How Steemit Has Improved My Inner Self And How That Has Brought Value To The Steemit Community
I rarely ever enter competitions on Steemit, but I thought that the competition being run by @lexikon082 was an intriguing one. The competition encourages participants to write a post on the ways Steemit has improved their inner self and how that has brought value to the community. If you would like to learn more about the competition, then head over here. I hope you all enjoy my submission, thank you.
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Introduction
When I first set myself on the course to answer this question, I thought it was going to be a simple and straightforward task. As I progressed, I realised just how complicated answering this question was going to be. Answering this question essentially required an assessment of my being. What kind of person was I before I discovered Steemit and have I changed since coming across the platform? More importantly, can I confidently say that my thoughts have added any value to a platform filled with thousands and thousands of people? With these questions laid out before me, I set out on a journey of self-reflection to find the answers. Here are the results.
How Has Steemit Improved My Inner Self?
As I alluded to in my introductory paragraph, I can only really know the answer to this question by first assessing my person before joining Steemit. I had just finished my exams, bringing an end to my second year at university. With a four month break before I resumed my studies I had to find some way to keep myself preoccupied. The monetary incentive of Steemit was by far the biggest reason I decided to create an account. In my head, I was already picturing my posts earning above a $100 consistently. I had no thought for the community, nor for the development of Steemit as a social media platform. I was selfish. I then began regularly posting on Steemit, expecting to draw in a large following. As a law student studying in a top 10 university in the UK, I have to write A LOT of essays, I was extremely confident (overly confident) that my style of writing would be attractive to a lot of people and that would translate to handsome monetary gains. That was not the case. I did not gather a large following within a few days, and I was most definitely not hitting $100 a post consistently. I was arrogant and impatient.
How Steemit Cured My Selfishness, Arrogance And Impatience
When your expectations are not met, two things can happen:
- You can quit.
- You can readjust your expectations and keep moving forward.
Fortunately I chose the latter. I would say making this decision is the point where my inner self grew and improved. My motivation for being on this platform is a lot less money orientated; I care a lot more about the community and where Steemit is going. I have joined a lot of communities e.g. the @minnowsupport community and I have interacted with some inspiring individuals. Ironically, being more involved in the community recently resulted in one of my posts being resteemed on the @minnowsupport blog. This just highlights why community engagement is so important and the great ways it can help your blog. My arrogance and impatience were eradicated when I had to make the aforementioned choice on if I give up or keep going. By choosing to keep going, I have accepted that it will take time to establish myself on this platform. More importantly, I can be confident in my writing style and not succumb to an arrogant mindset. I wholeheartedly subscribe to the adage that 'Rome was not built in a day'.
How Has This Improvement Helped Me Bring Value To The Community?
I will tackle this question from two perspectives.
1. Value To The Community As A User Of Steemit
My improvement has resulted in me developing a genuine interest in the authors of this platform. My reasoning for commenting on another’s post, or even upvoting content is completely devoid of an expectation for monetary gains. By commenting, I want to engage in a critical discussion of the subject matter. By upvoting, I truly believe that the content is deserving of it and should be more recognised. For me, this is just as important as writing posts for the community. My user engagement is giving feedback to authors, which is, hopefully, increasing the quality of content on the platform.
2. Value To The Community As An Author Of Steemit
The improvement of my inner self has resulted in me staying on the platform. It motivates me to carry on posting and to keep trying to add value to the platform. The value I bring to Steemit as an author can only really be determined by my followers and readers, not by me. However, what I will say, is that I believe my posts are encouraging more critical discussion on the platform e.g. My Observations: Does Steemit Encourage Quality Content? This in itself is an addition of value to Steemit because it is highlighting a range of perspectives that surround a topical issue. Creating a space where people feel comfortable expressing their thoughts is an important characteristic for the Steemit community, and I am more than happy to encourage that.
Conclusion
My journey on Steemit so far, has enhanced my person. But it would be folly to think that this journey is over. I look forward to the character development I will surely undergo as I progress on this platform. I refer you back to the adage I previously mentioned: 'Rome was not built in a day'. Each post I make is a building block to my eventual Rome. I suspect that this post will be one of the more important blocks I place on my journey.
Thank you.
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