I’ve been here for over 6 months already and after many ups and downs, I think I’ve finally found a nice rhythm. I got stuck throughout late summer and early fall, but I’ve made some huge growth this past month. 900 followers, now 1300. 700 sp, now 1050. 56 rep, now 59. I must be doing something right, right? Most importantly, I feel much better about my experience here and the possibilities we have in front of us.

So I want to share the way I Steem in hopes that it can help some new users to not only find their own success, but contribute to making the whole ecosystem fairer, more fun, more awesome.

Experiment

I’m always experimenting with how I interact with the community. I spent a long time feeling down about how no one was reading my fiction since it’s what I came here for. I would still like for people to read my, but I realized that while the steemit platform has its limitations, there are tons of other fun and meaningful ways to share and interact. Find a way.

When my fiction went ignored, I started a series called Optimism at the End of the World which I describe as “political self help”. It aimed to help the reader differentiate between their own consciously created self and the self created by socialization, in order to take full responsibility for thoughts, emotions and even beliefs. Through this, one can begin to redefine their past and create their present and their future. The series was well received...usually...it won me a bunch of OCD nominations but it tired me out, some posts were sill overlooked, and I realized I was putting a lot more time and energy into it than I could afford.

pineapplefish , image link

I tried experimenting with language learning, tried to start a Spanish study group and failed, in part because it wasn’t what I was most passionate. I tried fiction again and failed to gain readers. I changed my focus to community building which aims to be non-hierarchical through Be Awesome discord, a community based on forming sincere connection, finding ways to benefit ALL so there is no need for selfishness OR selflessness, no ass-kissing or scheming for monetary gain and The Deadpost Initiative which aims to reward and find readers for undervalued posts. This initiative has still gone relatively unnoticed by most large accounts but I believe it belongs on the trending page every week and I’m quite sure it will get there soon enough. Big thanks to @sndbox for keeping it afloat these past 2 weeks.

I’ve since moved on to writing more blog-like posts, posts about Japan, crypto, behavior on steemit, and more casual posts about life, community, society and “spirituality”. Whatever else steemit is, it’s primarily a social media platform, stuff gets forgotten and buried under newer stuff, not everything gets the attention it deserves. Always insist on quality but don’t stress yourself out.

Live for yourself so you can live for others

I don’t believe in work. There are things that allow us to survive and live more comfortably but these should be fun. “Work” is not fulfilling when we can’t see how it’s benefitting anyone directly and in no way resembles what we’d be doing if we had true freedom. So I make sure most of what I do at steemit is fun and beneficial for me so that I have energy and resources to help others. I loved making Optimism posts but they felt like work and I was putting too much pressure on myself to make them very professional and lengthy. So I kept the content but got much more casual with it, to make it easier on myself so I can post more, connect more, earn more, give more.

I used to worry about posting too much or posting too little, about covering too much variety or not enough variety. I’ve given up caring. Some of my posts are for you. Some are for me. Some are to inspire, some are to mess around, some are high quality, some are kind of stupid, I don’t worry about it anymore. My only requirement is that the posts are either fun for me or productive for the community, preferably both, but one or the other is good enough.

Paying it “Back”

This is a kind of preemptive Paying it back... I do not like that we basically need the support of more established users to do well at steemit, but at least the environment here is better than Facebook, there are more possibilities and we can improve our situations by doing well here. Also, there are lots of decent established users who support new users and have meaningful things to say and while they are spread thin, they will try to help you out if they notice the meaningful contribution you are making. They do what they can do. Some, like @stellabelle or @kafkanarchy84 or @reggaemuffin or @ats-David have taken the time to read my posts and give me a boost despite tons of users who are looking for their attention. Others have given substantial rewards for leaving quality comments like @exyle , @firepower @danaedwards or @cryptoctopus. Only a few dolphins and whales are more self-congratulatory than helpful but the good and bad alike are busy. Make sure your attention only goes to the good ones, I’ve just shared a few.

Ideally we wouldn’t have to pay homage to the “gods” (don’t get too full of yourself whales, just a convenient metaphor) of steemit, but the system is imperfect and many of them are also trying their best to pay it forward. I check the “hot” page a bit to spot them and know them, but not as much as I check my feed or my favorite minnow, but a few minutes every day. I hope they understand when I give them 11% upvotes as I’d like to save my voting power for users who are still struggling to have their contributions fairly rewarded. I hope they do the same and pay it forward rather than giving much of their voting power to large accounts.

Paying it “Forward”

I try to make sure 60-80% of my upvotes and time reading and commenting goes to users whose accounts are smaller than mine. This is the only way the platform will become more fair and the power more evenly distributed, and also many who have great things to contribute. Some new users find their voice and passion for steemit right away like @dedicatedguy @mariannewest or @spiritualmax (whose progress at the platform is mind glowingly fast). Others (the rest of us)need time to find themselves, and maybe you can help them with your support.

I try to balance between old friends and new users who could potentially be new friends, with preference towards users who are putting a lot into their posts and content. I don’t bother with the new page. I try to find these users through comments on my posts, on friends posts and through involvement in the Deadpost Initiative.

Always focus on what you can do better. There is crap to be found but don’t dwell on it. Focus on having fun and making friends. There are three roads to really succeed at steemit, one is investing lots of money or being at the right place at the right time, another is being a master bullshitter or playing the game well. DON’T FOCUS ON THOSE 2! The third way is just as effective if you are persistent. Find your voice. Be yourself. Be creative. Support community and what you believe in.

If we stick together and become stronger, things can only get better here.

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Join the "Be Awesome" community

The Be Awesome discord chat, was created with the intention of making deeper connections with fellow steemians. Come talk about "deep shit" and make friends.

I’m also a language learning coach. Come find me if you need help learning a language.

Be Awesome discord channel

Confessions of the Damaged - a collection of short stories

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by @skyleap