It's A Long Road

Hmmmm what have I started! Feelings of doubt, being daunted and wondering why the hell I tried did this. All this sound familiar to you, or perhaps I'm sure will when you yourself venture out into Witness land.....

This is the first time that I've ever had to setup a server, through the command line and doing so on the idealistic view, that I am being of service to this community of ours, that by having this server it does help (I hope it does), and that my experiences and content that I aim to write will help and inspire others to do the same, but also in a way that will show if I can do it so can you.

.... but there is hope!

The good news and yes there is great news... my server is now officially online. Privex was the best option for me and I don't regret it. Having looked around and tried a few others, it just wasn't happening and given that Privex CEO is @someguy123 and he's #6 in the Witness list at the time of writing. He knows a thing or three. If you do yourself decide to go with Privex, let me know :)

So what have I encountered so far and what sage advice would I give on this my second entry into my diary!

1. Remember me saying about reading about setting up a server. Well it seems there are plenty of folk out there that will charge you for a course, to be up voted and so on. Don't waste your money on these. I actually took a cheap online course from a very well known and polarizing guy who's managed to do a lot for steemit.com but also has managed to anger quite a few too. The course was ok, very basic and it was sold to be much more than what it was. Furthermore, a lot of the problems I faced with setting up my server, was the poor instructions given in the course. For days I thought I was doing something wrong! Save yourself a lot of pain and hassle, simply go to @someguy123 and follow his guides, oh and use his servers too. (Don't forget to say I sent you)

2. There seems to be an awful lot of awful content and an awful lot of great content on Steemit.com and I will leave it up to you where you think my own ramblings come into that. It's important to realise that Steemit.com is very young and is built by its community and powered by it too - witnesses. There are some incredible golden nuggets of information, on almost anything. For me, I see Steemit.com as an article based Google. It's my first port of call, should I now look to read an opinion or need a guide on something. What excites me most, is that given the age of Steemit.com and that it will grow and become more and more popular, is that those of us in these early stages are going to "Witness" (sorry about that) the birth of something huge and very exciting. For me personally, this is why I want to be involved. This is why I want to share my knowledge in terms of Technical Analysis in financial trading and also my tech guides too. The more I've become involved, just over these last 10 days, the more hooked to Steemit.com I have become. Be excited, there is opportunity here for everyone!

3. Beware of scammers. Yes, sadly there are those that will offer to upvote your article or Witness server in exchange for money, real or virtual. Some of these hang out in the chat rooms, tending to following conversations and looking to see who's new and then you get a private message. I've had a few of these now. Asked around and the last few have been reported. Remember, the community is about getting voted on by providing content that others feel compelled to up vote and maybe even vote for your Witness too. Don't be hooked into these scammers grubby little mits.

4. Don't be afraid to ask some very, very dumb questions in the steemit.chat I know I did and have and will probably continue to do so for some time. There are some incredibly helpful people in #witness chat room. Be grateful, thankful and courteous. These folk know what they are talking about, you can spot the ones that really do know their stuff. :) Use the chat rooms, get to know people and don't be afraid to ask for help.

5. It's daunting. I perhaps under estimated how much of a long haul this is going to be and there is a strong chance I may not cover my server costs in a few months. Having said that, it's always going to be a long game and my aim is simply to cover my costs, if I can do that, then I will gladly keep the server going. I'm not rich, far from it. I work from home writing content for the financial markets which isn't great pay and I am a full time career for my 79 year old Mother. At 48, recently single - was 2 weeks from getting married (long story)... my disposable income isn't really disposable. For me then, I really need to see it cover my costs. I'm not saying this as a sob story, but to show, no matter what your circumstances, you can be involved and if I can contribute in terms of being a Witness, I am quite sure others can too!

6. Start thinking about what content you would like to write. Begin jotting down ideas. We all know stuff. We all have a voice and many of us, can string a sentence together [me?]. There is always someone out there that wants to know what you know, or have an interest in. Remember you don't need to be an expert. What you know is valuable to someone who is interested in your subject and is starting out. Look at me, I'm writing about being a Witness and I've only been one for a few days and trying to set one up for over 10. Make notes on what you wanted to know when you first got into your hobby, then start writing some ideas on what you know about that. It won't be too long before you have articles ready to put on Steemit.com

So guys, those are my ramblings of what I've learned since my last entry. As you know, I have a Witness server and would be very grateful if you could up vote my server!

Why up vote my server?

It is the only way that my server can get into the list, currently it's way, way down. Getting it higher up will then enable me to cover costs. Given I don't really have a disposable income, I need to see this return pretty, pretty soon :) It's very quick and easy.

Click Here >> https://steemit.com/~witnesses
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Enter stuwhisson in the first field and click vote.
Simples... you can do the same for other field too if you wish.