This is something that I've put a lot of thought into in regards to myself and the way I function in the Steem community, and I thought I would share some thoughts with you all about that today. My journey here hasn't been a conventional one, and I think it's kind of important that new Steemians understand what's important, and what's not so much.
We were promised jetpacks.
Aside from being a humorously named indie rock band, I think this statement says a lot about the mentality that a lot of us carry onto a new 'social media' journey. The level of impatience is higher than ever before, and the predecessors of Steemit (Youtube, Facebook, etc.) promised us success through automation, buzzwords, tactical post scheduling, and ads. For whatever reason, newcomers often come pre-programmed with this sense of entitlement, that the community should welcome them with open arms before they've given us any real reason to. That's not as cynical as it sounds (as this community is in fact, very welcoming), but that's just it; healthy skepticism has now become a negative standard when all is assumed to just soar on arrival, when in reality, it's just normal and human. Everyone starts neutral. It's up to the newcomer to push themselves onto the good side through a bit of work and networking.
The whole preceding idea was that you could build success passively, and I think more and more each day this idea is becoming horribly outdated. Just as music genres from previous decades come back into the spotlight as a nostalgic and refreshing change, promotional methods sometimes can follow a similar pattern. Connection, customization, and personalization are back in. Automation is so 2010.
Lately, I've been getting a slew of Facebook ads promoting these new 'boxes' that companies are making. Shaving boxes, clothing boxes, food boxes, scent boxes, VG merch boxes; all things that are advertised to be customized to fit my personality.
Social media is beginning to work the same way. Even before I came to Steemit, I was doing a lot of homework into the 'Patreon' model of being a musician. Folks don't just want to buy albums anymore, they want a small window into your life. They want to talk to you. They want to know what inspires you. They want to hear your unfinished works. Just automating a release is no longer enough.
So when folks automate on Steemit, focusing on the buzzwords and the clickbait-y titles while neglecting to respond to their comments, it's no wonder why results are lost on them. It's the same reason why someone doing a modest vlog on a mid-grade phone can out-perform someone who does the whole nine in a video production setup. The former puts the energy into the conversation, the interaction, the community, while the latter focuses mainly on the production elements to carry them through the lack of personability. While the flashy, well-presented content certainly helps cosmetically, it won't take you all the way. The icing is nothing without the cake.
Be yourself.
Sounds cliche, I know, but this is something I've wanted to write about for a very long time. I think some Steemians who get down about not being the conventional image of what we should be, prevents them from being something great.
For anyone who doesn't know, I am a music producer and sound engineer. I wouldn't necessarily call myself shy, but I'm often lost in thought in a way that prevents me from actively speaking about certain subjects, making vlog videos, writing, and posting the way a 'normal' Steemian would. For some time, this bothered me; I thought I had to be better, or maybe I didn't even belong here.
Slowly but surely, I began to organically find my place on Steem, building a web of collaborations with other Steemians. While this meant I wasn't spending quite as much time on the platform itself, my name still slowly became more familiar to the Steem community (through Steemit and through Discord communities) as a team player and positive entity. I let my work do the speaking.
I've used my audio-based skill sets to collaborate with @soundlegion, @rockchickjen, @beardedegghead, @lillywilton, @thomasrobertgent, just to name a handful. Not to mention, I am now the in-house audio nerd at @steemmonsters, assisting with production, mixing and mastering, composition alongside @isaria, sound design for SFX, and spearheading post-production and coordination on voice acting. Over time, I became proud of who I am here.
My point here is not at all to outline my personal accomplishments for the sake of doing so, but more that my participation here does not look like the 'normal' Steem experience. While I am not consistently posting everyday and commenting all over the platform, I am built into a good handful of projects here. And my modestly continuous SP growth reflects that. At this rate, I'm on track to be a dolphin by the end of 2018, almost on the dot.
To tie those points together...
As many will tell you, Steemit is all about community. At times, I almost envied folks like the brilliant @meno and @coruscate because of how naturally they seemed to find their rhythm on the platform, and create an amazing image of what to strive to be on Steem. But you have to understand two things.
Firstly, folks like them work damn hard to be where they are. Once you really dig up the facts of the schedule they follow, and level of participation that they put in, it's crystal clear why they've found a relative amount of success here. These things didn't happen by chance, but through calculated dedication, consistency, and passion.
Secondly, your model doesn't have to look like theirs. The individual pieces of what the dolphins created to mold their image isn't the necessity, it's the participation in the community. However that has to look for you to suit your personality, is up to you. I am very happy with who I am on Steem at this point in time, but it took me a while to realize what my 'model' of participation looked like, and the fact that it was different didn't mean I was wrong or didn't belong. It's not titles, it's not buzzwords, it's not bots, it's not luck. What is consistent throughout every successful model though, is community engagement and dialogue.
The experience can be lucrative if you allow it to be, but making assumptions in regards to your expectations sets you up to fail. Whoever you choose to be here, come in with a humbled mind, be ready to put in some [fun] work.
