In the beginning

Now this is a story all about how,
my social world got flipped,
turned upside down,
I'll like to take a minute
so sit right there
I'll tell you how I became a steemer
on a site called steemit (yeah?)

Okay, so rapping along to Will Smith isn't my strong point but it has been pointed out that my writing style is very informal and not quite article-like. I hope you're okay with that!

So anyway, it all started back on May 31st when, after watching a video by one of my favourite YouTubers, @mericanhomestead, I signed up for steemit. Actually, I think it was a day or two earlier but that's when the confirmation code came through and I was let loose on the site. I started reading and my first impressions were, I'll admit, mixed. I loved the concept but couldn't wrap my head around the financial side of things and I'm someone who HAS to understand something completely, I'm a completionist. Then there was the layout, it's big text, it's basic and the search is atrocious.

Then I stopped and thought to myself, this isn't bad, it's basic. Basic means still growing, still evolving. I was getting in on the ground floor on something which could be THE next thing. I sold the Star Wars action figures I played with as a child, missed the train with BitCoin, and started collecting comics from issue #2 of Batman New 52 (a first print of issue #1 is now worth over £50, shelf price of ~£3). I was going to give this a damn good try!

So I surfed around, checking the trending posts, following people I knew from YouTube and occasionally clicking upvote or follow, trying to understand how it all worked.

The intro post

My introduction post (here: http://steem.link/0BQgN) was a structureless mishmash of words, hammered together late at night and featured all of the photos I don't show to people when I first meet them. I'm not quite camera shy but I'm pretty close, so getting a picture of me in a Deadpool outfit was an achievement. Out came my deep dark geeky secrets, the wargaming, the cosplaying and the steampunkery, but those things are getting cool again, right?

As I write this, that post is sitting at $1.02 of potential earnings. In 2 days we'll see what that ends up as and how this payout system actually works. But wait, I said I upvoted and commented on stuff long before I posted that intro up. Well, it turns out that when you have a Steem Power rating of 0.5 then your upvotes don't count for much and certainly don't pay out. I started asking questions about this and here's a little gem of information number 1!

Payouts worth less than 0.001 SP don't happen

This is to do with granularity and not clogging up the blockchain with masses of, to be fair, worthless data. Credit for this information has to go to @timcliff and @liberosist from the #help channel in http://steemit.chat. Just to show I'm not throwing out long words, granularity refers to the fine grain of information. In this case, we're defining a point at which information (transactions) becomes too small to be worth storing. The blockchain is, as I understand it, the list of all transactions carried out in steems and so adding in all the extra transactions would increase the size of it massively. Since this file is stored in multiple locations sharing that much data isn't just a storage issue but a bandwidth issue too. I may be wrong but I think the problems in trading BitCoins recently is down to bandwidth limitations on the blockchain so transactions are left being processed for long periods of time.

Is it all about the money?

Now I've talked a lot about the money side of things and totally neglected the social aspects. I mean I was already posting massively on FaceBook, preaching to the choir and correcting people who were wrong on the internet (I promise to behave here!). If my first post does pay out a little over $1 then the true value of that post can be more accurately represented in the comments section. That is where I met my first like-minded steemian, @gmuxx. A few comments were exchanged and instantly I saw that here was a guy I could get along with. He likes 3D design, he's friendly and eager to chat. An instant follow!

Over the last week, we've spoken several times and are starting to get to know one another. I've followed his posts, some of which are truly staggering, the work he puts into them. I wish I could craft posts as clear and concise as those, I'm a rambler (have you noticed?). This is my favourite so far: http://steem.link/tOqyg. Please drop by, have a read and show your appreciation to this guy.

So, no, it's not all about the money. It's a perpetual cycle of growth, more friends give you more influence, which puts you infront of more people which gets you more friends. I'm not worried about the money, I'm having a blast, but I still want to see how it all works, I want to fulfill my completionist cravings!

My strategy right now?

Of course I have a strategy, and it will evolve and adapt as I learn more. So here's how I'm playing it right now, please feel free to copy, learn, use, abuse, suggest and improve it. I take all criticism and advice well :)

• Post upto 4 times per day

I aim to make an update post every day
A weekly community post of some kind (with giveaways)
General articles as I come across aspects of my life worth documenting

• Upvote responsibly

20 upvotes per day before my upvote becomes diluted
upvote my own posts (not convinced by this?)
upvotes always for @scarletleonard (my wife) and @gmuxx (senpai!)
Other content/comments as I see fit - my SP isn't high enough to generate an income so it's purely supportive.

• Always reply to comments on my posts
• Comment on other posts where I have something worth saying
• Anything I earn goes into boosting my SP
• I want to make new friends

Either geeks or gardeners, that's my thing.
Not spammers, but people who post things I'd be interested in
Mutual love on that classy upvote button, not required but respected!

The end, you made it!!!

If you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back. Many souls were lost along the way but you did it, you got to the end! As a reward please enjoy this photo of our cat, Hades, enjoying some snuggles :)

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As always, love, hugs and kisses. Please upvote, comment and follow. Also feel free to hit me up on http://steem.chat if you want to chat or have questions!