Random Musings on Turning 70 Today!

I turned 70 today! I don't normally celebrate the turning of the numbers or the amount of steem power I have. However I thought it worth mentioning because when I first joined this crazy platform I never thought it would be something that would last that long. Or rather that I would last that long on it. So here are some random musings on my time on steemit! With some bonus newbie advice at the bottom!!

When I started, like most newbies my posts didn't earn anything. My first ten posts collected less than a dollar in total. Most of them receiving zero in fact.

I was disheartened to say the least. However I was aware that my posts were... Hmm will a bit shit to be blunt. I was trying to hard to emulate what I saw was making others successful. That was obviously not working.

I carried on. Then I read an incredibly positive post by a guy, saying the key is to be yourself, be happy and just post what you want and the rewards will come. (He left some time later in a rage that he wasn't earning enough, lol) He was right. You have to be yourself and not try to get money by being popular. In his case I think he was actually saying that to be popular. Hence the rage quit. Poor lamb.

I put up a random salsa recipe that I had perfected as my eleventh post and when I checked it a few hours later nearly exploded in a puff of red mist.

400 bang bangs!

Well that was me sold. I love blogging anyway so now I had an amazing reason to continue! Don't get me wrong after that I was back to earning a tiny amount of cents for my posts but I wasn't disheartened. Even though I didn't get a strike again till my 31st post a recipe for easy artesan bread

I couldn't believe I had actually earned money for doing what I love best:

Cooking
Taking pictures of myself looking daft and/or amusing
Trying to be funny

But sometimes it takes a while teach a badger to pee in a pipe.

So I carried on with my random posts, occasionally earning but more often than not getting zilch. I was happy though. People have over used this quote but it still holds true

How much do you earn on any other platform?

It wasn't until the guild's came along that I think I noticed a consistent value to my posts. This is one of the reasons I am grateful to them. It's easy to forget, but prior to the guild's we were all at the mercy of random whale votes to be deemed successful. Once the guild's started they could cast a much wider net.

The days of hundreds of bang bang dollars are largely gone for now. But the pattern I am seeing with the newer members of our illustrious club is that if you post consistently and of a reasonable quality you will get noticed.

So if you are new, carry on doing what you do and for the love of jeebus, stay positive.

If you are witnessing some of the splendid fighting about rewards and flagging etc don't worry! It happens every so often. Instead of wringing your hands about -

What does this look to someone new to steemit!

Enjoy the show. People take themselves too seriously. It's the internet for crikey's sake. When I joined there were all sorts of bun fights going on. It didn't put me off. Compared to my facebook page this was a place of serenity!

In fact if I could give anyone any advice it would be this

Don't quit

Don't go looking at the trending page.

Really, it doesn't do anyone any good. From there you will descend into a howling inferno of perceived injustice and madness. Just post your shit and follow other posters of shit that you like.

So I just want to say a big thank you to all who follow me and to steemit itself for this incredible bumpy but happy ride. Note this is a term I use interchangeably for steemit or my missus.

Full Steem Ahead!!!