 cents, I sold. I sold a LOT. I'm kicking myself in the face for selling at that point, while a couple of my friends kept posting. Every day, they made 1-5 posts. They earned a dollar or two on each and plugged on, occasionally making 20 bucks. Ya know what happened when steem hit 2.50? They became instant dolphins. Not because they had some secret sauce, but because they kept at it.
The market is a little flooded right now. Not the steem marked (but that too) but the CONTENT market. It can be hard to get noticed, even if you're in support groups, bomb the chats, hit discord, etc.
The thing is, you have to say FUCK THE MONEY. I dont care if you upvote this post, instead, I only care that you read it. I go into some details about WHY thinking like this is so important:
https://steemit.com/motivation/@quantumanomaly/upgrade-your-brain-s-motivational-os-don-t-ddos-yourself
What you say makes so much sense man... Hard work has to the the foundation, then the smarts on top of that may make a difference. Hey I am going to visit your link and I will leave something there for you you might like.
Can you do me a solid and resteem this for me? I really want to reach more people. And I hope I have earned a follow and an upvote. See you there.
You already had the follow and upvote, and since you asked nicely I'll throw a resteem in there lol. I try not to resteem TOO much, but this is a good topic with a lot of conversation in the comments that I feel deserves a look for anyone new or old looking for a kick in the pants to keep moving!
Thanks :) I left something for you in the link you sent me
Also, as a teacher, if you aren't following @tltran you totally should. She's doing some amazing things in the education category!
I'll go check it out. Thanks
Hi Yoda, following you now! Nice post! Keep on holding on! ;)
@Ozz
Couldn't agree more. But what we must do now is grow together. Some of us will make it to the big leagues earlier than others. But those who remember what hard work it has been will hopefully be more willing to share their votes. Here's to the future and working together.
Oh for sure.... gettingthere through blood sweat and tears will let me know that the minnows need a helping hand. Can you please resteem this for me so hopefully I can reach a whale before it dissapears :) And I hop I earned an upvote and a follow lol