My Thoughts On Steemit... This Day! (Hey - Price is UP!!!)

Wouldn't this be nice on every roll?

Is It All Just a Gamble?

Since coming to Steemit (as a blogger), I have learned many things about "Revenue Earning" posts. The most important thing I have learned on this platform is that if you are a minnow, there is No Apparent Rhyme or Reason for the success of any Steemit post. It takes a loyal following (and money) to make a real positive impact on one's wallet here. And just how do you create that following? By creating good content and participation. In my opinion though, Steemit is NOT a "Blogging" platform per se, but a social media outlet that pays... sometimes.

Typically speaking, whether it be a simple (5 minute) cat meme, or a well-prepared dissertation on retirement choices (5 hours), its all akin to rolling a pair of dice. You never know what will come up. Sometimes you win, many times you lose. In the four plus months I have been on Steemit, I have had only ONE whale-cast vote that netted me a single payout of over $100. That whale just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I'm thankful for that!

Overall though, I can side with the many frustrated Steemians who create tons of good content, but never seem to get rewarded. And I shudder to think of all the crap here on Steemit that earns anything! I've earned more on posting a beach shots as compared to those posts that I've spent multiple hours on (as a ratio of time spent/earnings). It's not an equitable or fair system of play, but this is Steemit and it is ours... take it or leave it.

There Is More To It!

As a blogger with over 785 blog posts and roughly 90 videos to my credit over the last 12 years, I have become accustomed to long-term advertising revenues and recurring payouts. With Steemit though, you are given only a quiver full of arrows and one target. You must train yourself to shoot. If you use all your arrows and miss the target, well... you're left with nothing but a sore forearm. Could it be better? Yes, but show me another platform that can provide potential jackpot revenues with a single post in just a few short hours. I believe that is the real draw to Steemit and is why so many people are attracted to this platform. The other magnet of course is the opportunity is growth. Those who show up early during the evolution of Steemit will benefit in the long-term, as long as Steemit continues on that developmental growthpath. Some think it will moon. A great thought but I never count (or dwell) on these things.

For me (and I'm sure many others) I just like writing. There is a sense of accomplishment that comes with producing content, and it is not necessarily measured in fiat. It is a thought provoking process leading to self-improvement with added benefit of personal growth. It is about inspiring others. There is self-gratification. There is camaraderie... it's about community. It's many different things to many people.

And yet, there is that ever persistent allure of money - it will always be there. It's an inherent part of human nature to want to be financially successful... secure. Maybe someday there will be better promise of longer-term or recurring revenues on Steemit. Some day the advertisers will find a way in and that will either be a good thing or bad. There will be both promise and undertainty going forward (PFUD?) And the Tangle network? Well, it just might overtake the blockchain as a better technology going forward.

Who really knows about any of these things? But big changes notwithstanding, we will all just cruise along here on Steemit, taking our turn with the dice. We will all be waiting for that next big hit... if it ever comes.