I know the feeling...
'...What does this guy know.., the one who is always on Trending?...'
Yes, what do I know... do you think I started on Trending? I was a nobody once, nobody gave a toss about my content and nobody gave me any votes.
So let me give you some advice if that title is in your mind. Nothing comes easy and if you are not of a tenacious mind then it's best if you do leave.
'…but… but, he gets votes from whales all the time…'
Yes, and I am grateful for their support but in an instant, they may change and stop giving me support. Never take anything for granted, and don't expect anything to continue.
Let me tell you where this is all coming from. At the recent HIVEFest 7, I was chatting to @tdctunes about the past and STEEM days.
He casually commented that I am a walking blockchain encyclopedia, especially about the negative aspects.
When I joined STEEM on the 2nd March 2018 I had no idea of what was coming. Like many, I expected much and when barely anything happened fast I got despondent quickly.
If I hadn't connected with @steevc very early, I would have left.., there is no doubt.
These are my first posts; three of them gained me a total of $0.00. The third post took me a couple of hours to put together. Steemit (the UI) was terrible and hindered my progress.
I distinctly remember the time of posting '6 Progressive Rock Song Gems - Gold Nuggets dug from the depths you may not have heard before' thinking ‘this is the big one’.
I waited for those enormous votes to come in (that didn't happen) but noted I was getting a lot of followers.
What were these followers, they all had strange names and were made up of numbers? Little did I know they were BOT accounts and quite useless.
So nobody was interested in 'Gold Nuggets'? I didn't do myself any favours by self-voting the post and placing as the last sentence, 'If you enjoyed this article please upvote it and I will return the favour.'
Follow for follow, tut tut…, this isn't Facebook.
There was no STEEM Behaviour manual, and things have not changed, there is no HIVE one…, you learn as you go along..., the hard way.
Then @steevc followed me. Bloody hell, a dolphin and look at the value of his account..., $38,000!
Now... I am going to be rich!
That pivotal turning point was the end of the $0.00 posts and I am grateful for the community to be in that club. Perhaps @arcange can give us badges, 'Honorary members of the $0.00 club'?
Things were hardly improving after 9 days and I was beginning to despair.
I was pumping out impressive content such as 'A lone rabbit on steroids that lives on a corporate compound - a strange sight.' that included stock photographs without sources and the even better 'Seagulls don't like applause' and yet I wasn’t appearing on Trending?
This was totally shit (like Blurt), and I was going to blurt it out (not that Blurt), in public and I didn’t care if they flagged me.
I had learned about flagging (now downvoting) quite recently but was determined to show my displeasure concerning this huge injustice.
@steevc's post about STEEM dropping in popularity was the trigger point. They were going to turn against me like a pack of savage wolves, I knew it!
I was shocked by the response and felt this was a crossroads. Anything remotely bad and I would have powered down and left.
Have you felt like this? Now you can see... ‘that guy who is always on trending’ has been where you are now.
@steevc did not judge or condone. He sympathised and if anything gave me more support on my er... 'quality posts'.
That’s what kind of a person he is, he’s one of the good guys and I will always remember that.
...'@grumpycat terrified STEEM people with large flags, I wasn't going to tangle with that horrific monster cat!...
What did I do? I bought more STEEM, tried harder, joined @thesteemengine and learned about @grumpycat.
@catweasel (from the curation group, @thesteemengine (RIP)) and anti-grumpycat group (@the-resistance), tried to get me to join his crusade against @grumpycat. I was a little tiddler, no fucking chance I was going to tangle with that wild animal!
Six months later, at @steevc's insistence.., I joined an anti-abuse group. This was both good and bad and opened my eyes to the mass abuse that was taking place on STEEM.
The post rewards were still not getting better, but my SP (STEEM Power) was increasing. It’s not all about your HP or SP wallet size (although that is a significant factor), but how the community perceives you. I was buying, and lots.
In early September 2018, I committed to attend Steemfest 3. It was overwhelming, I felt out of place and intimidated by these 'Whales' and 'Orca's' but had attained the status of Dolphin by then.
I had bought into STEEM, and maybe, just maybe people were starting to notice.
During Day 2, I met @tarazkp and felt he was some kind of writing god. He actually hailed me, we had a short chat and he then wandered off with @crimsonclad on to one of those round table things that remind me of the corporate office.
…’I need to get this dude to follow me’…
Whenever @steevc re-STEEM'd my posts, @tarazkp would give me a vote. Eventually, he did follow me but took his bloody time about it!
These days I chat daily with @tarazkp and some others in a private discord group, mostly about shit, booze, loose-women, brothels, and sometimes about HIVE.
In October 2018 this came into my head, that's when 'Tales of the Urban Explorer' was born.
Now, most of my posts are prefixed with this title. This is what I do.
Ask yourself..., 'what do I do?'
The community seems to like this content. It’s quite unique, it’s fucking dangerous and keeps me on the edge.
May 2019. I was thinking to myself, 'why does that @meesterboom bloke get lots of votes'. I wanted to be where he was, so how could I do that?
I looked at his content, and found he had a certain style. A niche as I would call it. I contacted him via Discord and we connected like a house on fire. Being from the same island helped and from the frosty north probably a little more.
Could I adapt my niche and steal a little of his ideas? More than once he had me laughing out-loud in the workplace and I had to quickly shut up or expose STEEM to my colleagues.
...'Huel takes some beating and had me howling. Replacing work colleagues with names such as Sick-Line was different, unique and kind of dangerous if they discovered this derogatory story-writing he was doing' - Source
Adding some humour to Urban Exploring seemed apt and appeared to work. I have to credit him for nicking his style.., just a little.
I can't suggest to you to copy my style and it will get you on Trending. For me, it just happened slowly over almost 5 years but there's usually a reason why certain authors always seem to be there.
I found my niche; if you want to stand out then find yours and make sure nobody else is doing the same. Be different, be unique.
Here are a few tips for you…
Create content that either educates or makes people laugh.
Consider using a little profanity in your content, this is not Facebook, you won't get banned and it adds spice.
Do you have a 2016 account and a vote that's worth 1c? Your level of commitment speaks volumes. Why should the community give you large votes if you send it all the Binance?
How about a new account, born yesterday? You might get some initial support but it will likely dwindle. Long content is king, this might not feel right to you... it just is!
Don't ignore comments on your posts, always respond.
If you want instant rewards, leave the HP powered up, convert the HBD and sell that. I powered up ALL my rewards for a good two years before extracting a cent, but that's me!
Don't be tempted to steal anyone else' content, or use others' images without sourcing them. @hivewatchers will find you; there are people actively looking for abuse.
Make sure it looks good, it needs to be presentable. Use Grammarly to fix spelling mistakes, it's free to use.
Persevere, just like I did. You will be ‘working’ for less than minimum wage, but don’t count it as ‘work’.
I have well over 200 'Tales' posts on the chain. Where else could I have released all this content? Reddit.., yes.., but they don't dish out HIVE.
...'find your niche, but don't expect miracles overnight, even the early 'Tales' posts didn't do so well'...
Lastly, don’t expect ANYTHING from ANYONE. You are entitled to fuck all, so think that way. If you get down-voted then big deal, move on.
It's usually nothing personal, though that feeling is tough to shrug off. If you look into why it happened deep enough, you will get your answers.
Do you like posting your Urbex content and photography for FREE on Facebook and YouTube? I like to get some form of reward for my work and every time I create I do just that. Take a look at The Urbex Community on HIVE.
If you want to keep creating for FREE then ignore what you are reading. If you want to be like me and gain something other than BUGGER ALL for your work then click here and learn about posting on the HIVE blockchain.
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.
It seems I may be responsible for a few people sticking around. I just hate to see good folk leave. We need them. I can look back at my early posts when I was making nothing whilst some were making over $10k on a post, due to different algorithms. I did not invest as much as you, but I was really active. That got me known, so that many people knew who I was when I went to Lisbon.
You do seem to remember stuff better than me. There just been so much stuff over the years. It would be interesting to go back through posts to see what happened.
I do miss some of the humorous accounts like @dickbutt and @lordvader. I have no idea who was behind them, but they made me laugh. Vader is still voting, but I wonder if the owner has even looked at it. Lots of zombie accounts out there.
I find it all fascinating. We have some arseholes, but also a lot of fun and talented folk. Those who just complain tend to get driven away as we don't need their negative vibes, but then I don't tend to downvote over differences in opinion.
I'm so glad you stuck around. We can be part of something amazing if it eventually takes off.
What is a Zombie account?
I would say it is one that may be operating with automatic votes, but the owner may not have access any more. People have been known to lose their keys. There are some that still vote, but have not done anything else for a year or more.
There are also some where the keys were stolen using phishing or other techniques, but most of those have been drained of funds, so have no effect on rewards.
There are some bloody huge stakes in some of those zombie accounts, a deep dive I did in to this last year shocked me some enormous fees locked up, seemingly forever...
I always assumed the fishy skeleton usually meant 72 cents worth of stake or something similar had gone to waste but not so, there's a vast amount of Hive in the ether.
I wonder how many of those gone today believed their few cents of Hive would never be worth anything really. I have never doubted that our blockchain and community would experience stratospheric growth when the world catches up with and catches on to Web3, I have zero doubt on this, never have had.
The learning curve to get involved with blockchain and crypto will become simpler and more streamlined and indeed, commonplace in the future, this in my opinion will be the gamechanger.
When people are managing their mortgage on a blockchain, their parcel delivery on a blockchain, checking their pension on a blockchain Hive will no longer be an alien concept and the proposition of being rewarded for your content rather than having it sold will become all the sweeter.
This gives the infrastructure time to grow in order to cope with that swell when it arrives as it surely will.
I saw something saying the guy who owned the ranchorelaxo account lost their keys, so can't take delegation away from haejin or power down. I know of other accounts with hundred or even thousands of HIVE that seem abandoned. Mind you there's some large percentage of BTC that is though to be unreachable due to lost keys.
These may still be early days for blockchain adoption and we are the pioneers. I have some less techie friends who happily use it, but they need to be aware of the security risks.
Ah I see.
I wonder if Hive will ever reach that level again. Those were crazy days! Some people could actually live off of Steem rewards. Well, I suppose some still can in countries where the cost of living is low. Not so much in the US/UK.
There were a few living off it, but the reward curve was different then. If $HIVE could go to a few dollars then we'd see some $1000 posts, but only for a few people. I just want to see what can happen.
Some accounts are an easier trawl than others. It took forever to get back to the early 2018's on your content and even longer to find that elusive comment I made.
I added the source so it doesn't get lost again and the full monty can be read.
There's nothing like it anywhere. It all stays, though some of the STEEM images are now gone.
It's like a trip down memory lane. @meesterboom's Huel post was 4 years ago. Incredible.., it seems like just yesterday.
Some posts do stick in the mind. Someone mentioned my Haejin is a bully post the other day. That got some activity. Remember @lyndsaybowes? I think Bernie had it in for her. The 'drama' we see these days is nothing to what we had back then.
You found it, that post had heaps of comments, I will look again after this comment.
She's still here as @lynds, a revamped version!
I need a database or some diagrams to keep track of who is who and who likes/hates who. The core community is still pretty small. It could all be quite different if more of the 2 million+ accounts were active. The dynamics would change.
Waves! Hi 😁
-< waves back >-
https://hivelibrarian.herokuapp.com/
Conversations can be found using this tool.
Ewww!
I want a special one that says "Honorary members of the $0.00 club who also self-downvoted his first shitpost".
Man am I glad we've moved away from all the bid bot trending, quadratic voting curve and all other dumb shit we used to have that now seem so ridiculous in hindsight.
I remember when I first talked to @tarazkp in steem.chat and his posts looked quite similar to your early ones at the time, which sucked and showed how curation was lacking even though we did have quite a few curation projects around, most of the stake was still in whale's accounts and delegations had just become possible I believe. Guess you were just unlucky or not enough curators out there incentivized to look for such content from newcomers to reward, it's kind of a miracle you stuck around either way - probably thanks to @steevc's engagement and follow.
This is also something I've argued as to why we run things in ocd the way we do, where a small % of our daily voting power goes towards curators, moderators and other initiatives that are a net positive for hive's user retention. Now without the "curation sniping" curve it's even more important, cause let's face it, most people with stake aren't going to do the grind where they're out there looking for new authors to check if they're legitimate, post properly, are socially active, etc, to upvote and hope they stick around and have a better starting experience in their hive journey than we had, especially when there's the autovoting/trailing option that costs them way less time and no penalty to their apr. Similar to authors I think curators and moderators need also be rewarded for their time and effort to make this a better place, even though I know there are some who still do put a lot of time and effort into doing the grind even though they have a lot of stake, @steevc is for instance one of them.
Either way, with better distribution, so many years since the early days when you, taraz and me joined, it has gotten a lot better already which means that projects like ocd and others won't have to be relied on as much because there's going to be a lot more people with stake and when the prices are higher their upvotes are going to mean a lot more rewards and more people siding with curating manually than just going on auto and letting the rest do all the work. The next bull market will be crazy, hopefully we'll have a lot more options of getting into hive easier and faster and sticking with it by then.
That is.. an impressive feat!
I didn't expect anything.., maybe that's the difference between now and then? @curie was about the only thing going and was the target of all newbies. I know I got their attention as one of their curators started following me.
@steevc, oh yeah.. without a doubt. I used to wait for his vote heh...
It's the same with @curie now, I don't tend to give many votes out though. I could get more HIVE if I actively looked around more.
If I find someone, especially an explorer I will promote their stuff if it's good. I have found myself at times, when looking at a post that's $70 or so.., I did that, I promoted it. It's not a boast, I know it might not get any attention if I didn't do this. Makes one feel good knowing you have made someone feel the same.
If people would stake more and sell less it would make a difference. Skin in the game is important. People look at wallets and are judged on them. I mentioned this in my post.. the 2016 account that has a 1c vote. It's their choice but don't complain when nothing happens.
We need investors, but some people just cannot afford to do that. If they create good content then they should still be able to prosper. Hive should be changing lives around the world.
I do have issues with projects like Curie having too much power, but we're stuck with that.
Not sure if HiveBuzz's badge banner could contain such a long title. Such a badge would require its own tab on the board 😓
Haha was mostly a joke, although I would be interested in knowing how many self-downvotes I've made this far. :D
Easy answer: 20
You can do better! 😜
I realized that forfeiting post rewards through beneficiaries hurts my genuine supporters curation rewards less if I ever post something I know will get autovotes but doesn't have a lot of effort behind it or possibly value.
Rather than downvoting my own posts when I feel they get overrewarded, it's better to anticipate it becoming overrewarded (due to autovotes) and forfeiting part of the post rewards by sending beneficiaries to things like the DHF or posh, etc. This way some of the pupil who upvote it don't get penalized.
TBF, it's probably @steevc that's kept me going since 2017. I would argue that having a mentor such as Steve has got to be a positive in the popularity stakes, and I would be lying if I said Steve's delegations to me over the years have not helped by making my account slightly more attractive.
Personally, I can empathise with accounts that complain they're not getting the rewards they [think they] deserve. We all believe our work is on a par with the likes of Shakespeare, Orwell and the Chuckle brothers, so I can perfectly understand when someone sees an account regularly hitting $100+ for what looks like a pile of shite while their own Plutarch "Parallel Lives" earns $0.37
Just like Social Media platforms such as Twitter et al., users need to post and comment something EVERY-GODDAM-DAY on Hive if they want to stay noticed. It's that famous saying: "Out of sight out of mind." Sadly, though, some of us cannot devote every single waking moment to Hive.
I will say Hive is the classic "It's not what you know; it's who you know" though. Or Steve's favourite: "The old boy's network." 😉 🤣
#TwoPenneth
It does matter who you know, but if you are doing good things then it should get noticed. Rewards can vary wildly though. I know the curation projects try to spread them around, but some big accounts will have their favourites.
Great post! I remember the struggle and soon after a loss of motivation in 2018 when my posts earned a couple of cents for a long time.
Amazingly I didnt think of quiting because I liked the posting thing in Steemit and since im a huge photography enthusiast then where else am I gonna post like that. Facebook, no way. Instagram, I do post sometimes but not like that.
After some long months I started to get some attention. Not necessarily bigger rewards but comments and engagement. That was great because one aspect that brought my morale down was that I do these decent( pretty quality posts imo ) but no one sees these. After a while I got noticed by some whales and started to earn some rewards too.
Well, here I am and glad to be still here and active almost every day!
This should be compulsory reading for all new joiners, many of whom think that you can just join and start posting and magically you will soon make it to the trending page. I remember my own first posts, and I think the first one barely registered 0.01, but I don't give up easily and stuck with it... I left for a while when all the in fighting and bot voting started on the old chain - if there is one thing I hate it's conflict!! Then I found my way back when I heard about Hive and the fork that happened and honestly it is so different now (for the most part) and how I imagined it would be when I joined initially in 2018. I feel now that if you are new and you post quality content and engage genuinely with people, you can grow and grow a lot. Of course, I still do have the occasional post that I put a load of time and effort into and it returns $1 or $2 but rather than being pissed off, I think that maybe some day 1 Hive could be worth $5 or $10 or more, it's not too much of stretch in this arena after all.
Anyway thanks for a great insight into your beginnings and it's not that first time I have heard people wax lyrical about the positive affects of @steevc, so a doff of my hat to you sir.
I always tell people to have fun with it as you may not make much to start with. It takes time to build a following and trying to cheat the system usually fails. I do what I can to help.
!BEER
Good advise, if you can make it fun and post about topics that you are passionate about and take the time to make well crafted and balanced posts, eventually you start to get noticed by users and little by little you build up a following.
View or trade
BEER.Hey @ablaze, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @steevc for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.To be successful in life needs a lot of patience and sometimes situations turn as if there are no places left to wait or even stand, but I think personal belief is the main thing to continue instilling hopes and I myself got a big shrug late in this morning -- something that befooled me and costs me lose some bucks from my pocket, the disappointment was high, but I am still looking for ways to grab.
Thanks, thats an epic post, 👍
very good post @slobberchops. For me I've never been much of a poster I find it hard to post about random thing I can't seem to get what is my head onto paper/MS Word. If u look at my intro post u will see it didn't do to well but I just decided that what I make from the post shouldn't be the thing that says if it was good or not. the only thing I should think about is that i enjoy making the and sharing my experiences with everyone here on hive/enency but of course the rewards you get from posting don't hurt either. I will say I'm very fortunate that from my start here on enency I have had support and guidence from other ecency member and friends that helped keep my spirits up. To Name a few @zakludick , @jasperdick , @alonicus , @pixelhuntersam , @chaosmagic23 , @clairemobey , @lex-zaiya , @stevemuis and many more. So to all the people who r not starting to well it is not something u need to worry about so early in your time here just post things u enjoy and have fun!!!😁😍🤩🤣😝😀🗺️👍
Well said! It need some time and work to get more upvote. Most people forget that they have to engage with other people for example. All they do is posting, lean back and wait for upvote. Who will see your post if you haven't engaged before?
Thank you for mentioning me. 🙏
!ALIVE
Engaging is so very important in building community! And I have met very cool people too. Not to mention learned a lot of new things along the way 💜💜
Right, I met a lot of new and nice people and I would consider some of them even as friends.
!ALIVE
@pixelhuntersam! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @chaosmagic23. (3/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
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@loadreaper! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @chaosmagic23. (2/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
no problem thanks for always helping
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more
Once I shifted my focus to that, it became a lot more fun too! And who doesn't like getting a little pocket money from having fun!
I couldn't agree more😁
I've only been on Hive for 10 months and I'm doing pretty good, luckily my first few weeks were decent and got me pretty hooked and I got to meet a lot of cool people who I still check in on and who check in on me.
I do see a lot of accounts who seem to consistently get less than a euro even though they post regularly and write some decent stuff. I guess it comes down to engagement more than anything on here.
I've met some really cool people through being on Hive and being in a bunch of Discord servers and have had a good few laughs. I do occasionally write 'really good' posts that recieve less than a euro, but, the way I look at it and have done since joining, a euro is better than a kick up the arse.
Your post here is funny and insightful and I think it'll be great for new people to read this, to help with their motivation.
!PIZZA !LOLZ
lolztoken.com
One is hard up, the other is soft down.
Credit: reddit
@slobberchops, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of @killerwot
Farm LOLZ tokens when you Delegate Hive or Hive Tokens.
Click to delegate: 10 - 20 - 50 - 100 HP
(1/1)
I try and add some humour, sometimes subtly and other times outrageously. I blame that @meesterboom dude, it's his fault!
I added you to my voter script, it will help a little.
Hahaha I've read a bunch of his posts, I've been left laughing out loud so many times. Great example of someone who has a unique style and instantly recognisable posts, as soon as I see the design of one of his pictures I know what I'm getting in for haha
Thank you so much man, you didn't have to do that, but, it's much appreciated!
!PIZZA
I've been pretty consistent at the "make people laugh" game for almost 2 years now, but f me if it's gotten much easier. Sure, I'm super grateful for all the support I got from old trumpman and the master of tasks but on a monthly basis it wouldn't even cover the utility bills. My aim was always to be funny and ignore some arbitrary word counts - not the smartest move but at least I made some people laugh. Also I don't like messing around on discord, probably another mistake that I have to own. But at least I learned some new tips while reading this post in a period when I really needed to hear them. Cheers! from the blockchain clown.
@trumpman can be very direct at times, but you can't help but like him. He's his very own niche!
fortunately he is my cup of tea :)
Gay
best compliment I can get from you so thanks :P
You are one of the most underrated people here. Too bad there's not much place for humor on hive.
I really appreciate the encouragement, it means a lot. At the same time I understand there are certain requirements if I want to "make it" here, and it seems they are non-negociable :)
"I know the feeling"
You're a good guy, and very supportive of others, that's all that matters.
To all the people that are burnt out after not getting support, I would love to tell ya that it will get better, but it won't. You might as well not look at the top trending page, and focus on doing something you love.
Yes, yesterday you made 0.00 on your first post, today you're making 100, but it absolutely doesn't mean you will be making 100 again tomorrow, at least for most people. You might be making 0.00 again tomorrow and you have to be ok with it.
That's the true secret. There is no method to this madness, just luck & perseverance 🙏👍🔥
Thanks, there's only so much I can do.
Maybe I'm in the same emotional time as you. As a result, I can call myself the primary soldier of this blockchain path. A war that has a beginning but has no end. And so you can say that you are still trying.
However, being my own master, I cannot improve the subject much. But I believe that I will be able to give good writing to Hive even if it is late.
But through your post, I have understood the point of giving comments and replies, which I did not understand before. Thank you for your beautiful writing.
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This is an awesome post. I love posts when people talk about their beginnings. I too was in the 0% club. For some time. And then the single cents club.
I am pleased if I have helped even a little influence you in any way.
It is hard starting out here. I am glad that steevc managed to find you before you imploded and went full 'blurt'
I used to run downstairs super excited when a post made over $0.25. I'd go tell my wife and she would literally say
"Penny, penny, penny, penny"
and then pretend to "make it rain" with change.
🤣😂
Hehe, it was quite something to have earning for what seemed like little! I got mad excited when I breached fifty cents for a poem!
Yeah yeah. I know the feeling of that as well 😁
I think that's why I liked this post so much. It's good that newbs and not so newbs get a glimpse that we have all been there!
Yes I agree, totally
I talked to @steevc at HF7 about all the shit we have seen over the years and there's lots! The bernie days, grumpycat, steemflagrewards and it's controversies. Could we bring some of those memories back in chapters? I could only do things from when I joined as I was late.
It's an idea and I added a little of it to this post. So much has come and gone, the newer people I am sure would be fascinated by it all. This is why I try and coax knowledge out of the OG users.
Where would I have gone, I could have been the Blurt founder!
There is definitely room for a Horrible Hive Histories!
There has never been a shortage of drama. Reward curves and bidbots and the experiment by smooth and abit.
I almost think fondly of it!
Now there's a title. I feel something coming on!
Hehe, get in!
I had a similar story with steem. Like you previously said there was no manual, and I really didn’t know what I was doing. My posts were making next to no impact, and then I noticed all of the posts that made the trending lists seemed to be buying votes. I was sure this was the way they kickstarted the upvotes process, so I did the same. This technique seemed to be working. When I was trending I got more exposure, and was getting much more upvotes. Whilst I was watching the rewards increasing on one particular post, I noticed steevc downvoted it and eventually I made it onto one of his naughty lists, which wiped out all of my rewards. After getting over the original annoyance (which included a few sarky reply’s) both Steevc and yourself explained a few things to me, and gave me some very good advice, which I still stick to. Without that exact interaction, both myself and my girlfriend would have left the platform I’m sure. That was a few years ago now, but thank you both for that. 👍
LOL, I remember this.. anything bad and my memory is perfect hehe.., I am glad you stuck around and @bettynoir. You have your own little niches and are quite different. This is why I support the both of you.
I don't want to drive good people away, but sometimes you need to get their attention when they are doing things wrong. I don't even remember what it was in your case, but I hope we can be friends now. I don't seem to have to downvote so much these days, but I am ready to when it is justified. Hive is worth defending from abusers.
Ha. It’s all good Steevc. It was a lesson learned many years ago, and the 2 of you dealt with it well, and have been very approachable, and incredibly helpful ever since.
I've tried to be constructive with people. I would rather they learnt something and changed their ways than have them leave. So glad you stuck around.
!BEER
From my perspective you’ve also always acted for what’s best for the platform/community, for both steem and hive. Which includes many things, one being the constant support of genuine content. Same for slobberchops.
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BEER.I wish everyone would read this content and see what you have done - it is incredible - but not down to dumb luck, it is intentional. People spray content around with so little thought behind building that niche, the persona, the "art" of content delivery - and expect to get rewarded for it.
As you said,
By the way, I have always found it funny that people have the reaction like you did at Steemfest - I think I am pretty down to earth and approachable! :D
Thanks, my head is starting to swell. The niche was discovered purely by inquisitiveness. I only wish more explorers would get on here and do the same.
It's all down to that damn wallet size, and at the time yours was substantially fatter than mine. Did people avoid me in Amsterdam for that reason?, I fucking hope not.. I had a few alone moments and could have used conversation with anyone, this elitist thing I can do without.
I love that after years of no activity - this is the first comment back :D
Nice glasses, Presbyopia affects us all in later years. I have the same problem.
lol
I must not be as funny as I think I am then... Honestly, it is still pretty hit or miss what people like these days. I threw together a really awesome post a week or so ago that should have done really well and it pretty much fell flat. It sucks. I've been here a little longer than you and my posts do decent, but I still find myself wondering if it is worth it some days. So what is your advice for people who do all the stuff you mentioned above or feel like they do all the stuff and they still don't hit trending regularly? Don't tell me I need to start climbing into crack houses in Flint, MI and risk losing my other nut in a hail of gunfire...
Now that might work, you have the basis of a start 😀
Doing it for the wrong reasons? I don't know where I would place my 'Tales' if I didn't have HIVE. It's like a repository for me, same with the 'Horrors' series. The rewards are great but having that work on here is fantastic and being immutable, even better.
I guess I am not creative enough for all of that. I'm not really complaining, I've pretty much accepted I am kind of a nobody on here. Might help if I could make it to hivefest one day. I also gave up on doing it for the rewards a long time ago. It's still nice to see that whale love every now and then.
I’ve lost and gained so many great votes over the years. There is no way to predict when somebody will decide to spread their vote elsewhere.
They come in waves, I remember @darthknight.. and then he was gone. Delegated it all to @ocdb. Then someone else comes along, nothing stays still for long.., it's always interesting. There's a HF soon, more changes perhaps?
Oh yea, I can remember when they found me too. I was so excited because they were handing out 100%s like nothing. Guess that became too difficult and delegating was just way too easy of an option.
I'm ready for da fork to happen so we can start preparing for the next one 🌀
Good Read most definitely spelling out how one battles to find footing on the platform. Watching those who are making a success, getting ideas, constantly learning what is expected, never give in, never give up!
We also had @cheetah giving warnings in the early years that made one stop in their tracks to investigate what they were doing wrong. Oh boy I think many hit a brick wall when first arriving, nothing like normal here....
Quite simple in many ways, put your pride in your pocket and ask or quietly watch and learn....
!BEER
@cheetah was quite funny and innovative, is the account dormant now.. I haven't looked. Another blast from the past, we could do with it back again.
Nah not cruising around since Oct 2020, did give good warning to keep you in check before the heavy hitters arrived demanding you apologize for mishaps publicly.
Many of us bloggers came with ideas that were quickly squashed into oblivion, had to learn the hard way to readjust thinking and fall into line. Zero club was a reality to pull up your socks smartly.... 🙃
This is so true! I remember when I started making super long posts about my travels with lots of photos, I started yo pick up a lot of traction. Of course my blog has gone to crap since Covid and a baby, but I definitely know the formula.
It has been cool watching yours and other accounts grow on here over the years. I especially appreciate it when the people (like yourself) get votes for content that is actually different and interesting.
I can tell you one thing, I no longer upvote posts with pictures of flowers. (Unless it is an autovote) I am so sick of these.
I don't see many now, but don't look for them. I'm sure there's still lots and they all look the same 😀
Haha, yeah I mostly run into pages of them when trying to find new people to follow.
Really excellent post @slobberchops! I've seen so much talent come and go in my six years here and each time an engaging writer leaves I feel like I've lost a friend.
Thanks Eric..., stick around.. wont you?
You’re welcome! I’ve been through so many ups and downs. I’m definitely in this for the long haul. 😊
One of the things that shows always to me is consistancy and trying to do something good for the community. Whether if it is participating in hivecleaners, or meetups, curation, or powering up or sharing a whatever...there is literally zero guarantees that this will do anything about the amount of rewards you are receiving but how corny it may sound, that shouldn’t be the main game in the end. But doing something for the chain or for people who need it does feel good!
But on the rewards on posts? I think over these last almost 5 years my rewards have gone up and down and left and right, but as long as I enjoy dicking away on hive...To me it is fine.
I have posting gaps in times of flagwars of when the takeover was. There was no fun then to me involved as a simple user. The vibe should be good.
Werent you also in some flagwars a long time ago that you downvoted a while? Am I remembering this correct?
I am still part of an anti-abuse group so yes.., it's happened on numerous occasions. In today's HIVE there is a lot less than in the STEEM days. I have a script I run every week or so that finds anything blatantly bad.
It's bee several weeks since I found anything besides plenty of users with 50HP or so just voting from themselves. I don't think they understand the dust vote threshold.
No I mean more that there were people flagging you while you were just doing something good? Was that the case? I remember some flagwars having collateral damage in there
Oh those, I try and keep away if possible.
Terrific post. All I can say is I agree with every single word. There's nothing to add.
P.S. When I wrote my comment, I didn't notice the number of comments under your post. I am sorry 😊
Don't be sorry, but I probably won't post another HIVE related article for a long time. I used to do lots once and 2 years ago they always got a lot of feedback. Now it's getting unmanageable.
I think it just someone's other turn to take over the baton. A circle of Hive.
Ditto, although I've only had one of those things change in the last five years!
Liar, we all love you now, it's the beard.
I honestly feel like most big whales on here understand and watch what people do. Do they power down and cash it out or do they hold on to most if not all and power up. That right there is a big tell tail for me if someone is going to take hive seriously and contribute to it's growth or just cash out.
It takes a huge amount of effort and time and honestly even after 5 years I still make hardly nothing and that's ok. For me you can invest, stake and earn in other methods with Hive and the blogging side is just one aspect of it all. That's the beautiful thing with hive now compared to a few years ago. You can earn MORE in MORE ways it doesn't have to strictly be about blogging and then hoping someone drops a big fat upvote on you.
Speaking of myself, I do check an account and behavioral patterns if I am thinking of supporting small fish. If they are sending it all out, why should I bother? Yes.. it happens.
Splinterlands, Rising Star.. two areas I have capital in. They both yield dividends on to me.
That was a great story to read. At the end, it is only a matter of building our reputation, building a network, getting a figure of a community, interacting with other users, etc. No matter what, we should do what we lik,e and persevere (that's definitely the right word).
Cheers!
PS: it was nice to meet you at HiveFest, even if we didn't really speak with each other!
Apologies, we should have talked. I heard you were a 'Particle physicist', and maybe didn't make a beeline for you in case I couldn't speak your conversation.
I guess we can keep this for the next occasion. I may pass by the UK at some point for my work (indeed focused on particle physics), so that we could try to organise something around food and drinks ;)
It's going to take you a week to answer all of the comments here as this is a great post.
Wise words and wise guys that you mention and we all had to start somewhere here on hive.
A Luta Continua.
LOL yes, I am going to bed after taking 90 minutes to respond to half of them! Will resume tomorrow.
It is tomorrow night and by now you should be done.
So hopefully you can give your fingers a bit of a rest Lol
Would you believe it, they are still coming.
Reminds me of a situation that I placed myself in at school. A teacher challenged me to really apply myself as she said that she believed in me and she knew that I only gave 50% attention to the tests.
So I proved her right and I got 100% full marks in a test. Oh woe was me as she showed the mark to all of the other teachers and I was done for. They all started expecting higher marks from me so I swore to myself that I will never ever get 100% again. And to this day I haven't!
So you got 100% for your post and if you want to avoid a mountain of work then all that I can say is to keep your head down, as the tallest trees catch most of the wind/work :)
!BEER
LOL, I don't do these very often and didn't expect 200+ comments!
Hahaha, well done and I was just joking a bit.
Have a congratulatory !BEER
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BEER.Speaking for myself, I can only write about things that interest me. Certainly I hope there is a cross section of hive users who share some of the same interests and it gets me some upvotes. It's been hit or miss but that's fine.
Also, one of the things that you have to learn and accept is that it isn't entirely about effort. Certainly the importance of quality posts can't be overstated but it isn't always (or even usually) the posts you put the most work into that get the biggest upvotes. Just like the free market, it's more about what people want than how much work you do.
The other key of course is to build up your followers. You probably aren't going to have very many people upvoting your posts if you don't have very many followers. This means you have to interact...not just broadcast. Read other people's posts and join in the conversation.
I remember a time thinking, 'this is the killer post' and being very disappointed with it's reward gains. Then at other times, I could do what I call a semi shit-post and it did remarkably well.
In the past, I always saw HIVE (and STEEM) as different phases, and a HF marked a change. Especially when things such as the 75/25 changed to 50/50 and the community decided bid-bots where going to die. There have been many and it fascinates me.
Not wrong; walking encyclopedia indeed!
The other value, which doesn't have a vote or hive dollar figure on it, is getting better at writing. There's something in that too ;)
Yes, it's an incredible tool to improve your writing skills and literacy. Before I joined or knew about STEEM, I had around 1500 words of 'The Horrors of Kwiksave' written. I didn't know what to do with the partial story..., then I found the answer.
I would say my literacy skills were pretty good; but avoided creative writing at all costs!! Now I embrace two creative prompts in different communities each week. It's funny how just taking that one risk can change perspective. I had to google 'Kwiksave'; glad you also had the outlet to finish the piece.
Well.. I have and haven't. I originally wrote it during 2018 and then decided to re-write it, and the newer version, is still unfinished. TBH, I need a kick up the arse and to get on with it!
You totally hit the nail on the head here I think. You can include me in the group when you say "speaking for myself".
Another addition to this tip is Don't ignore commenting on other people's posts. Most people will click on profiles that comment positively towards them on repeated bases. Especially if it's a likeminded source of content. You both love blogging about your photographs of ocean waves, frickin talk about that shit. Blow each other (up!) Pimp that shit like a two dollar hooker.
I don't comment as much as I used too. It's a time thing, but my own content.., yes I make a point to respond.
Yeah, this tip may be for smaller accounts more than larger ones lol. You get a figgidy-fuckton more comments than a smaller account like myself!
First i will love to say you are so fucking blunt, I will also say you just opened my eyes to something i never knew about though my mentor was always saying it is not in oke day one begins to achieve on hive they have to be series of hard work and that i saw in you infact @steevc was really a savior and @tarazkp they really showed you some love, I also wish they show me same love as they showed you.
After reading this i was trying so hard to understand what you meant by powered all your rewards?
It is a very great content you wrote and it is a mind opener now i believe that something good can come to me.
Yes, I have been fired from jobs due to this. In both cases something was better around the corner. It has done me well.
I can relate
Thank you for sharing your experience. I have been on Hive for 10 months now. I never expected to get so much recognition for my work in such a short time. However, I had the advantage of having found my niche 10 years ago. So I didn't have to invent anything "new" for Hive.
Around early 2019 a friend told me about Light Painting. I had no idea what it was, and its relationship with UX. Now there's a whole community. It's good your niche fits here.
I am very happy to be part of the community here. On Facebook and Instagram it was most about envy, jealousy and bullshit like "follow for follow". I deleted my IG and FB and I am very happy without these stupid so called social media.
The UX community is filled with all that bullshit. I add my content on FB deliberately a year late. I don't give a crap about it but have still amassed around 900 followers. Despite having that section in my footer about HIVE, I barely ever get anyone asking about it. Their loss.
Man, going through my old stuff reminds me of those days of no rewards, bad bot comments, and me floundering around trying to find my voice. The Steem Flag Rewards project was a worthwhile endeavor. I'm glad it seems less necessary on HIVE.
I remember you doing MtG content all those years ago. I think that's what grabbed my attention. Barely anyone else was!
I have been thinking about revisiting some those topics. I have a habit if trying stuff out, then burning myself out chasing topics that get rewarded more, and then dropping them. I should write about another Magic deck, make some jewelry, paint some space orks...
Times indeed have changed with lots of people leaving. The steem-hive hard fork even led many astray with people choosing steemit over hive. Indeed the blockchain has remarkably changed since then. I am one of the lost souls who couldn't withstand the 0$ and took a sabbatical leave from the blockchain. I have been away from the blockchain for 4 years but I'm back now. I wish I hadn't left because all my peers have built good reputations over time and their articles have improved tremendously. I know perhaps I would be a dolphin by now if I had stayed. But this is not a post to reminisce about the past. It's rather to encourage myself and all who are beginning.
Indeed no vote, no attention isn't a reason enough to leave. Thanks for sharing this great piece
It helps if you can find or create things that force you to be consistent... as a musician on Hive you have Hive Open Mic and Three Tunes Tuesday, and others where you have a reason to post every week and then you can fill in the gaps around that if you have extra time! It also means you have an easy way to find and engage with people who have similar interests.
There used to be more music posts once, and I got involved. I stopped when I ran out of ideas and had spilled my entire brain out. There's nothing left!
I see that you have a lot of comments so may not respond but one thing I found that worked for me ( I'm still a small fish in a very large pond, but a few people do upvote my content) is that you need to engage with the community! Comment on other people's posts, make some friends, after all this is a social site. If you come on here just looking to make money, people are going to be able tell!
Also, don't be afraid to state your opinion. Like you said this isn't facebook, reddit, or twitter, if you have an opinion and it is relveant to your post, don't be afraid to say it.
But most importantly love the content you post. It shouldn't feel like a chore!
This is an awesome post and I enjoyed reading it!
I made a point of over-engaging in the early days. You can see by those snips I added that I tended to write paragraphs. It does work, keep going.
Crawls through busted windows in abandoned buildings but won't climb his own roof to clean tiles.
The value is always exciting but I'll never forget the first time I got double digit votes—10! Then it was back to 9 or less for however many months but that first 10 was fucking rock start status.
Well I'm glad you stuck it out, not so sure about the profanity shit though.
Bah, she's much lighter than me, and I have vertigo issues.., yeah really!
LOL, you could have added a 'fuck' to that statement just to over-emphasise things.
I really enjoyed reading your post because the experience of a user who has been here since 2018 always has great value because it comes from experience. As a moderator of a small Italian community I often get the question from new users: why don't I get votes?
I answer them that interaction is the key and, as you did, I show them my first $0.00 posts and from today I will let them read this post of yours as well.
I have read so many posts with advice on what content to publish but until now I had never read this advice:
I will remember this advice :)
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/44) Liquid rewards.
LOL, I hear people swear every other word at times. Just a little can emphasize a point.
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And do that consistently. If you cannot create your niche, then just write anything that will become a Souvenir for our kids :) And of course, earn from curation.
Yes, maybe @dismayedworld will one day read about 'The Horrors of Kwiksave' hehe...
You mentioned here 2 of my favorite guys. They are 2 of the first people I met on steem and I have to thanks both of them so much ♥️ great post with many useful tips, dear @slobberchops !
We missed you in Amsterdam, you couldn't make it?
We really did our best to be there, but we had some "issues" with the family balance (it happens, it's life ^_^ ). We watched the talks on our laptops thinking how could be excited to be there, believe me. Well, we'll add the next Hivefest on our wish list for Santa Claus. ;)
Love all the history! Thanks for sharing both in person and now here.
I'm not in the 0.0 club but I can live with not being a member of that particular one!
The history is varied and long. Books could be written about it. There's nothing to compare., its fascinating.
Write a book then?! Or is that too pre web 3.0 :)
@steevc can do chapter 1, he got here before me!
Good plan!
Wow, this really hits home! Thank you @slobberchops for sharing this. I am still relatively new on HIVE and I too was discouraged in the beginning. But @zakludick helped me see the bigger picture, this a long game. No instant gratification. To me, it has become a community. A place where I can share and interact. The rewards that come from it are great, don't get me wrong, but they are kinda the bonus for already doing something I enjoy.
I have met some great people on HIVE, like @loadreaper, @jasperdick, @clairemobey, @papilloncharity, @jacoalberts, @vm2904 and many many more. While I have never met them in real life, I already feel connected to them.
Not to mention I have been pushed out of my comfort zone a few times. Making sure I have a piece of art to post now and then has ensured that I get art practice far more regularly than I otherwise would have for example. I also have a reason to get my camera out more often!
Overall, it has been a positive experience for me. Growing takes time, but it is worth it in the end!
very nice comment @pixelhuntersam it lovely to hear such kind words.
Memories and connections are more valuable than money in the end in my opinion!
100% I couldn't have said it better myself👍
This is a very meaningful, from-the-heart comment and thank you for the mention in such a comment, @pixelhuntersam.
Yes, I think we've all been there (reading the post to which you've replied), and it all comes down to the question of "why are we here?". We need to determine the purpose for being here and once we have done that, giving up is no option. I think building good relationships such as what you are mentioning is very important and gives us the necessary motivation and support to keep on keeping on.
You are doing great, keep up the good work!
Awww, thank you so much! I have really enjoyed your posts they have brought back so many fond memories, especially of my father. It's like I get to relive them again (as back then cameras were not so readily accessible!).
And now, you get to post those memories here on the blockchain. Hopefully one day your daughters will get to relive them fondly as well.
Plus I consider you a friend of sorts now too. One day when I am back in that neck of the country, it would be awesome to go for a walk with you 😉
I am really glad to hear that you enjoy my photos and how they are bringing back those memories for you! That means a lot to me to hear my photos can do that for someone.
Yes, I do hope my daughters will also get to relive them fondly as well.
Thank you for considering me as a friend now, @pixelhuntersam! I really do appreciate that, thank you! Going for a walk together would be awesome! So please, let me know when you are in this neck of the country!?
I will definitely let you know when I travel down that way again. It's been quite a while since we have gone to KZN. When the situation and finances allow it, I would love to get back there!
Yes, it is an expensive hobby these days to travel over long distances with the current cost of petrol. But that sounds like a great idea for whenever you are ready, @pixelhuntersam👍!
Thanks Sam. It really would not be the same without you!
Dang it! Now you are making me all bashful and stuff!
Hehe. Don't feel embarrassed. We all need each other on Hive!
You're doing a phenomenal job @pixelhuntersam! Keep going!
Right back at ya @clairemobey keep on being the awesome inspiration you are!
I read this article months ago and I'm back reading it again. It is that good. I don't know if I have changed one bit in my Hive life but I do want to change. Meh, what the fuck am i saying? I'll go back to being a tortoise for now...
... and I thought I was done replying to this content!
Thanks for giving us a look into your early days, that was quite an interesting perspective!
Unfortunately, I did end up "giving up" on my blog about 3 months ago. It was a lot of fun and I did enjoy it but I was spending 3-6 hours on my posts and ultimately burnt out. Despite having a lot of successful posts, it was just so devastating / demoralizing for the ones that bombed.
I live in Minnesota where it's only nice out for 6 months before it gets real cold so Mountain Biking and other out door activities started taking priority too.
I could see getting back into it this Winter but I'd have to find a way to make good content that didn't take me forever!
Thanks for the pep talk lol.
This sums up all it needs:
Adding that each person is unique and needs to figure out the variables of the above guideline, which is sound and full of common sense.
Nice reading about your
SteemHive story. By the way, we've met for a couple of minutes at HF3 in Kraków, at the concert in the room below, I've joined your table, where Steve, anyx and some other have been.I quite like the giant rabbit post.
LOL!
I saw your name and immediately a New Jersey accent exploded from me “It’s Slobba chaps!” 😂 I have no idea why that is, but what a fantastic name!
Great post, I think it’s easy to miss the true value here as a new person, and get lost in the nuances of success! When you stop thinking of just your blog, and start to feel invested in OTHER peoples blogs… you’re on the path!
Lots of great people show us the way here- OC that is unique, a true expression of who we are. We forget how many people get rich off these things on Web2! Sharing and engaging in equal measures is an investment that will take you to places you cannot expect!
Thank you for the great advice :)
This is an amazing post, I love your writing style, it was both informative and entertaining and I took a lot of valuable knowledge being so new to the eco system. Thank you
That's an old one!
One great lesson life has thought me is that there is no overnight great man. Every great man has a humble and hardworking beginning. My very early understanding that Hive is not a get rich quick scheme has given built me strong.
I love the level of your encouragement and sharing your experience with references to $0.00 post is really great.
Cheers 🍻
I had to do this, I am quite aware that I get 'up there' a lot. It sucked when I first started. The number of 'fuck this I am out' moments were common.