Facebook just blocked me out of my account making my brain recap the development of Social Media on a personal level since joining Steemit and coming to China.
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So after having been in China for now close to 2 months I finally got the chance to take a look at Facebook on my Chromebook by borrowing a VPN from a friend for a while. Well, Almost. I was planning to answer some messages my friends wrote me a few weeks ago and share some articles and thoughts with my friends in different places.
But I could not!
Thanks for breaking up, Facebook!
I neither have access to my German number I didn't even remember I put there. Damn you Instagram! Nor access to a PC I used to log in previously.
And I am totally not giving Facebook insights about my passport
China apparently got confused by me suddenly switching locations to Hong Kong in the blink of an eye thanks to my VPN. Too be honest:
I don't even care for Facebook closing its door.
I don't even care for Facebook closing its door.
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So how did China change my social platforming?
You know, China doesn't like Google and most of Western platforms as it tries to keep Western influence to a minimum.
China definitely knows how to set up walls!
Trump, lean back
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Shortly after I arrived to China the Chinese government even made slipping through the big Chinese Firewall worse by tightening their VPN laws making my Betternet (VPN) not so better after all.
That means no access to the platforms we humans like to spend so much time. Facebook. Youtube. Instagram.
A drastic change for me especially because I used those to promote my blogging content I create here on Steemit and on my "real" other blog rootingrobert.com which I haven't updated since I joined Steemit (I may do soon).
Back to what counts
Not just Facebook left my life, also Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram etc. Basically all the things you learn to be essential as a blogger. Until you learn they are not.
Missing the essential.
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Blogging
With all that huge amount of platforms, facebook interaction groups, Instagram Pods and constant improvements on the visual aspects of the blog the most important part of the blogging got neglected. The blogging part. The insights about other countries, about cultures some long forgotten, life, food.
Your thoughts. Your thoughts, MY thoughts, got buried by a constant feeling of missing out. Missing out on sharing, missing out on spreading your word. Whilst you, I, missed out on the words to spread.
Where did the blogging go? Let's look at some stats of my real blog
Let me say that again.
Twenty. Eight. Posts. Not even I expected that less.
Twenty. Eight. Posts. Not even I expected that less.
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28 articles written about 8 months, 4 countries, countless memories, endless thoughts. 28?! That's not even 30. That's not even sweet. That's kinda sad.
Now let's take a look on my Steemit handle.
985 posts. A little more than on my blog..
Well that, of course, counts in comments and replies, the interaction with you other Steemians.
Taking that into consideration and counting all the comments and replies I got in Wordpress that would make around 200 there.
So how many of that 985 are actual blog posts? As I am a really lazy (or time efficient) being I won't go back and count each of them.
Let's do some simple math instead.
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First the facts:
- I joined in June 2017. End of June to be precise, shortly after hardfork 19.
- I furthermore tried to post an (valuable!) article each day.
- I did so except with some little breaks during the time I had an art installation during two music festivals in Germany where my friends and I were building floating islands out of trash to, besides constructing a wonderful paradise, also raise awareness about environmental topics
and 2. while being in China after having been kinda demotivated by the time put into my posts in relation to the following payout. (For anybody who says success comes with consistency alone is wrong)
So let's reduce those almost 4 months I am on here to 3 months active daily posting
3 months a 30 days = 90 posts written in 2 countries solely published on Steemit.
No pinterest worthy images like this
and
(Almost) no shares on facebook, twitter, flipboard, Instagram & co
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Is this extreme better?
No
I don't think so to come straight to the point. So I switched from being primarily more focused on promoting and working on the visuals of my blog to writing full-time with totally neglecting any Social Media Shares at all.
And I god damn love the absence from "Western" Social Media! It brings so much ease to the mind.
Yet, both extremes are a desirable option if you want to call yourself a blogger.
In my opinion, a good combination of both is needed. Seeking balance. Promoting your content while having content to promote, yet just one works without the other and during my time here on Steemit I definitely learned how to share my thoughts / experiences more freely.
I had a really hard time to do so earlier because I wasn't so keen about personal insights about my life and I am still continuously working on that but it's improving.
Connecting with other beautiful souls on Discord helped in particular as I myself noticed, that everybody is struggling with the same or similar topics.
We live in a time of revealation! So there's no need to hold back. And it definitely is ok to not be ok just like my dear friend @battleaxe stated lately.
You're still around? Dang, you're pretty awesome! Feel free to check out my previous adventures
 JJ the Mollusca |  The Shining of The Evergreen |
|---|---|
 Hitting the Ground 490 times in 7 Days |  Say Hi to @foodflaneur |
