Blogging, Contests, Challenges and How We Participate
These days, I feel very short on time, but yet I am in the middle of a creative cycle, so you might say I am long on ideas.
Just to keep my "toes in the water," so to speak, I have been thinking about starting to post more simplified content here, perhaps doing some of the many challenges, contests and other mass participation initiatives that have been part of Steemlandia for a long time, like @kalemandra's #colorchallenge and various others.
Of course, then I had to sit and think about that.
Peaceful view, near our house
HOW Do We Participate?
Historically, I have tried to mostly "text blog" here, following (more or less!) a conventional "article format" for what I post.
Originally, the attraction of (what was then called) Steemit was that it resembled the kind of "social blogging" I remember from almost 20 years ago. I always liked that format, and actually missed it when it was supplanted by the likes of MySpace and Facebook.
As I look around our community — which is now three years old — it is patently obvious that this is really not a "social blogging" site, but rather an amalgam of lots and lots of different formats.
Which leads me to consider that maybe I need to not take it quite so seriously.
Well... maybe that's not quite right; perhaps what I am feeling is that I have possibly become a little too much of a slave to my own perceptions of "What This Is." If that makes sense.
Red poppies in close-up
WHO Are You Creating For?
So I ponder the next question — by extension — which would be "Why do ANY of us go on Social Content sites?"
Presumably because we have something to share, or we want to share something, or we want to create awareness around our "personal brand" or we just want to experiment with creating content. There are a myriad possibilities.
Looking at that a little further: A we creating for ourselves, or for others? Or is it a combination of the above?
If you really look at it, it's likely that the vast majority of social content happens without much planning or forethought or development. Whether it's Facebook, twitter, Instagram or something else, the basic format is probably some version of "People have an idea, think 'this is COOL!,' and then they fling it out on a social media platform."
Now, you might have noticed that I have complete skipped over "rewards."
Swallowtail butterfly on lavender
There's no denying that rewards are a major part of our landscape here, and they definitely influence the content. But I am going to leave that part for others to discuss because — regardless of venue — those who are "only in it for the money" tend to tire of their efforts... regardless of whether it's blogging, logging or being a medical doctor. If you don't FEEL for what you're doing, you soon enough reach the "Meh, whatEVER..." and move on to something else.
Anyway, just some random thoughts... and a personal preamble to exploring a broader range of content.
Besides, I do love photography, to photo challenges definitely appeal to me!
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
How about YOU? What is YOUR relationship with your content? Are you creating for yourself, or for others? Do you ever give it much thought, or plan out your content? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 190702 10:18 PST
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When I was blogging daily, there was more planing that went into it. Now, I blog with less pressure because I’m not fundraising for a specific event or purpose. Money does drive the frequency and the enjoyment of writing keeps me from going to other platforms. As far as contest go, I’m always curious as to what type of contest people engage the most with. Is it the contest with the largest reward, the lowest level of difficulty, or the amount of participation? I’m sure all is taken into consideration when creating and participating in them. I would be curious to see what kind of contest you come up with and the level of engagement.
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I am not yet entirely sure what I will do @kubbyelizabeth, mostly I just want to create a bit of an opening for not being quite so "serious" all the time. I suppose that back when the rewards were significantly higher, I paid more attention to the "returns;" now it's just not as important.
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@denmarkguy I guess my competitive side comes out, because I enjoy entering the contests. And since I enjoy writing, it's the writing contests that I started out entering. But I've gotten into the photography posting as well. And now I find myself much more aware of the world around me just from looking for good photo opportunities. I guess I post for a combination of myself and wanting to post something others will enjoy. It would be a boring existence on STEEM if all I wanted to do was post for rewards. It would like a job, and I already retired from one that paid a heck of a lot more than I'll ever make on STEEM, lol.
I don't have a FB account, (or any of its apps), and don't really want one. I do have a twitter account, but I usually just read stuff there and don't tweet much, and I also have a YouTube channel.
I wasn't doing much writing at all until I joined steemit. The draw for me is the fact that maybe some actual people will read what I post, so then I want to write something that will entertain them. So, I'm doing it for myself to an extent, but I get the most enjoyment from knowing others may enjoy what I write.