The blind leading the blind: a Steemit newbie convincing a pre-newbie to join

I read three posts today... and they are all about the same thing.  HELP ME IN STEEMIT!!!! hahahaha

I wrote an email to my friend 2 days ago, trying to do some gentle convincing that they should look into this place :) So I'm going to share that semi-persuasive emailed monologue with a singular intent:  help!  :)

                

The intention of this post is to attract people who tell me where I'm wrong, tell me where I'm right, and generally be a place where newbies can come console one another - waiting for a seasoned Steemian to come by and say, "There there.  It will be alright.  Help is coming and then all will be right with the world, little newbie." 

and.... also just let other newbies know that there are a lot of newbies out there. You're not the only person on Steemit trying to figure it all out.  We all are! LOL  

                   

so..... here is (was) my email - please read - and correct me wherever I'm not quite right, blatantly wrong, or otherwise befuddled.  :)  

***

Hey!

Remember I told you about steemit???  Well,I started to write for it today. 

Calm down!!!! LOL You don't have to join!!! :) I'm just telling you - so far, it's pretty cool.

I mean - you know me - I write for the love of it.  Money or no money - i'll always write.  

but you have potential to make money on your writings here - in a MUCH different way than is currently offered by the world LOL!  

ok so - are you familiar with bitcoin?

This website uses their own crypto-currency. 

Called steem.

It's kinda complex. I don't understand it all.  My friend tried to explain bitcoin to me and my mind almost blew up. hahaha  Seriously i think i felt heat coming off the tips of my ears!

It's hard to compare it to something if you don't understand crypto-currency at all, but... I guess  - if you HAVE to compare it to something??? you can imagine that it's a little bit like stock? 

But even more complex!!! Lol

Back to steemit - when a story, article, or post becomes more interesting.... it generates more steem.

The more visible the post becomes - the more desirable it is for other people to like it also, which then generates MORE steem, (which makes MORE people want to like it... cuz it increases in value - and if you upvote it - you're part of that whole picture)

Everyone has the ability to vote.

But everyone's vote is worth different amounts.

I'm brand new.... so when I upvote- I do change the value of a post.... but I change it insignificantly at this point.

Like - really insignificantly. hahaha less than a cent. (hahaha)

There are people that are highly active members of steemit.

They have been members for a long time. If you can imagine .....hmmmm well how about this? Imagine if you bought stock in Disney or McDonald's at an early stage. 

The stock is worth very little, until more people are interested....

Then it rises in value, then it splits, then rises more, then splits...

So if you purchase one share of Disney stock in 1957 (the year it listed on the NYSE and was open to the general public)....

Now after splitting and increasing and splitting and increasing......

Today - one share would be equal to more than 750 shares.  

So if you view steem the same way....

1. IF steemit continues to become more successful

2. IF you join sooner rather than later...

3. IF you are an active member that generates your own ability to drive interest up by either creating your own interesting posts- or having a keen ability to find good posts before they are very popular and then MAKING them popular....

Then....in time, your votes would become more valuable, and your account would become more valuable, because steemit would become more valuable.

As I read more on the site- I see that there are a lot of people that are actually attempting to make a living!!!!  How cool is that???  

I kinda view them as stock brokers... or i should say steem brokers?? maybe? LOL

But you don't HAVE to buy steem.  You can earn it by being an active member in the system.  Writing, voting, commenting... by your activity - you are helping the site to become more valuable, and therefore - helping yourself too.

Which is really..... an amazing concept.

To build an entire financial structure off of a vote?  Off of something that I GET to say is valuable to me. (you know me and my stubborn mind LOL.  Don't tell me what I can and can't wear just cuz your name is on a label.  Fashion is created for people.  Not the other way around hahahaha)   I love that this is coming back to the PEOPLE telling the SYSTEM what is valuable to US.

And it's a level playing field.... across the globe! Amazing.

Everyone has a vote. 

On any given day, a person from China- from Canada- from Mexico..... they join on the same day? They make their first vote... and their votes are all worth the same.

It has nothing to do with their nation's currency.

Their vote is inherently valuable. Like a Facebook "like" or Instagram "like" - and you can "resteem" (like Twitter's retweet) to help articles that you think are worthy - so that they can create more interest. 

Of course - the value of a vote changes with time - depending on how invested you are in the system.  But - I think that's how it should be, right?

The more you interact, write, vote for "steem-worthy" posts.... and of course the more time that you commit.... the more valuable your vote will become.

The members with very valuable votes.... (Meaning... they have invested time, or money long enough so that their votes increase in value exponentially) - They are called "whales"

If a whale finds your story... or post... or picture... or recipe... or whatever you want to submit! Lol

And gives it an upvote.....

The value of your story will jump significantly.  (but right now? to me?  a whale is a mythical creature, much like a unicorn hehehe  When I spot one - or more accurately - when one spots me.... i'll be sure to convey the reality of them to you! hahahaha)

I still want to try to figure out how much my vote is currently worth.  But I have a lot more to research :)

But after I wrote my first post.... and clicked submit - it felt so anti-climactic! hahaha I didn't tell anyone I had started writing (yes @creatr, i'm sorry i'm sorry LOL) so I couldn't even get a boost from him or his friends - not even pity votes hahahaha. My own fault. LOL i know - but i kinda wanted to explore it on the down-low. hahaha The site is so big - the posts... so many!  I felt like a drop of water in a massive ocean.

30 seconds after I hit submit, I was already ready to quit. LOLOL

Instead of closing the site and quitting.... I decided to float out a bit further and explore this "ocean" lol

About 10 minutes later, I happened to find my way back to my post. 

3 upvotes.

Wow! Ok.... maybe it's NOT as difficult as I thought.

20 minutes later. 19 upvotes

An hour later. 44 upvotes and my story was worth $0.23

Which is nothing! I know!!!!! hahahaha it's less than a quarter!

But..... when you think about it..... it's actually pretty significant.

No one bought my story. No one paid any money.

They just indicated that they thought it was good. That they liked it. And their collective appreciation had a financial value attached to it.

But - and here is the amazing part....

In one hour, I gained 23 cents for thoughts that I took from my mind and put to "print".

People liked those thoughts. And without exchanging any money directly from their hands to mine.... they gave value to my thoughts... and in this system- that value is associated with financial benefit.

I have a friend who has written since August.

His account is worth almost $500 now.

Again.... it's not going to replace a full time job. Well, it can. But for most people- it's not going to. Certainly not any time in the beginning.

But I'm published on Amazon. If I made $500 in 6 months on ANY of my books- without having to invest my own money on marketing??? I would be thrilled!

I guess it's all about perspective.

23 cents in an hour.... from strangers who happened to like a part of a story I wrote.

That's money in the bank- any way you look at it! Lol

Definitely some interesting potential here.  

(after 16 hours - i came back to give an update)

Now??? The value is $2.35 from last night! It's not even been a full day yet. 

Only 16 hours lol

I know $2.35 is relatively low.... but it is also relatively high - all things considered.

You totally have to join this!  

Tell me when you come and I promise you I'll give you your first vote. LOL 

                                                          

This is day 3 of the 30 day writing challenge by @dragosroua  :)