I Believe in Steem - Five things I can do to help steemit grow

I joined steemit in mid June.

To my surprise I am still here. And I am enjoying it. And I am progressing.

Like most people on the platform I went through the phases of initial boundless enthusiasm, gradual realisation of the reality, a brief period of resentment, a growing sense of doubt, a gradual understanding of the actuality...

And then the enlightenment.

The enlightenment that all those words of wisdom from the 'old hands' on the platform like @timcliff and @lukestokes are true.

It does take time. It is not all about the money. It is about content. It is about community. It is about networking.

It is a slow grind. If you do keep putting out quality posts gradually they will be seen. If you do keep commenting and making contacts you will build a following.

I am not yet in anyway a steemit star. I am still a lowly minnow. My posts don't make a bucket load of $$$.

But a few people do know who I am. Most of my posts do make a dollar or two. When I leave a useful comment on a post I generally get a reply. And when I hop on a Discord channel some people do say hello.

All those things are little achievements that motivate me to stick around and keep going.

My reputation has just this afternoon clicked over to 59 when I got some nice little upvotes when I commented on one of @lyndsaybowes posts. I would love to get to 60 by the end of the year.

I do now have 820 followers. By regularly posting on a variety of topics, by running contests and by joining in on a number of Discord channels a few more people follow me each day. I wonder if I can reach a target of 1000 followers before the year is out.

The Wallet and the Steem

My wallet has gradually been increasing. I occasionally get lucky with a more substantial upvote from the likes of @glitterfart and @blocktrades. They are most gratefully received but what makes me more happy is getting regular smaller votes from people who believe my posts are consistently good enough for their vote. To all those people my heartiest thanks.

At this moment, with the rising value of steem, my wallet is valued at $2,957.37 - a not too shabby amount. More importantly my steempower stands at 2,171 SP which means my full upvote is worth around 24 cents. With that I can help out new users I spot with posts on a miniscule payout. Hopefully with a few 10 cents and 20 cents votes they will be encouraged to stick around.

A Dollar A Day

As my wallet has grown so has a rather unexpected desire to pass on my good fortune.

Steemit has given me the opportunity to view the whole of the world with a new pair of spectacles. I am no longer restricted to the boxed in vision of main stream media. Now I can see right into the lives of people for example in Venezuela and Bangladesh through the eyes of @malos10 or @azizbd.

That new perspective on the world encouraged me to start my A Dollar A Day giving project. It is but a tiny drop of hope but a start is better than a stop.

To Swim with Dolphins ?

My goal is to reach 5,000 SP and become a dolphin. With my current rate of earning, and giving, I might reach that point sometime next summer.

I do though have an opportunity. Earlier in the year I bought a little bit of Bitcoin as my first toe in the cryptocean.

With the massive rise in the value of Bitcoin that is now worth enough to buy sufficient steem to allow me to jump up to join the ranks of the 1244 dolphins on steemit.

This now stands as a test for me. How much do I believe in steem?

I could leave my $$$ in the supposed safe haven of Bitcoin - but that could all go pop tomorrow. Or I could move it across to steemit. Even if steem stopped steeming at least I would still be swimming with the dolphins.

So here I stand examining my beliefs.

If I go all in with steem and steemit what can I do to help it grow?

Here are five things I believe would help the cause :

1. I can keep buying steem, and never power down.

2. I can tell people about steemit and recruit new users.

3. I can vote up, and mentor, new users to encourage them to stay on the platform.

4. I can keep producing the best content I can as regularly as I can manage.

5. I can interact with as many people on steemit as I can and help build communities.

I believe in steem, do you?

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You might also be interested in some of my other posts :

• [FICTION CONTEST] Christmas Day in 2050 - write a diary entry - 20 SBD to be won

• SteemRadio - schedule of all the steemit radio shows - what, when, where

• Improving Retention on steemit - Exploring ideas for a Mentoring System

• A Dollar A Day - an update on charitable giving on steemit - why it's real for me

• Steemit coming alive in Wales - meetup planning underway - 100% growth target...

• Where in the world can I spend my steem? Real World Outlets that accept Steem / SBD

• We've made it - 6 months self sufficient in vegetables - what target for next year?

• Homesteaders & Preppers on steemit - smashing through the 250 mark - v10 [22 Nov '17]

• SteemTowns - connecting the virtual with the reality - would it be possible?

[puppy image by @pennsif // dolphin image from pixabay - Creative Commons CC0]