The Enlightenment of a Crypto-Noob: 5 Thinks I Learned My First Week on Steemit

So my wife started asking me who this “other woman” is called Steemit. When your second post is trending in the first week, and you see all those upvotes and dollar signs, it’s hard to put your phone down!  

Thank you Steemit for such a warm welcome.  

While I write extensively for PropertyInvesting.com, I’ve never authored a personal blog. I suspect the reason is because I could never connect a strong enough incentive with the investment of my time, until now. With a wife and six kids, many extracurricular activities don’t make the cut. 

Prior to last week, I never owned Bitcoin. In fact, it was just a bridge to get me into the Steem economy. I think it’s remarkable that this platform may very well bring cryptocurrency to the masses. I see something unique here. I feel privileged to have heard about this in these early days and I’m writing and “powering up” like it’s the greatest opportunity I’ll ever have in my life.    

For my friends reading this who have never heard of Steem, it’s important to understand one thing before reading on: people in this world often relate to cryptocurrency markets using the metaphor of an ocean.    

The ocean represents the entire economy of the currency. In this ocean there are many different sizes of fish. Some are whales who are the big money players and have a lot of influence. Others are dolphins who are sort of like the middle class of the economy. Then there are the minnows; they have a very small stake. Of course, there are all sized of fish in between.   

With that said, here are five things I’ve learned in my first week on Steemit:  

1. Steemit is a beautiful ocean to swim in.   

It’s not just that this “other woman” pays me to write. The quality of content from other writers and artists already on the Steemit platform is extraordinary. Whether it’s #philosophy from @lukestokes, #photography from @pfunk, the myriad of tech writers and creators, or hearing about unique and interesting people like @federicopistono, this is a very cool place to hang out.   

Side note: Could someone please get @max-keiser to actually post something? @cryptoctopus?    

I’ve also loved seeing how those in developing economies like @infovore have found an opportunity to build wealth amidst difficult circumstances, or how @creationlayer helped a homeless man @brookdemar find a voice and a means of supporting himself. Steem has already become a magnificent crowdfunding tool for social justice.   

These are examples of the boundless potential of a decentralized and socially empowered economy. And to think this is only a few months old. What kind of creativity and innovation might the next few years bring?    

But it hasn’t all been a pleasant, leisurely swim in the sea for me. It didn’t take me long to realise…  

2. There are some sharks swimming in these waters.  

I’m not gonna lie. I put a lot of effort into my first article. I wrote and then edited and then reread and re-edited. Finally, when I felt my masterpiece was complete, I posted it.   

Then, within only two minutes, I kid you not, some dude or bot named @gripenfire literally had ripped off my post and re-posted it as his own. You can see this deceiver’s handiwork for yourself here. I freaked out.   

Then someone started calling me out in the comments for posting the same article under two usernames, like I did it on purpose! The worst part was the imposter was getting more upvotes than me. Within minutes, he was up to 20 cents and I’m still sitting at 3 cents. Thankfully @rnobrega came to my rescue and told me to flag the thief.   

But the damage had been done. I stayed up checking that post for hours and it never made it past 3 cents. I hung my head in defeat and went to bed.   

Oh, but I awoke to a glorious site; which brings me to my third revelation…  

3. Whales are a delight to see.   

Yes, I got a little whale-lovin’ in the night. Trust me, it was even better than it sounds :)

That post went from zero to hero. I nearly flew out of bed when I saw those glorious four digits at the bottom of the page. Then there were all of those warm and friendly comments. It was a beautiful day indeed.   

A quick side note for my non-Steemian friends: you get paid when people upvote your post, and when a whale upvotes you, it means you are about to gain a lot of exposure and make some serious bank.   

The truth is, whales certainly are a delight to see, but you can’t always rely on them. I had some friends visit me in Australia a few years ago. They paid big money to go whale-watching. They saw nothing. Sure they got a voucher to come again, but they were leaving the next day to head back to the States. Tough luck.   

Stumbling upon a whale is a cool experience, but…  

4. Dolphins are fun to play with.  

Give me a frolic at the beach with a bunch of dolphins any day over sitting on a boat looking for whales. Dolphins are friendly, their intelligent and they like to connect. Whales just give you nod and keep moving along.    

It seems to me that the wisest and most sustainable strategy to grow wealth or build an income around here is to hang out and play with dolphins. Even better, set a goal to become one yourself. As @timd has masterfully said here, the Steem economy will change and opportunity will grow as this Dolphin middle class grows.    

And @dan’s comment on the same post helped to shed some light for me on the whale vision, which makes total sense.  

We are currently in a window of opportunity in which hard work and effort can yield a massive outcome in the future. It struck me that now is the time to engage with as many people as possible and to take responsibility for building my own following. It should be the natural result of creating great content and building true relationships.  

5.  It’s lonely in a fish bowl.   

Fish tend to grow to a size that fits their habitat. If you put a small fish into a small bowl, it will stay small. If you put the same small fish into a pond or a lake, it will get bigger.   

I see a lot of little fish living in little bowls. They whinge, they moan and they complain about not being noticed. They seem to have no vision and no one following them. They refuse to leave their little bowl. When I hear them, I…   

Just keep scrolling. Just keep scrolling.   

Who do you think is going to be promoted up the ranks as @dan says above? It’s the people that act and think like whales; people with vision for what Steem can become, who themselves are actively seeking out quality contributors to mentor and promote.

Whether you swim in a fish bowl or an ocean is all about your mindset. A whale or a dolphin can’t fit in a bowl; it needs a vast and expansive ocean to swim in. The sooner we all start swimming in our minds in the ocean that we hope Steem becomes, the greater momentum this movement will gain and the more Steemit and the value of Steem will grow.

Can you think of anything I missed?  

Those are my five revelations after one week on Steemit. Can you think of anything I should have learned but didn't?    

What did you learn in your first week?  

Photo Credits (no changes made): ocean, shark , whale, dolphin, fish bowl