Commenting Pays Like Compound Interest

in #steemit7 years ago (edited)




Before I joined Steemit, I used to post articles on Facebook. I did this through a group that I started back in 2010. After a while I realized that this was more of a hobby that nourished my desire to learn and interact with people — something I got bored doing in the offline world. Also, like most of you, I was doing it for free.

In the real world, my ideas tend to intimidate people. Those who do chose to engage might get frustrated or even angry. This is where the online universe comes into play. When online, people can read something at their own time and engage on their own pace.

Whether one engages online for monetary or emotional gain is irrelevant. For me writing original posts and engaging in comments is always rewarding. In Steemit, I just have the opportunity to get both kinds of rewards. Win-win situation. There is no such thing as bad engagement (pun unintended). We are all social animals after all.

There is also a very special niche of people with unique perspectives on Steemit — one that doesn't exist so much on Facebook where everybody tries to conform. Good content, yet, hard to discover. I do venture quite often the "new page" to find these rare jewels but this is not an easy task. If you do happen to stumble on one though, you will get a small intellectual boner and really start engaging even if its not your thing.

A rather easier strategy for those who don't fancy just about anything, would be to engage with posts that interest you. Personally, I choose to up-vote every post I read and distribute my vote % accordingly. Even if I disagree, I reward the overall effort and presentation — not so much the arguments. After that, I leave a baited comment in order to squeeze more information and engagement from the author. I also up-vote every first comment on my post. In this way, everybody wins.

This is the beginning of the joy of curating. Inevitably, it will start paying intellectual and monetary dividends based on the compound interest floor that one creates — something you will not find anywhere else. In Steemit you do create your own luck if you master the rare virtues of patience and grit.

I do guarantee that if you start commenting thoughtfully, you will start seeing more and more followers. An increasing amount of followers will translate to more engagement and reward-relationships forming. More engagement will also attract more attention and therefore more followers. Whales will eventually take notice of your efforts and sooner or later you can earn more.

I believe this is best way to go for someone who just joined Steemit. Forget about the direct monetary rewards on your posts and rather try to treat your commenting experience more like an investment. You could spend the same amount of time circle-jerking on Facebook but in a year from now you will still be Zuckerberg's zombie. Do the same on Steemit and you actually have a great chance to make good money on the side.

There is really no convincing counter argument considering how bad other social media users have it. Being on Steemit right now is the same as being a free individual in an age of slavery. Nobody else can appreciate it but once they get a taste they can never go back with the same attitude. Personally, I couldn't engage on facebook the same way anymore. It all looked like a really bad scheme, extorting the most valuable thing I have — time — for practically nothing.

If it is attention that you seek because all of your friends are on Facebook, consider the competition you also have. How you are probably getting lost in their feed, desperately trying to rise above. Steemit is fairly young and doesn't have this problem yet. Within this platform you have the rare chance to rise above before the hoards jump in. It is an extremely unique opportunity before everyone realizes that they have been post-slaving for free the entire time.







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That's what we Venezuelans are trying to do in steemit, unfortunately our votes are worth little, but we try to build a strong and united community, supporting and motivating the creation of good content.

The best thing I have found on this platform is precisely being able to talk about a topic of interest for hours, reading different points of view from mine, learning from others, and, in the process, making money. It could be better?

Vote weight doesn't really mater that much at the start as much as community building.

That's right, that's why we only focus on the interaction

Hi Kyriacos, totally agree with that....I am very fan of your posts, love them too much.
I am from Tahiti, so my english is very poor, but I try to be better each day. See U soon.

Agreed, @kyriacos. Commenting and curating don't pay immediate rewards but they can snowball over time thanks to compound interest. As Aristotle said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”

Ou. I like that!

Hi @kyriacos I know this comment is super late from when this was first posted since I just found this post 2 days. However, this is one of the most helpful pieces of advice here. I have been trying to write very intelligent comments that aim to add value to each discussion. So far, the results are quite good with me gaining new followers each day from it. If you have anymore tips on succeeding in Steemit, I would love to hear it. Thanks for making such a wonderful article. :)

I will be writing a piece soon about dedication and grit and how it pays in the longterm. stay tuned. :)

it is never too late in the crypto-world. a blockchain is forever.

That's great, I look forward to reading and implementing the advice you will mention in the article. :)

Thank you for this good information. I am starting with this one right now.
You have made me understand the commenting value more with your post.
I really like Steemit. It is easy to help, not only ourselves, but others also.
Thank you for helping me.
Francis

Your post is one of the best I have read in while. With commenting in just 15days I have been able to attract over 50followers. I recommend commenting on post to build relationship.

Thank you man.. Steem on.

Thank you.
Francis

You have done quite well!! Keep commenting and interacting with the community for best results :)

Thank you @sgnsteems. That is the best thing a minion can do. Imagine waking up this morning to have gotten 5 more followers from adding valuable comments to valuable posts. It is awesome I tell you.

My pleasure man.
Spread the word.

@francisk like @kyriacos said, commenting pays off. Make sure comments are meaningful and add something to the conversation, not just saying "great post" or "thanks for your post". Let them know why you liked the post. AS i can see from your comment, you are doing well $1.37 :) and 20 votes...hopefully it will increase for you!

Thank you for your encouragement. This is a learning process. As I pointed out in another reply. If we think that the traffic is heavy now on Steemit. In the future, to get some eyeballs is going to be very difficult and a true chore. Like a blind dog in a meat house. So many good choices.
But, the cream rises to the top. What we all want, is to be the cream, and not the skim milk.
Francis

Great point about attracting new followers! Personally I have found commenting to do just that! I tend to engage a lot in post that are providing knowledge or content that is generally outside of my music/artistic steem niche. It has allowed me to interact with and, also follow other steemians who typically provide some very intriguing info on the crypto world/various platforms/life hacks etc

excellent strategy.

Another top tip for when you're in it for the money: make sure to write as many sycophantic comments as you can under the postings of those of fame with big wallets.

You may feel dirty for a while, but getting access to the inner circles is invaluable when you want to see big payouts.

This approach also works miracles for the quality of the Trending Page, one of Steemit's calling cards to the outside world.

Excellent advice. Did miracles with TDV when he just came about with all that crap he was posting.

Oh goodness, unfortunately this is sad but true. Tempting but it'd make me feel like a sell out..lol.

"You may feel dirty for a while".... LOLZ!!!!!!!

@ocrdu I had to lookup the definition of sycophantic (behaving or done in an obsequious way in order to gain advantage) to understand your comment :) Will take your comment into consideration and see if it works :)

Hi @kyriacos, another great post! I'm new to the platform and I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I have a question about something you referred to in this article. How do you determine the vote percentage you want to allocate? Do you follow any best practices or do you just select a percentage at random? Ever since learning that at a certain point you could change the vote allocation for upcoming posts I've been curious about how people use it...

If it's a well thought comment, even if I disagree completely, I give 100%.

If its just "great article, thank you" response 1-4%

if it's a smart comment 50-75%

Everything else from 5-30% depending on the side of the couch I woke up

No special algorithm. Just voting on merit and rewarding what is worthy.

Unfortunately i could not upvote 200% as i intended. There are some special interest groups also on Facebook that i would gladly upvote.

All in due time I guess. It may be possible in future forks (upvote in a form of futures).

I do guarantee that if you start commenting thoughtfully, you will start seeing more and more followers.

This is such great advice! Well, your whole post is, but I especially liked this little Steemit wisdom gem. The "thoughtfully" part is especially important to me, I've been known to follow people that have commented on other's blogs due to the awesomeness of their comment.

Also @kyriacos, I really like how fearless you are when it comes to sharing your opinion and displaying your sense of self, reading your posts and commentary is always a pleasure😊!

Trying my best. I do get some hate mail from time to time but I guess there is no such thing as bad engagement.

Ah, if you go through life without irritating anyone by being yourself and offering your opinion freely, then you are just missing out! Sorry about the hate-mail though, it's kinda sad that people can't just disagree and move along, but like you said, engagement!

Ah, if you go through life without irritating anyone by being yourself and offering your opinion freely, then you are just missing out!

i think if one hasn't disagreed for something one hasn't stood for anything

Excellent perspective on the topic of commenting. I am looking forward to more of the "Zukerberg zombies" (LOL) getting the Steemit antivirus and doing their thing over here! ;-)

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