I checked my wallet yesterday, and realised I had just past 250 and thus am halfway to becoming a minnow. I am not really big on milestones on here and feel that they are overdone, but it is good sometimes to look back and see how far we have come, and what lies ahead. According to my Steemd page I have been on Steem for 278 days - it will be interesting to see how long I will take to get to minnow status - I suspect it will be alot quicker!

Good things take time

Steem is interesting and alot different to other forms of blogging and social media, and is alot more complex - I rememeber when I joined, and it took me a few weeks to find my feet and realise how things worked around here.

Often new users come in with enthusiasm and then leave within the first few weeks when they realise that Steem isn't easy, and isn't just printing money. I remember those first couple of months well - writing good content and making mere cents per post, while others seem to produce one photo and make 1000s!

However, once I realised that Steem is a long term 'investment' (in time for me, and money for some), is when I realised that my effort now will pay off in the future - even if it doesn't always seem that way.

Be an active community member

One of the most important factors for success (and enjoyment!) on Steem is to be an active member of the community. This means getting to know other people, and being social - commenting on blogs, and getting involved in healthy discussion. Also whenever I join a new dapp I always join their Discord server, as each dapp will generally have their own community, and its also a great place to ask questions.

Being social also means being engaging - writing engaging content (thought provoking or challenging), and always replying to people who comment on your blog.

Steem is more than just Steemit!

In the last couple of months I have started to experiment with a lot of different dapps, and this has been when I have seen my account accelerate. Blogging isnt for everyone, and luckily there are many different dapss in different areas such as fitness tracking, restaurant reviews, memes, videos and many more.

I have become involved with @actifit, which is a fitness tracking dapp, where you get rewarded for your daily fitness activity. Its nice to get rewarded for something I already do, and the great community is always encouraging me to be more active.

@musing is another dapp I have become quite involved with, and am really enjoying. Musing is a question and answer platform, much like Quora, where users are rewarded for their input in the form of upvotes. The Musing platform and community are growing everyday, and one that I highly suggest checking out.

Steemhunt has been aorund on the blockchain for a while now, but it is one that I am just becoming involved in. I love all of the innovation from @steemhunt, where users review and share new and interesting technology. This dapp is one I think I will become a regular contributor too, and am looking forward to their future developments.

I would love to hear how everyone is thinking about the future of Steem - especially with these low prices! I am super positive about the future and loving all of the great developments coming out every day