Life of a Minnow - And Why You Should Care - Part 2
Yesterday, I posted an article attempting to bring awareness to how overwhelming this site can be to the new-user, and what they experience while attempting to get recognized and create a following. Although, the article did not pay a lot, I consider it the best post I have made on the Platform.
(If you missed it I will re-post at the bottom of this article)
Why Was The Post Successful?
The article was read by many people, many people felt their experience was validated, and my message was received in the way I intended. It sparked further conversation and debate. Thank you to those who supported it, ReSteemed it and commented.
*art from a meme publishing site
Today we are on to solutions, many people who commented on that thread regarding steps being taken to help with some of those issues, I recommend reviewing the comments.
In the list of topics I wanted to discuss to improve user retention and experience, I forgot to mention "managing user expectations". The minnow who comes here after seeing a post about @thedollarvigilante's first post is going to be really disappointed with the results they get upon arrival, so my first tip is to be careful what you say to recruit people.
Greeters:
When people introduce themselves just having someone say welcome and good luck would be a good start. Even better, a very short note on where to look for resources, help, etc.
Minnow Mentors:
There are several mentoring groups being started, please add your group and it's goals in the comments below. I didn't want to recommend any specific group.
Online Web Classes on the Interface:
It would be pretty easy to record a simple training on using the Interface, how to find topics, and how to make a first post. This could be recorded and posted on SteemIt, the challenge is being able to find it. Can we pin it for new users? Looking for input here.
Minnow Help: (I am going to make a separate post - trying to get this together)
Create a support link on the site that links to a SteemIt Chat Room? That room could be staffed by volunteers.
Mentoring the Whales to Be Nice to Potential Investors:
This should speak for it's self, but one night when I was frustrated, I thought about doing a picture story out of Whale Comments. Come on Whales, I came here and signed up wanting to invest. Your end-users are also potential investors. Please consider how you talk to people. (There I said it)
A Few Final Thoughts:
To my fellow minnows, you will be told time and time again this site is about Quality Content. Content is important, but the most important thing you can do is Network. Make friends with comments, make friends in chat, support your friends. Gain visibility make sure people know your name! It actually makes sense. This is social media, be social. The Internet isn't short on Quality Content. New friends and connections are some of the most important things you can gain here and that will lead to income.
My Post is About Improving New User's Experience Here. We Are the Community. This is all of our jobs! If you are invested in SteemIt financially, with time, or emotionally - Make it your job to do something for a Minnow today! Let's make it a focus to help other in order to bring us all success.
Follow or not, It is a Decentralized Block Chain!
Again, I want to thank everyone who supported yesterday's post.
Some big guys/girls, I don't know what they are, but they mine Steem so maybe whales? They up-voted on some of my post and really boosted my earnings and fueled my desire to post here. Although I'm a veteran of social sites and didn't expect a whole lot of attention from the get-go. I want to say thank you. Also thank you to everyone who has up voted and befriended me. I feel truly grateful! I'm drawing and painting again after a year long draught do to the stress of moving. Since this site is in beta it needs critiquing and it is also unique in its own way. Instead calling foul, one should offer critique instead, or like a tester report issues that don't seem to work. I think that will be helpful in the long run. Oh, and very nicely written post! no negativity...
I really enjoy your art and you are one of the people I consider a friend made on SteemIt. :)
Thank You, feel the same regarding you. It's only been two weeks for me. I've paid nothing to get on this site and I've already made around $200.00 if I traded my Steem for Bitcoin....I think...lol....but more importantly, feel I am part of a very creative and innovative community. I've reinvested my earnings into Steem power so I can curate and help others. I'm into long term investing here. If this venture fails I've only lost out on the time I spend here, which I would of done for free on Wordpress anyway...
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Hi @whatsup, I stopped back to let you know that this post was one of my favourite reads today and was included in my Steemit Ramble. You can read my comments on it here.
You bring up some important points. It is indeed a struggle to get started on Steemit due to the lack of information for new users. When I first joined I had to spend a lot of time reading through old posts & poking around to gradually learn some of the more nuanced aspects of the system. It's like walking into a dark room and having to feel out the contours of the surroundings while your eyes slowly adjust. I'm still learning and feeling my way along even now.
I know Steemit is still technically in "beta", but that excuse only goes so far. If you're going to make something available to the general public, and not just a select group of by-invite-only testers, then you really need to go the whole 9 yards with documentation, FAQs, and tutorials for new users.
Toward that end, a Steemit wiki (think community editable like Wikipedia here) might be the way to go, with a prominent link to it on the sign-up page & main menu. Granted, people are more incentivized to write Steemit posts due to the monetary rewards, but those quickly become lost in the constant deluge of new posts and are thus not really conducive to a new user FAQ type of format. At the very least, a well maintained wiki could link back to those Steemit posts that the community considers essential must-reads for newbies. And there's no shelf life on wiki edits; links can always be changed to reflect the most up-to-date, relevant information. If such a community effort were started, I would be happy to help out by adding some resources that I've already found helpful.
Yesterday's post for those who missed it. https://steemit.com/steemit/@whatsup/the-life-of-a-minnow-why-you-should-care-part-one
#minnowlivesmatters
@whatsup, if we had people like you on steemit, it wouldn't be so hard for new users in the beginning. I think I talked a few off the ledge and they're on my feed now. They are actually making more on post. Its not that they are posting better, but it's that they feel better about themselves. I believe in comments like you said. An upvote isn't enough. Thank you for another awesome post.