Random PIF/Steemit thoughts & New Sponsors & 24 Hours Left in Week 7
Week 7 Coming to a Close!
Have to get this out of the way. Reminder that the biggest change to the Pay It Forward Curation Contest is that we have moved the cut off for submissions to Saturday night 11:59pm CDT (CST with Daylight Saving time). This gives you about 23 hours from now to get your submissions in for Week 7.
Random Thoughts
Going to try something little different here and just give you some of my thoughts. It will be a little random and unfiltered as I'm not going to edit this multiple times to try and make it perfect, but let's see how this goes. Please tell me if you like it or hate it in the comments...I'm good with either.
Want to talk about the Pay It Forward Contest for a minute and all of the amazing people who are taking time out of their lives to try and help others. Those of your who have entered in the contest so far this week, @headchange, @donna-metcalfe, @f3nix, @bmotives, @tony19r, @viking-ventures, @freedomshift (also gives extra prizes to entries), @imagendevoz, @cuppcake, @honeysim, @mtnmeadowmomma, @thaishps, @bashadow , @barski, @buckaroo, @ridoykhan22, & @bengy have all taken time from your lives to hunt down quality posts from newer members of the steemit family. Then you have the Judges @erodedthoughts, @lynncoyle1, @energyaddict22, & @wolfhart who not only help run the contest for free, but actually pay for 1 @steembasicincome share for their Judges Choice Award and use a ton of their voting power each week rewarding the entries and those featured in the entries.
| The efforts of those entering and judging the contest truly leaves me humbled. |
|---|
I see posts mentioning my name (thanks @GINAbot) like the one @revisesociology did this week "44 good people doing good things on steemit…. and I think the wrong person is getting credit. To see my name with the likes of @abh12345, @davemccoy, @fulltimegeek, @josephsavage, @KrNel, @lyndsaybowes, @pharesim, @surpassingoogle, @tarazkp, @timcliff, and so many other amazing steemians just blows my mind as I haven't done anything other then give a platform with some structure for great people to showcase the amazing talent on steemit.
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Source: Original Photo Taken by @thedarkhorse
Each day I become more addicted to steemit even with it's flaws. The key is there are people putting up a fight against those who abuse the system, those who steal content, those who post 10+ times a day taking massive amounts of the reward pool, those abusing voting bots to earn rewards on complete and total garbage posts. You see if nobody took a stand against this abuse then I wouldn't be so excited about steemit. It's the fact that people do take notice and fight against the abusers that make me hopeful that in time some of these issues will be resolved and we can keep working to make steemit a great place to invest our time and money.
I feel there is a light at the end of this tunnel and as we move closer towards that light we all can profit. Part of that light is the new talent that comes onto steemit each and every day. The talent that we need to curate and help reward so they stick around long enough to help mold steemit into a powerhouse content generation machine that it can be.
Those that have helped feature 600+ posts now over the last 7 weeks are part of what makes me hopeful and excited about the future of steemit. Those that have the Pay It Forward mentality are here for more then just the profits you can earn and understand that you can enrich the lives of others with a simple gesture you are part of that light shinning at the end of the tunnel!
Thank you all for your effort and continued support!
Speaking of Support - New Sponsorship!
Know that many of you don't curate and enter the contest for the rewards and while I love that fact it is important to me to reward those of you that take the time to #payitforward. There are plenty of you that spend hours to find your bloggers and then create your curation post and this effort deserves rewards.
While I wish I was independently wealthy and could finance this venture out of pocket....I can't. My steem account is here to help my kids have choices in their futures and as much as I love all of you and your efforts my girls come first. So this contest can't be a financial burden to my family on top of the hours I spend.
Sure many of you realize this already, but this contest takes time and a lot of it. I'd say on an average week I am investing no less then 20 hours reading posts checking for plagiarism and verifying the entries are valid to the rule. Also making sure that the featured posts aren't past or really close to payout (please watch this!!). Then we add in the time for writing posts, updating the post with all the entries, and time on discord coordinating with Judges and answering questions from contestants and it's pretty close a full time unpaid job. Most nights see me staying up until 1-2am working on the contest to then be up at 6am. My time is my investment into this contest.
Now I say this not to complain as honestly I love it! The raw talent that is put before me each week is amazing. Steemit is full of talented bloggers from around the world and each week the posts I get to read makes the far reaches of the world seem a whole lot closer.
So when someone with a huge heart 💓 comes along and offers to help sponsor the contest like @simplymike has now for a second round of SBD @steem-bounty Sponsorship which now totals 4 weeks of sponsorship or when @kaliju come along with a large sponsorship and says use it to help reward the winners even more it just helps make this contest more financially viable and more important it really helps me know we are on the right track.
@simplymike asked for nothing in return but do me a favor and check out @newbiegames.
@kaliju also expected nothing in return, but if you are buying votes take a look at his new manual curation bot @zenbot.
Next week I'm hoping to arrange time with both our sponsor's to do an interview and share their thoughts on steemit, why they felt it was important to donate their money to help support the Pay It Forward Contest, and more. Now to get these very generous people to agree to the interviews 🙄
That turned into a much longer post then I expected. If you read it all I'm sorry I took so much of your time...lol.
Well that was time well spent reading such a great post @thedarkhorse! I remember when you and I first discussed coming up with a contest idea and to think that this is what it has evolved into! It's so amazing that so many steemians find value in the "pay it forward" mentality.
It's also amazing to see @simplymike do what she does so well (this isn't the first time I've seen her do this by the way...she's awesome :), and to see @kaliju give so much as well!
I too ended up on @revisesociology's post and felt equally humbled by it! It's a wonderful gift he gave us :)
And finally, thank you for the shout-out here. You are so right, it takes a lot of time to do this, but I think in the end it is worth it. You said it was only going to be a contest for one week though haha Kidding! I wouldn't trade my judge's robes in for anything; I too am pleasantly surprised each week with the quality of posts and showcased steemians within them.
Cheers buddy! Here's to another growing and successful week :)
When I first started the thought process of a contest it and asked everyone what they wanted to see in a contest it was great to see how many wanted to spotlight others. Then my Kindness of a Stranger & Paying it Forward happened during the same week as I was asking for help coming up with the contest idea. I was kind of funny how the comments from both and the experience itself lead this where we are today.
@simplymike and @kaliju are great and obviously embody the pay it forward mentality.
As for @revisesociology's list, it was amazing to be listed on there with great people like yourself. Then a couple of alerts this week have happened with people talking about myself and the contest and it just kind of added up to a WTF is happening moment for me. Not an in the spotlight type of person, more of behind the curtain make shit happen guy so this is not something I'm used to. You deserve to be on that list far more then I do!
lol...one week...well if I told you what you really were getting into I might not have you here.
@lynncoyle1 and @thedarkhorse, I think what you’re doing here is an amazing thing. Imo, you’re providing people the opportunity to do what they want: put others in the spotlight, but within a context.
(And don’t mistake my contributions for a good-hearted deed: I just feel guilty that I can’t find the time to join the contest, so I’m simply sponsoring to ease that feeling of guilt - lol ;0P )
Now seriously: I have a great respect for what you’re doing here, @thedarkhorse, and your name definitely belongs in that list
@simplymike I'll take your guilty sponsorship...lol.
Thank you for your kind words!
Lol
You’re welcome ;0)
hahaha @simplymike; are you Catholic by any chance? :) I'm happy your contributing and appeasing your guilt :)
And thank you for the kind words too!
Lol
Now I read it again, it kinda seems I would be, but not at all 😂
I’m kind of allergic to anything related to religion
haha I was raised one then converted to the same allergy as you as an adult :)
Lol
Let's say we both deserve to be on the list! And we can thank Betty for you being here too :)
haha maybe? :)
More I think about it I think you would have seen this as a challenge and wouldn't have been able to say no...lol.
You are probably right on that one!
Honestly man, you put a lot of these so-called whales and other fish here to shame!
Great initiative and already helped so many people not give up and continue blogging! Steem on friends! I'll swim by here and hopefully participate as much as I can. Thank you @thedarkhorse for all the great work.
Thank you! Your help is greatly appreciated.
I've said it time and time again that this contest is the highlight of my week! I totally mean it! Discovering new, deserving talent is a lot of fun - though yes, it is also a lot of work!!!
(Same as I absolutely love my writing, but it's also a full-time job! I'm so grateful for having a husband who supports me in a way that I can focus on this dream again.)
And yes, I think you do deserve the praise - heck, it's a part-time job just doing this contest!!! I often wish I could do more to help, but I'm still a pretty small minnow myself.
Anyway, keep up the great work!!! And thanks to everyone else who keeps this contest going - all the judges and sponsors are heroes of Steemit!
I'm so glad you look forward to it so much. That makes my night! We will keep growing together and that minnow status will be in the rear view mirror in the future when we look back on our early day.
It's great work that you do, thanks for running the contest! It's always in the back of my mind when I hear out into Steemit to keep an eye out for someone that I can feature!
Thank you for your great entries. You have featured some great posts and I always look forward to seeing your entry!
It is a very good contest, it gives hope to those that we find and pick that, hey someone other than a bot found me. When I make it to a featured post, I often see 3 or 4 other P.I.F. attendees, have already voted and commented on the post, with more than an "oh I guess it's my duty to vote and comment" attitude, but with a real vote, and a real comment to the poster. So they see 3 or 4 nice comments.
They win, their post made a few pennies, maybe even close to a dollar if they get lucky and also end up featured in one of the other groups out there. Word of mouth, and a few followers.
The chance to win an extra reward for our Pay It Forward post is a bonus, we get votes from fellow participants, we sometimes get votes from those we feature, and we get the satisfaction of knowing that we may have made that one persons day, that I think is why a lot of us still participate in the contest, I would like to see more, I would like to be able to get to more than 7 or 8 post and vote for all the selectees, but we all have our vote limit.
So overall a nice update post on how you feel, on the sponsors, and all the work involved. I think the early cut off date and time is fine. I think you are doing a fine job with all of it.
Thank You for visiting other posts and taking the time to not only curate your entries but to reward those who have been featured in other entries.
Do you remember the first time you got some real comments? You know ones that were from a bot, scammer, or someone looking for money to resteem? I do and I think that those 3 or 4 (which I'd love to see this increase) comments are really important to helping motivate new steemians.
I haven't figured out how, but this engagement is something I really would like to see increased in the contest if all possible. This is something that a couple ideas from my "help" post might be able to promote.
No you deserve that, your efforts are beyond!
Thanks a lot @thedarkhorse and #all who make #payitforward possible and profitable!
Honestly don't think so yet, but I will keep working to earn the respect of others here. Thanks for your entry this week and look forward to seeing more from you!
We will prove that to you 😊
Thank you!
Hi buddy
I've been away for past 3 weeks (short holiday) and finally im back :) Loads of catching up is awaiting me now.
I checked your profile and im glad to see that you're still very active on steemit.
How have you been doing?
Obviously upvoted.
Cheers buddy,
Piotr
Hope you enjoyed the holiday! We all need those every once and a while.
Even with real life being slammed the last few weeks I make sure to find time for the contest. Have like 15 other post ideas sitting there that need to be done, but will get to them over time.
Just been crazy busy, but that is how I prefer things. Hate sitting around doing nothing. Thanks for checking in and hope to you see you more active now that your done with your vacation.
thx for your kind reply. it's so good to be back.
I love community here on steemit that i managed to surround myself with.
What do you mean? Are you okey?
Completely fine, just this is the start of my busy season and it was busier then normal. Mainly because I'm trying to make more money due to a few things that happened to us back to back which are major hits, but the being crazy busy is all good things lately. Thanks for asking.
fingers crossed in whatever are you doing buddy
thx for taking the time to reply
@thedarkhorse, maybe it is just me but your inspiration never fails....you didnt intend on making such a long post but the heart wants what the heart wants. You have a big heart @thedarkhorse and the world needs more persons like you and all of us who participate in this contest.
I must admit that it is indeed a tedious task finding suitable bloggers to feature; sieving through all that is presented but nothing compares to that awesome feeling that these bloggers feel when they realise that there are real people on Steemit and persons who care about others; I know because I have experienced it.
From this, your random thoughts, as you call it, will come forth another post of mine. Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing yourself with others. Your daughters would be proud.
Glad to be an inspiration! I look forward to your entry each week and always enjoy seeing who you feature.
Think you will like a change that will be coming for next week. Thinking it will help make the entry a little easier while letting those creating an entry the opportunity to spotlight someone they may not normally get to based on current rules.
And from random thoughts came inspiration....and from inspiration comes more inspiration....with the hope that it will spiral into someone else's day...
https://steemit.com/life/@honeysim/inspirational-spiral-what-is-life-really Link to the post that came....hehe
Oh yeah....alrighty then, I'll be looking forward to it.
Thanks so much to everyone who makes this possible. I can only imaging how much goes into the project. It is hard for me to even keep up with visiting as many as possible. Somehow you guys manage to visit, vote, and comment everybody. That is mind boggeling. When do you sleep :)
I do enjoy being able to give to 3 people a bit more than my tiny account could ever do. Thanks again for the opportunity.
Luckily I'm a 4 hour a night sleeper, but there have been more then a few times which it's been more like 2 hours. But totally worth it to make sure everyone gets their recognition.
It made me happy to see the support you are getting for the awesome job you are doing @thedarkhorse It is clear that many wonderful people recognize the heart and vision behind what you do and truly appreciate the time and effort you put in each day to give others the opportunity to shine on this platform. When we're passionate about what we do, we invest more of ourselves into those things. I love your genuine kindness and your ability to translate that into something so positive. Make sure you take time to relax in between your heavy schedule my friend.
To think that you are part of the start of this contest. You calling me on my BS excuse caused me to be more open and move forward with being serious on steemit. This is something I will never forget and it was the start of a set of ripples that have been felt by many. Funny how a few simple words can change someone's perspective. Thank you for that and thank you for your kind words now. Think you are my Steemit Mom!
See! What did I tell you? You are so good at encouraging other people @thedarkhorse You just can't help yourself.........and this is why you have found a special place in my heart. You have made my day.......no, my week.......no, my month with your touching words and I count it a real pleasure to be called your Steemit 'Mom.' Does that mean I can tell you to look after yourself better when I hear that you are burning the candle at both ends? (lol) Hugs. xox
I have many Mom's in my life and you can ask any of them and they will tell you I am pretty shitty at listening to their advice. They know I love them, but their advice tends to be heard and then promptly ignored. I'm more of a learn what my boundaries are by testing it type of person.
But for real never worry about my lack of sleep. Been this way since I was a baby. My Mom actually thought my Sister might have problems because she slept so much. She brought her to the doctor to find out what was wrong. When she told him the sleep pattern he said "that is normal. why does it concern you?". And she told him because when my son was a baby he slept for 6-8 hours a night and one 15-30 minute nap and that was it. The doctor told her my Sister was normal and I was the one that had an odd sleep pattern. By the time I was in grade school it was 6 hours a night and never has been more then that.
For the most part I listen to my body. When it's time for bed I lay down and fall asleep in less then 5 minutes and most days wake up without an alarm. Personally think my way works much better then most people who try to force themselves to bed to early to reach their 8 hours.
Well then.......its just as well you have a few caring Mom's looking out for you then because some sound advice may just filter through when you need it. (lol) One of my three sons is a 'Learn what his boundaries are by testing it type of person,' too, even now and he is middle aged. BUT we, his parents know if he could just listen occasionally he would save himself a lot of time as his way of doing things is often the long route to ending up with the same conclusion we had in the first place. (lol)
Getting enough sleep is a subject that has plagued me for over 30 years with my long term insomnia. I simple cannot understand why a person would choose to have less sleep when dropping off into dreamland comes so easy to them. However, if one doesn't need as much sleep in order to function well, then why not use their wakeful hours doing things they are passionate about? I guess I am just jealous. Keep up the good work. You're doing a great job!