1000 Followers!!!

I have a few separate topics I would like to talk about in the post, so first things first, lets start with the fun stuff!! It is super exciting to have passed 1000 followers. Maybe a few of you are even active, but I suppose there are lots like me who go through active and inactive phases as frustration mounts.

Which gets me to the next part:

Meme Challenges

It has been awhile since I wrote here as I took a bunch of time away from the platform. Recently I returned to discover dMania, where I have been earning a few cents sharing memes. Don't have much blogging skills? Share a meme. Memes are much more likely to be followed by younger Stemians than blogs. Memes are IN! So not only was I sharing a few memes, I also was delegating a good amount of Steem to the dMania bot - which was helping to grow a user controlled meme platform as well as earn me a bit of passive income.

I am sad to say that dMania is shutting down, and its creator @zombee is leaving Steemit altogether. Please take the time to read his story here:

https://steemit.com/dmania/@zombee/dmania-shuts-down

His departure saddens me, as he was trying really hard to create new ways to use Steem - literally creating value for every Steem holder by expanding the community. His loss is really a loss to us all, regardless of your personal opinion of meme culture.

DMania R.I.P.

Luckily, I pulled my delegated SP yesterday, because @zombee has shut down the website earlier than he said, thus stranding delegated SP for those who did not get there in time. @zombee, I realize that you are leaving with a bad taste in your mouth, but it would be the right thing to do to put your site back up long enough for users to undelegate their SP. I have supported all along that you were trying to do the right thing with the bot. I know you would like to do the right thing now.

If not, for any of you who might have "trapped" SP delegated to dMania, @datapotomus has written a post with instructions that might help get it back.

https://steemit.com/steemit/@datapotomus/reclaim-delegated-sp-and-revoke-dmania-app-permissions

Reward Pool Rape?

I think I have a completely different view on this than most. Steemit is such a unique experiment. It is a mixture of cryptocurrency, social media, blogspot, content host, community, etc. As such, it attracts a diverse type of user.

First of all, I don't believe that there is such a thing as reward pool rape. Some behaviors here are anti-social to be sure, but we are all motivated by different values. Some value money and are very good at using the Steemit platform to generate an impressive income. They aren't giving back to others, creating good content, or doing anything to grow the community. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. It is simply using every avenue to maximize a person's returns. Self-voting, multiple accounts, bots, etc. are really just forms of 'mining' Steem. We don't get angry when someone goes out and buys millions of dollars of miners and takes a larger portion of newly minted Bitcoin, nor should we get angry when someone buys a ton of Steem and then self-votes himself a larger share of newly minted Steem. This group represents the capitalists.

Others might value community. They are building the platform by helping others to move up from minnow status. Certainly these users are giving back, some are creating good content, and they are growing the community. But don't think that they aren't also using bots that are benefiting themselves at least as much as anyone else, and don't think that they are not leveraging the people they help to make themselves a substantial income. Indeed they may have very similar goals to the first type of user. I do believe that this type of community member is more sustainable than the first type, so in the long term they are better for the platform than the first type. These people are focused on the social media aspect of Steem. These people can also make a large amount of money. These people represent the social butterfly or celebrity.

Another type of Steemian are the content creators. They value creativity, and bring a different type of value to the platform. They are the writers, photographers, musicians, artists, web designers. If you search around, you can find a lot of excellent content here. Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically, it is the content creators who are the least successful here even though Steemit is advertised as a place where content creators can get paid for their work. These people are the ones who are most likely to get frustrated and move quit the platform. They are also the most likely to complain and become envious of the successful self-voters. This is born completely out of envy and frustration, and should not be encouraged. Instead, what these users really need is a hand up by those who are building community. These are the starving artists.

The last type of user here on doesn't really give anything at all to the platform. They are the ones who value control. They try to control the behavior of others on the platform, and they try to "correct" what they see as flaws in the system through force or by bullying. They may be wealthy already (early adopters) or not, but their primary behavior is to take from others either by shaming them, excluding them, shouting them down, or on this platform, downvoting them into oblivion. These are the least useful group on the platform, although they end up with large followings by manipulating those who are frustrated and/or envious. These are the politicians.

Becoming A Whale - Achieving Success - Finding Balance

Just like all man-made systems are imperfect, so is Steemit. The fascinating part for me is watching the different personalities battle it out to create this wonderful community. We have the capitalists taking the biggest portion of the rewards pool by leveraging their wealth, the celebrities taking the next largest portion by leveraging their social status, the politicians the next largest by leveraging the discontent and envy among the frustrated and unsuccessful. And the artists? Well they are creating some wonderful stuff, but are starving.

So what is a good recipe for success here? Well the first thing is to define what success looks like. Do you want to become independently wealthy at all costs? Do you want to make fantastic, beautiful, helpful content and make some extra spending money? Do you want to help as many people here as you can to become successful? Are you here for a following, a group of friends, a social circle? Do you want to build Steemit into the best community imaginable? Define it.

For myself, I have numerical goals - I want to make $xxxx worth of Steem every day. But, I would also like to practice my creative writing or essay writing skills. Figure out what you want. Next, look at what is working for others. Everything from using or supporting bots, to taking photography or writing courses, to buying up as much Steem as you can afford in every dip and then self-voting yourself, are legitimate pathways to success here. Find a good mixture that doesn't turn off other users but helps them, learn how to create better content, interact with those who comment on your stuff, invest some savings, use bots as well as delegate to them, and spread the message about Steem into the wider community.

As in real life, it is balance that makes for the happiest citizens. Remember that, and bring a balanced approach to Steemit, and you will find happiness and success. Ignore those here who are not going to help you achieve your goals. Infighting, envy, downvoting out of spite, these behaviors just distract you from earning. Follow those who are bringing you value, ignore those who aren't, define your goals, improve, and most important of all - have FUN!!!