Steem Q1 2019 Experience Report: Part 2

Steem Power is probably the most important resource we have available in our accounts as we grow in the ecosystem. It has diverse capabilities once we have it staked on the blockchain. It is the fuel for our transactions and engagements as the Resource Credit system has improved the way we measure the costs of our engagement as it prevents issues like spam on the protocol. However, it has now gone beyond these capabilities as we can now claim new Steem accounts for future use instead of spending the 3 Steem fee the protocol requirements. In addition, we can also actively delegate Steem Power to projects to support the growth and engagement in the ecosystem.

The delegations have been an important part of not only my journey but also of my strategy to grow my account and also provide value to the community. I have learned the importance of being part of some duration communities by way of delegation and the benefits they have had to growing my own account and earning Steem at the most difficult times we have seen over the past year. This, combined with my continued efforts to purchase Steem on a monthly basis, has been the fundamental reason why growth in my account was the largest it has been since I have started. It is truly a snowball effect once momentum gatherers and consistency is achieved and engaging and creating. These efforts have also combined for the best earnings I have seen since joining the platform. Not only have my author rewards increased but as my stake has, the curation rewards have continued to expand. This has been able to demonstrate to me the ability for me to diversify in my earnings overtime.

I am on the verge of finalizing my taxes this week as well and when I reviewed this metric of my earnings, I was surprised to see how much it accelerated during this past quarter. Last year, I reported a little over $1,300 in earnings from Steem. After the first three months of this year, I already have about $500 which makes the cumulative earnings around $1,800! this also has a run rate that will put me over $2,000 for the year which is a substantial increase percentage wise from the full year last year. If you consider the amount of momentum I have garnered over the last six months, I could see me more than doubling this for this fiscal year. While it is correlated to the increase in my Steem Power, I also believe that I have seen improvements in my average earnings per post which have helped my upvotes per post as well. This is what mostly encourages me because last year my main source of author rewards were for my comments and not the posts. I really saw a post surpassed the one dollar mark for the first time last year and I am now consistently seeing that improved substantially even normalizing for the increase in Steem price.

My earnings from the quarter also continue to be waited from author and curation rewards which represents about 86% of the total. However, this is down from over 90% in the last couple of quarters as earnings from delegations, bounties, contest, and other ways to earn on the platform have increased quite a bit for me. For example, since the start of tournaments from the Steem Monsters game, I have gotten over $20 in Steem from placing in them. This is amazing considering that I have not won one yet. It encourages me to continue to find ways to show off the ecosystem and demonstrate through these posts that Steem is no longer only about blogging and authoring content, it has expanded beyond that, into a broad ecosystem of opportunities to build a brand and a following. I visualize that this diversification will continue as my stake continues to increase on the platform. My goal in the medium term while I strive to become an Orca is that this could become about a 50-50 split between Author and Curation rewards and other. I will strive to make that a reality but it will never be possible without continuing to engage the community which share these opportunities as they present themselves.

This is not always an easy effort as the environment for projects and communities continues to be challenging due to the low prices in crypto and in Steem itself. Therefore, one of the important things to do as I move forward is to continue to watch where my time and also my delegations are put in order to ensure they are officially allocated to maximize the long-term value in my stake. This doesn’t mean that I am looking for the highest return on investment from a tangible perspective regarding the amount of SBD or Steem that I get on a periodic basis, it means how do I ensure that the best projects that are looking towards creating the best value for all of the community is where I am at. This is one of the great things of the DPOS protocols as we have the liberty to move and adjust our stakes as needed. If projects are not performing or are just not as transparent as we want them to be, we can always pull back our delegations and redeployed them as needed.

As the crypto markets have continue to be depressed despite recent improvements, I have continued to deploy my Dollar Cost Average strategy when it comes to Steem and my Steem Power. While the frequency of purchases has come down from the previous quarter, the amount I have invested at each opportunity has increased to take advantage of the price. Volatility has come down a bit when compared to last year which is why the purchases have been more consistent from a calendar perspective. I continue to see that an opportunity exists to capture as much Steem as possible during these times as value continues to be added to the ecosystem. In total, I purchased 4,787 Steem at an average price of $0.35 this quarter. If we compare to today’s price, it seems that it was a great idea. Regarding the total position of my over 15,000 Steem power now, my purchases account for about 90% of it. While still mostly at a loss, my average cost per Steem has continued to go down as I have continued my strategy; now having an average cost of about $0.84. In addition, I have surpassed what many Steemians call an important milestones which was to earn my first 2,000 Steem Power!

I expect to continue my Dollar Cost average and strategy until I achieve 25,000 Steem Power. Then, I will reevaluate the frequency and amounts of my purchases from there forward. My medium to long-term goal continues to become an Orca and hold 50,000 Steem Power. My preference would be that half of that long-term goal would be investment while the other half be earnings. While I have started to spend some Steem, it has been related to projects in the ecosystem that I hope will return its value in some other forms. For example, I continue to motivate community members by sponsoring SBI‘s for many of them. I believe that @steembasicincome is a great project that can increase the value of the ecosystem by motivating and incentivizing engagement. Also, I continue to be positive regarding the potential that the game Steem Monsters has for not only the Steem ecosystem but the blockchain gaming industry as well. Given the recent and continued developments surrounding Smart Media Tokens (SMTs) and the alternatives that have started to accelerate, I am sure that many more opportunities to use Steem other than Steem Power will become available to leverage the growth in our accounts towards the future. It is truly a great time to be part of the Steem blockchain.

The thought of these updates is to provide a reflection of my journey to the community. I hope that it could inspire others to follow a similar path and find a way to increase the value of the ecosystem for the community that continues to passionately support its development and growth. I also had some experience this quarter as a Partiko mentor which was an interesting experience. While not largely successful in those efforts, I have felt that I continue to help users learn more about the ecosystem and how to navigate it given my engagement. I often see myself pointing users in the right direction to continue their journey the right way. However, I know that I am not the best at this which is why I continue to learn ways on how to improve and grow my account. I have learned from many others and am grateful for it but want to make sure I am available for those that may have questions on their own journey. I look forward to everyone’s thoughts and the ability to share with anyone who has questions or feedback related to our journey here!

Discord: @newageinv#3174

Chat with me on Telegram: @NewAgeInv

Follow me on Twitter: @NAICrypto

The following are Affliate or Referral links to communities that I am a part of and use often. Signing up through them would reward me for my effort in attracting users to them:

If you are like me and interested in continued personal growth, invest in yourself and lets help each other out by leveraging the resources Minnowbooster provides by using my referral link

Start your collection of Steem Monsters today at my referral link

Try the Partiko Mobile app to engage while on the go with my referral link

The dice game that has captured the attention of many Steemians is here! Earn your tokens and try your luck here!

Check Out the New Way to Interact with Other Social Media using my referral link

Get started on the latest game on the blockchain Drug Wars by signing up here!

If you select one of my above referral links, I will sponsor a @steembasicincome SBI in return. Let me know if you do so in the comments below!

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