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First of all, let me first give a well-deserved kudos to @lepton for throwing the Worst Steemit Contest! Of the many contests here on Steemit, I have to say that this was one of those that I would've never thought of. I don't remember how I found out about it, but I'm so glad that I did. The concept itself was a revelation, and the whole mechanic provided a win-win scenario for everyone who got involved. The participation was through the roof and the entries were amazing!

Rightfully so, I might add. Imagine winning by voting other people's posts. Even if they get a couple of dollars, it's still better than nothing. I tell you what, it's a genius move on @lepton's part to think about a contest like this. Not to discount all the other contests, as I think there are many out there that are equally as awesome. This was just one of those things that I can't believe nobody else had thought about before.

Be sure to check out Round 2 of the contest by following this link: https://steemit.com/contest/@lepton/join-the-worst-steemit-contest-2-first-contest-where-all-losers-win

_{Get your entries in before the deadline!}

If you want a real shot at winning that though, take the time to read this post. Being the only 1st place winner so far, I think I'm in a rather unique position to share my strategy in winning the Worst Steemit Contest.

A Winning Tradition

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I don't want to brag (and I most certainly don't want to jinx myself), but I have a good track record when it comes to contests here on Steemit. You see I've won quite a few in the past, and sure, it's not a lot, but it's the efficiency that I'm proud of. Apart from a disastrous showing in the Steemit Photo Challenge, all the other contests I took part in were winners. There it is, isn't it? I jinxed myself bad now, didn't I? Damnit ... I should stop now. I'm stopping now. There are still contests to be won, and daddy needs some STEEM. Goddamnit...

I've already dug myself a hole, might as well see it all the way through to the other side of the planet. If my estimates are correct, then I might find myself in Cuba. Mojitos and cubanos by the beach, now that's carrying on the winning tradition. Anyway, I digress.

Quick disclaimer: This isn't really a guide to winning the contest, so I apologize if I misled you. But, since you're already invested in this post, might as well see it all the way to the end, right?

The Worst Strategy

Nice post.

That was the winning comment. Some might argue that it's not a joke, but as I explained to @lepton, that might be the most meta joke one could write. Looking through the other entries, it seems it is far from original, but let me just assure everyone that I did not copy it. The similarities are purely coincidental. I intentionally didn't look at the other posts so that I could avoid copying any of them. I just blindly voted on the ones I saw.

Let me provide a short explanation about how it's the worst joke. I mean, the worst jokes are the ones that need to be over-explained, right? Alright, I'm on the right track then. The compliment of the post being nice is akin to telling an ugly person that he/she is gorgeous. Or, saying that you had a lovely time when, in fact, you had the worst time. It's a joke because it conveys something that isn't believed to be true. I didn't think it was a "nice" post ... I thought it was a great one! People who know me here know that I always make it a point to leave unusually long, thoughtful comments, so that in itself is telling that it's a conscious tactic on my part to secure victory.

Following Occam's Razor, the simplest answer is always the best. Sure, it's a loose translation of it, but you get it. I didn't want to over-complicate the response, even though the thought process behind it is complicated as shhhh... Okay, okay, it took me 10 minutes to think about it, but still, it's about the intensity, not the duration. wink wink

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I submitted as near to the deadline as I can, since I didn't know how to automate my entry. Because of time zone differences, I was able to post hours before the designated deadline, as I would've been fast asleep at the exact deadline. This was a means to maximize my chances of getting few votes.

@lepton provided time to vote on other people's comments after, so that's what I did. After I submitted my entry, I peppered everyone's comments with percentages based on how I found the joke hilarious, to jack them up. I didn't vote on all of them, as I wanted my comment to sit in the middle. Being at the bottom would just make me an easy target.

Yes, there was a lot of thought involved. So, if you think I had it easy, think again.

Retrospective (and a bunch of expletives)

Many months ago, I have made one or two (or three, not sure, but who's counting?) rant posts about the lack of interaction here on Steemit. That imbalance still persists, but my expectations (thanks in large part to @lukestokes) have changed. These days, I just want to uplift others by doing my own thing. The love here on Steemit, I think, won't ever be spread around evenly, but there's no use stressing out about it. The best we could do is to just appreciate the love we do receive. Even though I don't let it bother me anymore, I still think about it sometimes.

In a contest where you win by voting, interacting, highlighting other people's comments (otherwise known as "supporting others" in the normal context), you would think that other people would make a more concerted effort to vote on others. But, I guess not. Either people really didn't care if they won or not, or there are just some people who fell between the social cracks.

Alright, fine. I bet many people just submitted to have fun, and didn't really care if they won or not. Admittedly, I was the same thing, and I hope that my explanation above didn't throw you off and made you feel that I was only there to win. I didn't think that I had a snowball's chance in hell to win, and I submitted just because I really liked the concept of the contest. It took me, at best, 15 minutes to think about everything, vote and read all of the other comments. It was great fun, and I had forgotten about even joining until @lepton informed me that I won. I guess hell froze over.

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At the time the winners were announced, my comment received only 6 votes. Six. Seis. One of which came from the contest organizer (damn you and your goal to make it a fair fight for everyone!!). When I read his comment, I was completely torn. As in, my emotions broke off into two camps and recruited other emotions to fight in their twisted civil war. On one hand, I'm happy about the prize money and that my effort was appreciated by @lepton, who didn't just write it off as a non-joke and disqualified it. My strategy worked, and I keep my sterling track record of winning intact. On the other hand, I was a bit saddened. As I mentioned, it was a game where you win by voting others, and yet I didn't receive many votes. Heck, even a dot received more votes than I did haha! Wait, no, I shouldn't be laughing. It's either my strategy was fool-proof, lady luck was my mistress, or I was on a permanent stealth mode socially.

"!&(#&)%)!&@^$^@&$&%!)@(##&$^%@" I blurted out, to which my fiancee laughed at.

How the heck did my strategy work? I know I shouldn't be complaining (and don't get me wrong, 58 SBD isn't something to complain about ;) ) but there's a part of me that sighed...

This was a position I found myself in many a time before. It used to be that I would go into bouts of depression, constantly thinking about it, but nowadays I've somehow dealt with it. I'm not alone in this fight, but I just wanted to spread the word about it to help other people out. Put on your serious faces, 'cause we're throwing out the jokes from this point moving forward.

Navigating Social Blindspots

I plan to talk about this with more detail in a future post, but I wanted to provide a brief starter here because this contest made me revisit the topic. In my own experience, I'm almost always the blindspot in groups I belong to. What I mean to say is that I'm always the one people don't notice or forget about. I treat others normally, and yet I don't receive the same exact treatment like others. That's fine, sure. I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, and you won't fully understand it unless you experience it yourself.

Here are a few examples to better visualize the situation:

• I make it a point to include others in conversations, but when I'm the one excluded, it's very rare that someone makes any effort to do the same for me
• I always make sure that people arrive home safely, often times escorting them to their front door, but when it's my turn to go home, people just leave me somewhere to fend for my own
• When someone is sick, I stay by their side and see to it they receive proper care. When the tables are turned, I remember one time at my first job, I was suffering a migraine and I had to walk across the busy Business District just to get to a drug store
• I always lend an ear for other people's troubles and worries, but when I have a problem, I have nobody to turn to

When I don't perform any of my usual routines, people call me out on it and note that I'm not being a good friend. Maybe that's what people expect of me, and when I tell them that I don't receive the same treatment they just ignore it. I felt like I'm the one who needed to do a constant upkeep of friendships, while people feel they're entitled to it. I became burnt out by it, so I decided to just leave those bridges be, and let them burn. Suffice to say, I felt fine after that, but severing ties have left me with little to no close friends.

However, I digress. I didn't mean to sound like I'm complaining or whatever. I'm fine with it, but I'm currently writing a scholarly study regarding that, so yeah it's a social phenomenon that you can't just discount. The question "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" doesn't apply to this situation. If you bump someone because you didn't see anyone there, did you really bump someone?

During my exit interview at my last corporate job, my former boss and I chatted about this topic. He told me that he gets where I'm coming from and that his group of friends has someone like me. That got me thinking, so I started researching about it. The results are surprising, and one day I would publish all of my findings. But, I don't want to expound it here.

The point why I brought it up is that I want people to be aware that there are some people who fall through the cracks and skate by unnoticed. I do my best to make everyone feel noticed, even though I suffer from the same thing. For any of you who see this post and know of anyone who's the same way, it wouldn't hurt to spend a minute or two to engage them and make them feel seen. That small gesture goes a long way, and it would definitely make the world a better place.

In the context of Steemit, it could be a vote or even simply reading and commenting on someone's posts, especially those who seemed like they spent some time crafting a well-thought out entry. The world could use a little more compassion, and you are the best person to make the first move. Who knows, you might gain a new friend and follower.

So, what I'm saying is, go out there, join @lepton's contest and vote the hell out of everyone else. Good luck!!