A minnow's doubts after my first week on Steemit

Just like with Bitcoin, I feel that I have sort of missed the bus a wee bit. I vaguely remember reading about Steemit when it must have been pretty new. It's only a hazy memory. Back then I barely had a clue about crypto and wasn't big into blogging either. Bad timing...

After deciding to close down my own STEM blog site in the near future, I rediscovered Steemit and thought, "Why not?"

Death by bot

I have come across a few posts warning that Steemit has lost it's way by allowing whales and bots take the focus away from quality content to pure money-making schemes and power abuse. A recent heartfelt post in this regard is from @surfermarly. Some doomsters even predict the eventual fall of Steemit - death by bots. 

However, there are some influential folk who seem determined to give this project a chance, create more of a community spirit and rebalance the ecosystem. One of those recent efforts from @suesa is to give newbies like me a bit of a head-start by delegating SP temporarily. Another cool way of engaging the collective creativity of Steemit for some crypto rewards are challenges like this current one from @originalworks.

Kiss of Death - Poblenou Cemetry, Barcelona

A minnow's doubts

But what about those who don't receive such benevolent boosters? We have to struggle our way up somehow. Maybe suck up to some big hitters and keep upvoting and commenting on their stuff purely in the hope for lucrative curation rewards or upvotes. Alternatively, we could cough up some dosh and buy SP. Right now, I am determined not to invest any external money into this system.

I just want to post every so often when I have time and the muse takes me. This isn't a business. I'm not here on a schedule. This isn't supposed to be a serious income stream. Blogging is fun. If I get paid for it, even better. The point is, though, without any crypto-oomph behind me, it seems extremely hard to even get noticed.

I enjoy blogging ... for readers. If the Steemit system evolves into something that makes me as a minnow essentially invisible, where's the point? I might as well stay on those "legacy" social media where I already have a following. At least there, I reach some readers and can make new meaningful connections. Let's not forget, even though "legacy" social media don't pay you directly, they can provide ROI in the form of useful business connections and personal or professional relationships.

Helped by bot

Now, don't get me wrong. Steemit hasn't trampled on me. Actually, my first week was surprisingly successful. I think a guild has picked up one of my STEM posts and upvoted it heavily. That was extremely uplifting. I am very grateful for this boost! :D

Yesterday, I decided to join Steemdunk after reading @peter2017's post. Yes, it's a voting bot. I almost feel like I'm moving over to the dark side. However, I don't have a lot of time to screen Steemit. So, letting a bot give votes to my current favourite authors in my absence seems like a win-win. That's the idea anyway. I shall see whether this actually provides any financial return. Also, I intend to review my favs every so often as I make more connections on Steemit.

So, what now?

I'll definitely hang around for a while and keep posting every so often. My life is going to get busier this year, so I'll see how it goes. Hopefully our virtual paths will cross again, my dear reader.

Pixabay