From minnow to $1,000+ in one comment! A personal story.

A few days ago, I promised I would share my experience if any of my posts ever made good money, instead of cashing out and running for the hills. I had never expected it would be a comment! So here I am, as promised, sharing my personal story about this comment and what we can all learn from it. I apologise for the length of this post, but I promise you the details will be worth it. 

But first, a bit about me.    

I never formally introduced myself, so I'll take this chance to do so. :) If you couldn't care to know more about me, skip this bit and head to "The Comment". I won't mind, I promise!

I'm a Redditor. I'm so entrenched into the system that I have 3 different accounts discussing 3 different worldviews. Before Reddit, I have been a blogger and an active forum (bulletin board) member on various forums. I have many varied interests. I'm not able to get deep into some of these penchants with my friends and colleagues in real life, which is what first led me to try the internet over 15 years ago. Since then, I have stayed, met many extremely intelligent and fun people who have made my life brighter.    

My modus operandi is very simple - I speak my mind. I seek out topics and posts that are interesting to me, and reply to them honestly and sincerely. My goal is to forward the discussion, and learn something from it.    

One of my many interests is blockchain and cryptocurrency. Of course, as you might expect, I first heard about Steemit on Reddit. Like many active Redditors, I have been apprehensive about Reddit's management. So I have been on the look out for an alternate community. But what was more interesting is this is an absolutely killer app for blockchain technology. Finally, the possibility of getting rewarded for your contributions was an icing on the cake.    

I saw the potential and jumped in a couple of weeks back. Since then, I have been among the top 30 most active Steemers. I have engaged in active discussion - admittedly some of it being small talk. But I have also posted several blog posts, some of which I personally found very interesting and am very proud of.   

Alas, all of them were lost into obscurity, never noticed or upvoted by powerful Steemers. Sure, I got an upvote here and an upvote there, and it was earning a few dollars daily, but nothing special. As you can see - other Steemers around the #30 spot are far, far more valuable.    

My Steemit creds

The Comment   

I was chilling yesterday, listening to some Queen, when a notification popped up from SteemStats about a new blog post. I follow @masteryoda and was very surprised to see that he was tired of Steemit, was removing his posts and quitting Steemit.    

I felt very upset at this, and had to reply, like I always do. So I let out a heartfelt response, trying my best to calm @masteryoda and see things in perspective. I was tough as well, and pointed out how ragequitting is not the right option, and we needed potent contributors like him if we wanted to see Steemit grow to be a vibrant community.    

But that was it. I have made hundreds of posts like that before. I thought nothing of it, and moved on.    

A perfectly regular comment. 

The Upvote Explosion    

I returned an few minutes later to see an explosion of upvotes. An outpouring of support came in for @masteryoda, and for whatever reason, chose my comment as an example. It was soon noticed by dolphins and whales - IIRC, @summon was the first to it.    

Within a couple of hours, it was #2 on the Trending page. An entire sub-discussion started under my comment.   

The Upvote Attraction    

From there, the upvotes kept streaming in - from whales, dolphins and minnows alike. Several upvotes a minute. Everyone was voting on @masteryoda's post, and many of them were also voting for my comment and the sub-chain under it.    

This is just how it works, once you get in, you get it all.   

The Controversy   

But it wouldn't end there. @masteryoda's post was now #1 on Trending, by far. A contrarian position was building, angered at his actions. Soon, whales started flagging the post, and many others followed. Many started unvoting my comment too, and a couple even flagged it! Just for supporting @masteryoda!    

In the end, @masteryoda's post boiled down from $6,000 to $1,500, while my comment fell from $1,600 to $1,200. It ended up being the most controversial blog we have ever seen on Steemit's Trending page. It is still #2 Trending.    I'm delighted to say that at the end of this ordeal, @masteryoda is back and I hope will continue to post those breathtaking pictures and videos!   

What I Learned    

The most obvious observation is how everyone flocks to what is popular, while many, many high quality posts are barely noticed. It made me think, and I hit up a fun new analogy - Steemit is like a Solar System. What works is gravity. The heaviest objects attract more and more mass, and gets bigger and bigger. 

We all knew this would happen, but it was still surreal to see the Steemd.com feed.    

So, Now Then    

Nothing has changed for me. I admit I'm disappointed that some of my best posts have gone completely unnoticed, while this random post has accidentally become popular. But I completely accept it - this is just how Steemit works.    

So, I'll continue posting on Steemit as I have been for the last 15 years. It's the only way I know how.    At the end of the day, it's really very simple. You will only enjoy Steemit if you're having fun. Money has little to do with it.    

I may never see such numbers again, and I'm completely OK with that. 

Come to Steemit because you care about sharing with a community. You care about expressing your opinions, and engage in interesting discussions. Through every post you share and every reply you read, you'll always learn something more.    

Be true to yourself, be honest and sincere. Be kind to other steemers.

I'm not saying this means you'll make good money, maybe you will, maybe you won't. I'm sure though, in the long term, you'll gain respect. But let me be very clear - if you chase money, you will never, ever, be a good blogger.    

PS: I won't cash out a single penny of this, I'm investing it all back into Steem Power. I'll be on the "New" page, checking out as many blog posts as possible, and diligently upvote awesome but niche content which may be overlooked. My upvote is still only worth a cent, but every little bit counts, right? In addition, I'm pledging to keep a 50 STEEM fund separate to donate to brilliants posts which were never upvoted.