Dolphin 541,753—Monthly Report: March (2020)
A Day Late...
...but hopefully not a dollar short.
And since I'm probably the only one who keeps track of when I actually publish this post, it only matters to me that I'm running behind.
With all that has been going on STEEM and off, I'm feeling fortunate just to cobble one of these together at all. I've not missed one yet, and so I'm determined to see this through for as long as I am able.
So, let's get on with it.
Quick Summary
The first part of the month I was still a full-time employee. The last part of the month I worked 20-ish out of a possible 80 or so. That meant more time on STEEM, which I tried to do, even though we were all in the blockchain equivalent of a custody battle and a split. Not fun for anyone, I'm sure. I know it wasn't for me, and I guess I shouldn't try to speak for anyone else.
How did all of the commotion translate in the stats for March?
I think it's high time we found out.
Posts (no comments)—13
This is a drop in production of four from February. Looking back, it looks like having more time to work in the latter part of the month didn't help much. Posts were fairly evenly distributed throughout the month.
I'm not certain how long the current statewide lockdown is going to last, but as long as I can dedicate more time to STEEM, I intend to, depending of course on all that happens here. I'm hoping for a swift resolution to whatever is currently happening with the latest softfork.
Comments—92
February's comment count was 93. I think this is about as close as I've ever come to tying comment output month over month. Considering there was a lot to talk about, it doesn't seem like much. Still, I'm feeling fortunate that I managed that many, even with the second half extra time, simply because all of the added hoopla seems to distract me way more than it should. It acts as a demotivator, rather than wanting to join in the fray.
Hopefully, things will start to smooth out.
Upvotes given—70/181
While comments were nearly the same, the upvoting definitely took a hit. Again. I think some of it had to do with the fact that the content I saw had something to do with the STEEM and then HIVE battling, and after a while, it all kind of runs together into a he said she said.
Since it seems to be ongoing in one way or another, I need to find a way to not get caught up in it, and read a wider range of content. I was doing that, but the last several months, even before mid-February, focus seemed to be elsewhere.
Not an excuse. I need to do better.
Upvotes received—589/1385
While both metrics dropped, spread was the least affected between February and March. Total votes came down over 450, while the spread dropped just north of 60.
Again, with focus on very specific content, most of it regarding what was happening with STEEM, plus attention being drawn elsewhere as to what to do about it, I'm not surprised. As a content creator, all of us are at the mercy of what people want to read and where their attention lies.
Plus, with a number of folks moving to HIVE and leaving STEEM behind, the numbers were also affected.
Earned SP—385.249
Another drop, but by less than 13 SP, and still a good number for me. Especially given the circumstances.
The breakdown again isn't quite as thorough as I've done it, but the ballpark looks like this:
345 SP and STEEM powered up from rewards through posts and comments.
31 SP from earnings on stake.
9.249 SP fron curation.
Give or take.
With the additional SP earned for March, I reached a milestone on STEEM. Total earned SP rose from 4,786.727 to 5,171.976, putting me squarely into dolphin territory on earnings alone. I feel really good about that. It was a little less than 27 months in the making. I would like to see if I can do the next dolphin amount in less time.
Total SP reached was 12,321.907.
However, I have started my first ever power down. Given the uncertainty of what's going on right now on STEEM, I feel like I need to do something to reduce risk. At present, I don't want to empty my STEEM account, though. I want to leave in more or less what I've earned in STEEM so far and build it back up if possible.
To date, 2,768.980 STEEM has been transferred out.
Highest Single Payout—2.100 SBD/80.358 STEEM/92.446 SP
If last month's highest single payout post was the record, this one beat it by almost 60 SP, so we'll call it the new record. The title of the post was What Does Decentralization Mean To Me, and was in response to another theycallmedan initiative.
These initiatives, along with communities help me quite a bit to earn more rewards on posts, along with the EIP put in place months ago. I can't speak for anyone else, but I feel like I have benefitted from all three, along with the unattached curation trails that still vote.
Self-Upvotes—0
Not much else to say.
Contests—0
No winnings from contests this month. They seemed to fold up shop for at least a while. Some may have moved off chain. We'll have to see what else there may be out there going forward.
Downvotes given—0/received—14
Again, the anklebiters were out for most of March, though I think it tapered off after the hardfork. After last month's record of 20, the downvotes I received is a reduction.
Reputation ranking—68
Instead of being on the cusp of hitting the next level up, I didn't get past 68.7 in March. I think that's all part of the general slow down that there seems to be going on (at least on my posts post-fork). There isn't much left to get to 69, though, so I'll see what I can do to make up the gap.
I still would like to get over 70 by the end of the year, and I believe I have a decent shot at doing that if things can normalize soon.
Investment—0
Between the combination of the price fluctuating, but mostly higher, and the uncertainty brought about by the back and forth on chain between the new Steemit Inc. owner and the community, it didn't seem like a wise thing to invest in March.
As I've been stating throughout this post, if things start to normalize so that it feels like some governance and community stability are back on STEEM, there could be some more investing in my future.
Miscellaneous
I've decided I won't be keeping track of SNAX in this report from now on. There appears to be a sell off happening on STEEM-Engine at the moment of a variety of alt tokens, so it's seems best that I move my SNAXP there over to SNAX.ONE with the rest of my holdings.
I know Steemit Inc has been catching flack for the 100 days of STEEM initiative they've been doing over the past week, but there are a couple of challenges that I will try to participate in, anyway. As I've said, I like initiatives, because by and large they can be worth the effort. We'll see.
Last month I hoped that despite where it looked like things were headed that somehow the issues swirling about would be sorted out. I wasn't expecting a split of the chain to come so soon when I said those words. As it is, though, I'm not certain anything is sorted out yet, and may not be for a while longer.
Regardless, I still want to post and engage here and see where it all leads, until I can't.
So, until next report...
Onward and upward.