I've now been on Steemit for about a month, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I want to feel like my time here isn't wasted.
I like the idea of Steemit. I really do. I have enjoyed finding an outlet for some of my content here, and it's been nice dedicating a bit more time to writing. I haven't posted nearly as much as I had wanted to when I signed up and got started, and there are several reasons for that:
- I just haven't had as much time as I'd like. I think everyone shares that sentiment.
- I feel discouraged when I put up a solid piece that just disappears into the abyss.
- I see a lot of garbage being upvoted; this system feels very broken sometimes.
- Getting rewarded isn't even my goal. My goal is to be heard, but noone is listening.
- Nevermind, the bots are listening. So many bots...
It just feels like, for a comment and post-driven community, half the comments and posts are either from spammers or bots. It's the very strange and unfortunate result of incentivizing the ability to share your art and opinion without regulation.
There have been a lot of good things too, though.
I have discovered many different artists and writers whose work, like mine, has been overlooked by the community. I have met many cool people from the discord community, as well, who have welcomed me with open arms. I am grateful to have gotten in on Steemit if for no other reason than getting to meet those people.
I think there is a lot of potential in what Steemit can do. I just don't think it's there yet.
In conclusion,
I hope that I start to feel more connected with this community. Sort of like how it feels in the Discords. There are some very interesting characters in those channels, but it doesn't seem to translate to Steemit itself. It's odd, considering that Steemit is the very basis for those channels.
I wonder, how many of you felt like I do now after your first week/month/year?
Has Steemit burned any of you out on blogging or posting to this platform? Does such resistance push to to work even harder? By what metrics did you judge your success when you first started out?
Have a good day!!
I think you have some very good points on both sides of the fence on steemit.
It really is hard to get any traction here on this platform. But then, I think that goes for many of the blogging platforms. People have to find your work before they'll notice you.
I've been on steemit for about a year and a half now. I'm not really sure how to judge success on this platform, I guess it depends on who you ask. Personally, I don't look at it as success or failure here, for me it's just a work in progress. I seldom get any big upvotes on my posts, I just get a steady group of votes. My goal is to just keep on building my account value, bit by bit. Since I'm retired, I have the time to mess around with steemit when I feel like it, so it's not so hard to write a post if I have something to write about. I don't always have something to write about, so I skip a day or 2 here and there. I'm not competing with anyone else on the platform, so I just go at my own pace.
Right on, thanks for your input. I think what bothers me most is seeing unformatted posts or posts that people clearly didn't put any thought into being popularized and start trending. It's just kind of a slap in the face to people who actually put time and effort into their writing. I understand that there are established followings and curation trails and all that, but what is posted here sometimes feels more like mass production than custom work.
Over on Whaleshares I get a ton more comments and feedback. It's not necessarily anything crazy, and it's not like I'm making shitloads of money or gaining fame, but there is a level of engagement that I've seen in a week over there that I haven't seen in a month here. It just strikes me as odd. Such is life though, I suppose.
I really think the fact that they don't have bots makes a huge difference too; the bots are crazy here on Steemit. Couldn't believe that there were so many when I signed up. The community is much smaller there too. Undoubtedly, that will change in time, but it's size likely does contribute to the overall engagement. I was pretty pumped when I realized I could just have my name Colby as my username there. That really shows how small it is.
I appreciate your feedback! 👍
It takes time. Best advice I got was, "Don't come to make money, come to share your work and have fun. If you make money, it's icing on the cake."
It takes awhile to find the right tags to use, and build a following too. I'm lucky to get 2 or 3 upvotes on a post most of the time.
Honestly, I could not agree more! It seems like quality work gets drowned out. I get so frustrated when I look at some of the top articles and they are riddled with way too many spelling and grammatical errors. It is like they do not even go back and re-read before posting. Yet, every now and then you will come across a post (a diamond in the rough) that has quality content and the writer has taken the time to proofread. In some ways, it reminds me a lot of high school. The popular kids get all the attention regardless of their quality effort while those less popular kids get left on the side regardless of their quality effort. Hopefully one day Steemit will find its happy-medium.
Thanks for sharing ♥
I totally get you, my man. I felt the exact same way a year ago when I joined. But I kept posting and posting. And also commenting and commenting which will get you everywhere here, imho. High quality Commenting that is ...where you are adding to the Discussion at hand.
It took me like 15 Posts before I hit $1. And it's been peaks and valleys ever since. But in the last couple of weeks been making some headway as I am consistently getting well over a $1. And that's after one year of working my arse off here. Next I go for $2 consistently etc..etc..
But sooner or later I know it will pay off. Steem will go up after SMTs are released. It's going to be huge in what I have observed and studied.
One of the Keys is to get a few fans that you catch their eyes. Mine was two people @getonthetrain and @brianphobos. Evidently they liked my Content and started upvoting me.
Kind of like me with you :)
Anyway, also joining @thealliance is another great step to take. Which I did last Feb. You should have no problem getting accepted with your Writing prowess !
Btw, I put you on my manuel curation trail. So I will be visiting your blog quite often ;)
Just keep on keeping on , and I think you will go places here :)
Thanks, my friend. Sadly, I've had quite a busy week and haven't even been able to post. My wife is in finals week for nursing school so I've just been trying to get things done so she can focus on studying.
In what little time I have had, I've been working on a sort-of personal piece about my history that has turned out to be ridiculously long, though I still haven't gotten it ready to post.
I would prefer to simplify and portion out this piece, as it is tragically long, but it will fulfill its purpose best if left intact as a single post. Hopefully, I'll have it done here soon. Been at it for about a week, but, as I said, haven't had the time I'd like to dedicate to it.
After I get this piece posted, and my wife is through finals week, I will be posting more frequently and building off of what I've talked about in this piece. It's a bit of a personal narrative to my life. I feel it is important to post it. It's honestly been a bit cathartic to write as well, and I don't want to ruin that vibe by posting it prematurely or unfinished.
Thank you for your support, it is nice to meet people like you and have some support.
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