So far I have been very happy with the platform and my experiences here; I think one of the great things about a tangible reward system is that people are more polite in their arguments and interactions! However, this post is intended for me to look at what I am doing here, and critique my performance to do better in the future.

On the Positive Side

• I have written more fiction than I have in ten years. I am beginning to put down story segments that have been buzzing in my brain for twenty years or more, and it has been an impetus to look through my archives and see what I have actually written down, and what I thought I have written down. Sometimes I am compelled to finish a story outline. That is a good thing.
• I finished my Master's last year, and while my analytic writing and research skills had improved through that program, I found that my ability to focus was dropping by the end of the program. I started writing a teaching plan for a Homeland Security course and dropped that when the position didn't come through. By writing on politics and security here, I am able to warm up those skills I mentioned and keep them from further decay.
• I make an effort to engage my readers with comments; the better their own contribution to what I wrote, the more I try to engage with them. I would encourage other contributors to respond to commenters when possible, but I do understand sometimes there is no good response to "hey good post!"
• I have made a nice little bit of money (pending Steemit's success lol) for what I would normally do anyway...which is to write about what strikes me at the moment. However, this tendency is also on the Dark Side...

On the Negative Side

• I am not maintaining focus and I am not engaging in self-discipline in my writing. I will be conducting a nice discussion with a reader and state my intention to write a post on that tangent, but I rarely feel the need to follow through the next day. Rather,I write about what I feel like writing about at the moment, OR I force myself to throw something on to the screen and see if it sticks. I do not set out to finish my fiction on any timeline or schedule, and that must be disappointing to readers who are interested in a specific story-line, but not in the rest of my writing. My editing and proof-reading is atrocious, and I occasionally go back to edit a piece after publishing to correct two or three errors...and then have to go back again to correct more errors, eating into my "allowable" number of posts.
• Although I try not to, I still occasionally "shit on" somebody else's page. By this I mean that I see a post I disagree with, and allow snark and contempt to pollute my response. Now that I try to specify this behavior, I see that I haven't done this in at least a month, but I do need to remind myself that the behavior that will make this platform succeed is the addition of value to posts, not to post things that might be "trolling". I also need to remind myself that people usually don't change their minds at all, much less when they are being challenged on their beliefs.
  The example- the one that comes to mind was my response sometime back to a young lady that had made a long post gushing over how Hillary Clinton was an inspiration to young women. I made note of Clinton's corruptions and treasons, suggested other women who were far better role models, and I did it with obvious contempt for Clinton and the cheerleading,dishonest media that was propping her up with propaganda. That girl never posted again that I saw. IF that girl left because my response was too heavy, then I caused a loss to the platform
• I don't read enough of other contributors' work. There are folks who I try to see if they have new stuff, but very often, I will be wiped out after a post, and don't have the energy to sit down and enjoy the creation that is available to read here.

Meh, -shrugs-

These are the items that I don't consider good or bad, just there and to be cataloged.

• I repost material I have put on the web before, either from my blog, or from social media accounts. Hell, it's already been written, why not try to make a buck or two? ;> This is also a tactic I use when I don't feel like writing at all.
• I tend to upvote as a "like" button, especially when I like what a commenter says, but can't generate a cogent response of my own. This doesn't really affect the platform, and I have almost completely quit trying to curate for bucks. I will still upvote a post if I see If it's by somebody I know will score on that post and if I'm within that 15 minute to an hour timeframe.
  Example - If I see Charlie Shrem make a post when It's convenient, I will upvote it as I know that post will go up. OTHO, most of the time, I will also read the post as his are usually of interest to me as well.
• I have resteemed posts that are I am not in total agreement with, and sometimes I resteem too quickly. An attack on the "fake Media" is great, but I need to check that that attack is not being made as it's own propaganda narrative. OTOH, one of Steemit's value is the sharing of alternative views, and to let the reader do his own research.

So What Do I Need To Do?

• Tighten my writing - Focus on making posts better both in organization and in the boring spelling and grammar presentation.
• READ, READ, READ - There is a lot of interesting material posted to Steemit. I also should make the effort to check out the work promoted by the people who take the time out of their own day to upvote and comment on my work. Part of this is tit for tat, but if you are honest in your comments on other's posts and if you are building value for the platform, there is nothing wrong with tit for tat, (tit for tat can be interpreted as "transactional reciprocity")
• Provide value to other's posts - This means not engaging in insulting behavior on other's posts. If I have a disagreement with their position, then I should write a post of my own. Let us face up to it, when you disagree with someone and tell them they are wrong, they are going to be insulted to some point, even if you are right. I think it provides much more value for everyone if you were to write a post of your own and leave a comment saying something like, "I disagree with you, but here's why...link...btw, your writing/organization/pics were cool"
  Note to my own readers - criticize me at will - sometimes I do learn from mistakes or benefit from an additional view. Most of the time I take it in stride. Sometimes I am short tempered, and will be nasty. The thing I always take offense at are insults to American cops and soldiers - honest criticism of specific incidents is valid, but the "cops are thugs"blanket accusation is unsupported

Get thee to a createry!