[source: @minnowsupport]
Joined steemit mid last month. My first post, I wouldn't call it a hit, it was at least a shot in the right direction, made over 20$, I thought to myself "I’M IN THE RIGHT PLACE". this was
HOPE (beta version)
I unpacked, set up my tent, aired my steemit flag, and got to work. On my next post, feeling very confident I tried to introduce a project I was working on, the outcome was a devastating $0.08. I checked to ensure my internet wasn't shitty, depriving me of upvotes or if the post was incomplete. It was none of the above. I laughed to myself, pulled out a new sheet, put out a new post…. $4. Things were getting blurry, is this the same platform or I’ve been transferred??
FRUSTRATION 1.0
Subsequent post only got worse. I quit … but I always quit, so I decided instead of quitting to just ;et you all know I was frustrated, I did a post on that, it paid out well (relatively well). I was cautious to think I was back on the platform I originally joined, my caution was justified on my next post ($0.06). It became glaring that steemit was playing some kinda mean joke on me
HOPE v2.0
The struggle went on frustratingly (but I was determined for the first time, not to give up). Then came a glimmer of hope, in the name of #minnowsupportproject birthed by @aggroed, @teamsteem, and @ausbitbank in conjuction with some other thoughtful fellows. The comprehensive mission, vision, and goal of this project can be found here by @minnowsupport.
I liked the idea of pooling resources, and learnt we had some big generous donor, the likes of @benjojo and the whole thing being managed by 7 witnesses. After joining the Discord channel : Peace, Abundance, and Liberty (PALnet). I had to open both a streemian and steemvoter account (which I previously had no idea existed). With all these in place I was back on track, started earning well on posts, my upvote count tripled. Success at last!
FRUSTRATION 2.0
But steemit was determined to win in its mean jokes against me, and as more people joined the channel (which seemed to me like a good thing initially), my reward started to drop, alongside my morale. Then I was back to low incomes, except that this time with high upvote count, but whats the point yeah??
As I did previously, just before I gave up on the MSP, I decided to make my frustration known on the channel, I thought I was ignored until I saw riding towards me from a distance in a glowing apparel @justinchase picked me up and showed me the light, the silver lining
The SILVER LINING
He reminded me how I wasn’t giving anything to get the “reduced additional income” I was getting, and enlightened me how the upvote counts (that I assumed was pointless) helps my posts to be more visible. In an attempt to appreciate him with an upvote, I saw his post which further showed me what I have been benefitting that I did not pay attention to:
- How MSP participants are offer to reviews for posts, give writing workshops, run contests, and award bounties for quality posts (some of which I have partaken)
- How MSP has been helping me create better cotent (by interaction with the others)
- How it ensures quality (cos garbage on there will be disposed)
- How the sponsors are working tirelessly to continuously improve the ways MSP can be more effective
It finally dawned on me that no matter how slow, #MSP is a vehicle taking me from minnow to whale status
I am grateful for these selfless sacrifices
I know there would probably be a FRUSTRATION 3.0, But my "HOPE-infiniti" has been deployed
I am @ericdyce
[gif courtesy of @justcallmemyth]