🎈🍰🥂🎉 It's my Steemit Anniversary: 1 year on Steemit! 🎉🥂🍰🎈
Time flies when you're having fun! I almost missed it, but spotted it just in time two days ago that my Steemit 1 year anniversary was coming up, and it's today! Today (depending on your timezone!) it is exactly one year since I joined Steemit, and there is much to look back on!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTdTogEsBP64wtTZD38triu4bHkmhUaGgnSNLYPLPwg34/dividerline%20cartooney3.png)
Looking back
Much has changed since I first joined Steemit, which feels it was both only yesterday, as well as ages ago. Some things are different for sure. There are far less 'Steemit is so awesome I love Steemit do you love Steemit?'-posts these days than when I first joined. I remember back then the overall atmosphere was so exceedingly (fake) positive that it was hard to find anyone on here who was willing to be critical or 'real' at all. These days the attitude of most posters has changed and you'll find a lot more people willing to argue with oneanother. Some say the platform has hardened, but I think I prefer this real-talk more than the fake positivity that plagued the platform before.
I've seen people come and go too. I remember Jerry Banfield joined around the same time, and feeling annoyed and disappointed to see him booming almost instantly. I ended up argueing about something related to that with @lexiconical, who funnily ended up becoming the first real supporter of my blog at that time. I don't think I would've felt motivated enough to continue seriously blogging if it wasn't for his regular upvotes - the only ones I got that were worth anything. So, thanks @lexiconical !
I also remember when @haejin was new and only a small, unknown minnow with even less followers than me. I was actually one of his first supporters and re-blogged some of his earlier posts, and referenced him sometimes in my own posts in order to help him get more exposure. At the time he was making so little on Steemit, that I remember sympathizing with him because he was consistently pumping out his prediction-posts and making measly pennies like the rest of us. Once I remember him posting something along the lines of 'These posts take a lot of time, if you enjoy them please consider upvoting, because very few people do so'.
Other things haven't changed. People still complain that it's hard to get anywhere on Steemit, minnows still make terrible posts and spam is as rampant as ever. Many of the same top Steemians are still at the top - but some have also disappeared. Don't ask me which though - the quality and content of top level Steemians seldomly interests me and I rarely read their posts anyway.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTdTogEsBP64wtTZD38triu4bHkmhUaGgnSNLYPLPwg34/dividerline%20cartooney3.png)
5000 posts, 1700 followers, 216 SP
I've got close to 5000 posts and while many of these are comments, the list of my own original written content is quite significant: I've written hundreds of articles over the course of this past year. When possible I write at least one a day and when I can, I try to write more. So after a year the list of my own original content has grown quite long. Scrolling down my previous postings, I find that I'm quite proud of my blog. There's is very little that could qualify as 'bad content' if you ask me.
My Steem Power is 'only' 216 SP which is quite low compared to some others, but this is in part because I have invested a reasonable amount of my earnings into other cryptocurrencies. For the past 8 months or so, I have adhered to the 50/50 split and haven't powered down since then. At some point I figured if Steemit gives me so much, perhaps I should be fair and keep my SP invested as SP as well, so the 50/50 split made sense.
I've grown to 1700+ followers too! This may not seem much compared to some others, but anyone who's been Steemin' along knows how hard it is to find serious followers. I spent most of my first six months commenting on other people's posts to connect with others, and after about 500 followers I started steamSteemrollin' on my own postings' merits. There are many followers and readers that I frequently connect with and talk to, and I always love hearing people's thoughts in the comments. Writing my articles of course takes some time, so it's always encouraging to know that other people are reading them and finding value in them. The best times are when my posts directly influence one of my readers - for instance when I posted about registering the EOS tokens, and one reader who had forgotten thanked me for saving his EOS tokens. That felt like mission accomplished!
I wish I could find some way to break through to the higher levels on Steemit. By now I can sometimes show up relatively visible on the Hot pages if you scroll down a little, but I've never actually made it onto the Trending page yet. I wish I could somehow expose more people to my blog. I feel like I'm still somewhat hidden to the greater public, and when I look at the quality of the posts of higher earners (with the risk of sounding cocky) I can't help but feel like something isn't quite right when you put their and my posts, views & earnings side-by-side.
Still, my greatest achievement on Steemit by far has been to let go of such jealousy. I've found that it simply doesn't work, and other people's success does not actually influence my own in the slightest. A few months after joining the platform, I decided I would stop looking at other people's performance and stop trying to make as much as possible, and instead just have fun and interact with people. The way this platform was intended to be used. And ironically, I've found that in my own personal case this method works a lot better, and brings me more joy anyway.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTdTogEsBP64wtTZD38triu4bHkmhUaGgnSNLYPLPwg34/dividerline%20cartooney3.png)
On to the next year
Of course, as long as Steemit keeps working I'll probably keep Steeming, so for the upcoming year you can all rest assured that you'll get more-or-less daily content from me. My aim is always to keep posting at least an article every day, and I'll probably never post more than three times a day. Nobody likes their feed getting spammed, after all, and of course there's only so much time and energy in a day to write these articles.
I'm slowly changing up some things though, like cleaning up my personal Feed. In the early stages I would follow pretty much anybody who was nice to me to build my contacts, but it has cluttered up my feed with posts that don't interest me at all. All those generic motivational postings are wasted on me anyway... Lately I have been removing a few people from my Follow list every now and then, and shortening the list to include mainly crypto-bloggers and I plan to continue to do so until my Feed actually becomes filled with content that interests me truly. This should give authors whose work I enjoy a bigger chance of catching my eye, which works better all around anyway.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTdTogEsBP64wtTZD38triu4bHkmhUaGgnSNLYPLPwg34/dividerline%20cartooney3.png)
If I had to make a goal for myself here on Steemit, it would be that one year from now I will have doubled my SP to at least 500, and increase my followers to 4000. Let's see if I make it! I'm assuming, you'll be here next year too, right??
![footercartoon new5.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXtn3TPJY7iQiZjPJq1NLh9MbgsCpT9rN6xKJLnPUu619/footercartoon%20new5.png)
Congratulations.
It's funny how it seems like yesterday... I also passed a year old some few days ago.
I can really relate with that fact that someone helped sustain you on the platform. I almost gave up but hope came from someone and the friends I made.
Keep posting and stay awesome
Thanks!! Yes, it really helps to have at least somebody who helps you out in the beginning stages. Even if it is $0.05, then at least you have that to look forward to... writing for $0.00 is so depressing..!
I think I have entered in steemit just 1 month before you... I enjoyed while reading about the start of @haejin and @jerrybandfield since I supported them as well initially.
As you said,
which I hope so, I also will probably keep Steeming and following your good blog.
Happy steem Birthday !
Steem on!
Thanks!! Always a pleasure to have you stopping by!
I would say steem is evolving, albeit slowly. I prefer real too.
It's weird to think Haejin was once a minnow... There are some people I just look at and think they started as Whales
Am sure your own growth will come in time buddy, just keep at it.
Following you now, hope you engage?
When I joined Steemit in March I remember reading a "dos and don'ts" post which said that you shouldn't argue with other Steemians. I thought "**** that! I'll take my chances!" and I have. I must say though, the "moron factor" while still present here, is much lower than on Facebook groups!
😂👍
Yes it's evolving, in the way that most bad posters are gone now and we are left with a certain 'hard core' of Steemians. Whether that's good or not I'm not sure. I enjoy the fact more people are willing to comment and engage, but on the other hand less people posting can never be a good thing for a social media platform!
Still, I have had my doubts about STEEM since the beginning and continue to have them - yet it also continues to survive and prove me wrong. So I will keep Steemin and be part of this experiment :)
Thanks for the follow!
Congratulations! Your crypto posts very informative and have helped me in cases like the MCT airdrop or the Epiphany airdrop. Not to mention great info on TNC, TKY and NEO. If I haven't been on in a while your the one person who's posts I make it a point to catch up on.
I always upvote and set you up on your referrals so you can benefit there as well. I appreciate all the hard work and time you put into your posts. And as I noted before, your friends artwork is really cool to.
Happy Anniversary!
Thanks again!
Thanks!! I'm so glad that you've found my posts helpful, on multiple occassions even! That fills my heart with joy!
And thanks so much for all your support, it really is appreciated!
Congratulations Mrs Pandorasbox on your one year anniversary/birthday/whatever!
I'm glad that I'm newer to Steem than you are, as it is I see way too much pro-Steem sentiment here. I'm not saying it's bad, I'd just like to see the uninformed fans be more realistic and not elevating Steemit to god status! (Especially Steemit with it's many problems, the Steem blockchain itself is really good.)
Talking about Steemit problems...
So we have you to blame for the badly behaved bratty monster that haejin has become! 😆 Oh well, I guess we all make mistakes!
Decluttering a feed is important and I strongly recommend it. I only follow 21 Steemians, which is enough for me. Some of them hardly ever post. Quality over quantity! Which brings me to...
Thank you for your blog posts. I have not been following you for long, but I can assure you that your posts are a cut above the rest. I encourage you to keep up the good work and to know that it is appreciated! I also know very well how frustrating it is to spend hours every night blogging for a few SBD, only to see some other moron make $500 with five line posts and kindergarten TA five times a day. Your posts are quality posts, and that means a lot, even it it doesn't translate into the rewards that it should.
Looking forward to your second year of posting. Best of luck!
Thanks!!
Haha, yes, in part I may be to blame a little bit for Haejin getting out of control.... a tiny bit only though! The rest of the blame I pass on to those whales up massively upvote him!
If you think the fake positivity is a big thing now, it used to be a lot worse. I think it's because people think that negativity gets you no upvotes, and you can always find somebody to go 'Yeah! Steemit rocks!' when you post about Steemit.
I would recommend you to do a little experiment of your own, since you're a bit newer than me. Steemit hosts a variety of subcommunities where people are overtly enthusiastic. I have noticed that if you post about Bitshares, Steemit (=awesome) or EOS that on average you will get more upvotes than with other subjects, as long as you are positively praising the projects. At least it seemed that way for me..
Thanks for the compliments about my blog! Even though you're newer on the platform, I've been pretty impressed by your writing too so far. I'm actually considering putting you on auto-vote through steemvoter since most of your content is quality enough... maybe make our own little circle of quality crypto-Steemians who support eachother. Why not?
Now you've just taught me something. Do you have a link to this auto-voter? It's the first that I hear of it. I would be happy to return the favour to to your quality blog.
www.steemvoter.com
I actually just added you to my list, then got back to Steemit and saw your comment here :)
There is one catch to using it though: I think they use (or at least reserve the right to) use one of your upvotes each day for their own purposes.
The advantages are that you can set an auto-vote and forget about it and it will come in consistently at the time you specified which helps with curation rewards.
Thanks. I'll check it out tomorrow.
I've got another tip for you by the way: @qurator
I'm not sure if it's still as economically viable as when I joined up (prices changes, so did upvotes) but the basic gist of it is that they only accept people who post original content. They offer several things: automatic upvote once every 24 hours (you make your investment back after a short while), an honest upvote bot, and a chat channel where you can drop links once a day as long as you also read/upvote/comment on somebody else's post there - since it's original content you can usually find something there
Thank you. I read a post or two there quickly. I have bookmarked it for now and may consider it later. At the moment I don't want to spread my vote too thin. I already belong to ShadowBot - partly as an experiment, partly to get votes. Though I've been there a few months already, I have yet to get a single cent out of them :) But I acknowledge that it's not designed to be a short-term plan, the longer you belong, the better your chances of votes/payouts. https://steemit.com/bots/@bitbrain/give-the-bots-a-chance
I am against bots in principle, but I do see the potential value in them. Honestly I wish that Steem would just ban them.
I hadn't heard of ShadowBot before. In any case, @qurator is not so automated. People still choose who they upvote, and it's not netting me much but the daily $0.05 or so upvote is nice. Back in december it was up to $0.35 a day, which meant I could recoup the buy-in cost pretty quick.
I don't like bots either but unfortunately in the beginning there is not much else you can do to get some visibility. It makes a world of difference if your post makes $0.03 or $1.00 even if you paid $0.97 of that yourself - at least the latter one will get some views and hopefully a follower or two.
Sad but true
Happy Steemit bday @pandorasbox, it's allways cool when i meet you in any post/comment a pleasure!
Thanks @beiker! The feeling is mutual! I recognize you as one of the true Steemians out there :)
<3
@pandorasbox Happy 1st year anniversary. I wish you a great success ahead.
By the way I've just started my journey on Steemit so I hope to finish my 1 year as well. :P
Thanks!
And you've got a long road ahead of you if you just started, but you'll get there if you keep at it :)
The way to success here is to not think about how much to earn, but instead treat it as a social media platform and connect with other fun people. Then earnings will come by themselves, over time. It's like a digital-social-karma system of sorts :)
That's great suggestion mate. Will look forward. Thanks!
Congrats on your milestone!
I like your honest walkthrough from all angled aspects. And yeah throughout a year you look at things from a different perspective, for instance looking at who you truly want to follow..
4000 followers and 500 sp seems realistic right? You write quality stuff, people will keep finding and following you
Thanks!
That is my aim: to continue to provide useful, (relatively!) objective articles, in a way that eventually serious readers will end up on my blog one way or another!
Congratulations on your first year, cheers to many more :)
Thanks!!
@pandorasbox, I am pleased to congratulate you on this date. You have done a good analysis of Your work and your achievements for this year. I wish You success on Your journey. I am sure that with such a positive attitude You will achieve much greater success than those that you have indicated in Your goals for the next year. We will discuss it in a year:) good Luck!!!
Thanks a lot! I'll definitely be trying my best this upcoming year too!