The blockchain is an ever expanding platform filled with creators, social media jockeys, and miners of all sorts. We each have a different reason for being here and a different goal that we hope to achieve. I have seen accounts that are only interested in the idea of gaining as much steem as possible. I have also seen accounts that weren't too interested in steem, but more in the idea of connecting with people. I truly love all aspects of this. I am trying to connect with as many people as possible. I am trying to share anything that I feel God may put on me to share with others. I am also trying to financially take care of my beautiful bride @freedomtowrite. All of these seem very do-able. I have been creating and sharing several times a day and pushing the limits of my own understanding of the blockchain. The biggest thing that I think I have noticed about this whole experience is the time it takes to get things done, and the feeling of being spread very thin.
How To Spread Yourself Thin
This is a title that I am sure many of you can identify with. We are taking pictures, or writing stories, or joining new communities that reflect some of our interests. We are meeting new people, learning more about cryptocurrency, and growing the value of our account. It doesn't take long to see that this is adding up throughout your day.
Taking Pictures
It wasn't long after I joined Steemit that I was bit by the shutterbug. Thank you @dreemsteem for bringing that term into our house. I found that I was taking pictures of everything. Anything that I thought someone else might like to see, I did it. I took pictures of nature, animals, crafts, and even my bearded face. I was editing on my phone like I had been doing it for years. I got this amazing feeling that I knew what I was doing. I felt as though being paid for my creations was really because they were quality. Well, they were. :-) So I kept doing it. I began to noticed that this was taking up time. Whenever we were out and about I was taking pictures. In between chores I was taking pictures. While we were cooking dinner I was taking pictures. I am sure that I am not the only one that this has happened to.
Writing Stories
If you are anything like me, the ideas have no problem flowing. Whether the ideas are for a blog, vlog or just a picture. I often find that I carry a note pad in my pocket to capture the many ideas that flow through my mind in a day. I try to sit and to write as often as I can. The time that is involved in this is also pretty incredible. From writing it in my notepad to getting it all typed out. We do 90% of our Steemit activities on our cell phone. This is not uncommon for many, but it does seem to take longer than when it is on a proper keyboard.
New Communities
I have been regularly looking for new communities to join that might reflect my interests. Little did I know that there are at least 100 different groups for each of my interests. So then it comes down to which one to stick with. Or which couple to stick with. There are constant conversations on discord going all the time. There are collaborations, and community building initiatives. There are ideas for building sites and forming meetups. This is amazing and is moving in real time.
Reading and Curating
This is one of my favorite things to do. Since the beginning of my time on Steemit (a whopping four months ago) I have loved all of the different perspectives. I have read many great posts about things that I love, and still others about things I have never heard about. I have learned a great deal of things that I can apply to my homestead, and some ideas that might even expand my theology. I love to upvote as much as possible. I upvote posts and I upvote comments. I try to encourage others to also engage others as much as possible. How can we hope to gain followers and win the internet if we are so focused on ourselves that we forget about others.
Vlogs
I'm a vlogger, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I love making videos and trying to cram a million words into 5 minutes. I love sharing different aspects of my journey, as well as throwing out wild ideas for others to try to chew on. This is so much fun. It usually involves me sitting in my car or standing barefoot in the woods with the phone strapped to a tree. It is a constant drive to influence other's ideas.
Here Is Where It All Falls Down
With all of the many goals that we are each trying to achieve, there are only so many hours in a day. We all have to juggle our own lives, chores, and families. In the physical word we have responsibilities, and people that rely on us for one thing or another. We are being pulled in many different directions while still trying to prioritize our online personas. As we fight to figure out how to best use our time, it is a struggle for balance. We often get out of balance. Sometimes our physical goals don't get done because we have decided to sit around in our pajamas and play on Steemit all day. Other days we jump out of bed and strap on our boots, and don't see Steemit until the evening or night. If we are going to be setting goals for ourselves on the blockchain they need to be realistic.
I have been able to keep up with it so far, but I seem to be losing touch with people. This may not make sense. The more that I am connecting (followers) the less I am interacting. I have found that when I log into Steemit there is a fair amount of time that is spent responding to replies. If we are trying to post regularly and have an online presence, then we have to maintain our posts and reply to our comments. This for me has been a bit of an adjustment. I seem to be getting more engagement on my posts, and it takes more of my time to respond, but again that is my time. If effects my ability to get out and read and comment and upvote like I have been doing this whole time.
I have started using something called Steemvoter. This allows me to support 25 creators of my choice. This will upvote their creations even if I can not get to their posts. This is a good, and a bad. I feel good knowing that I am able to support others and the hard work that they put in on the blockchain. I like knowing that when they post they will see that someone is cheering for them to win.
All of this sounds great and seems to look like balance. This is only from my perspective though. There are seemingly countless accounts that log in each day and do the exact same thing as I do. They check discord and work through all of those conversations. They log into the blockchain via their favorite platform and start responding to all of their replies. They then begin to create and post there newest ideas. This puts them in the same position of not being able to read and comment, just like me. If we are lucky, we find ourselves as the lucky recipient of someone elses auto steem voters.
Closing Thoughts
Much like the expansion of the universe, the blockchain seems to be growing outward. There seems to be newer ideas and platforms built each day. There are more ways to mine Steem, or connect with people, or share our creations. With the expansion of the blockchain universe is it going to be harder to be close to other people. Are we going to be able to maintain a level of frienship that we have come to enjoy. Are we going to find that our lives and the lives of others have taken up our time and made it so that we barely have time connecting. Are we going to have so many ways to mine steem that our focus might shift to the size of our accounts and may actually disconnect people. Is it going to gradually turn into a platform for creators or a platform for consumers?
If you have made it this far in my post I really appreciate it. I hope that maybe you might identify with this. If you too are having trouble staying connected, you are not alone. If your account is just sitting idle while you are doing other things, you may consider and auto voter. If you are against bots of all kinds, you might consider delegations to another that may vote more often.
As much as It sucks to say it, I think we may all be here for the money. When the money is here it keeps us focused and working hard. Even when the value is down we can all still win by supporting each other. Don't forget to take care of yourself and be mindful about spreading yourself thin. Be well!
