Over night I received the 100th follower and I want to dedicate this post to say thank you. I have been active for about 4 weeks now. I thought I share what I have learn’t so far on this platform. I received so many great tips in the beginning from more experienced guys and I want to give something back.

Also, I am aware that 100 followers are not a lot yet, but I think it is important to share how I want to build on top of them, since they confirm my basic believes of social media.

Money out of thin air?

For the first days, I couldn’t really figure out how the hell Steemit rewards it’s users. Where does the money come from? How can my like be worth a cent?
I am quite familiar with the concept of the Blockchain and I was also aware of ideas on how to build a social media page on top of it. The first time I got in touch with the idea was by a talk about the attention web by Maher Roy, co-host of epicenter.tv. However, seeing and experiencing Steemit was still too cryptic for me. If you have difficulties like me understanding how steemit works I recommend the article by @donkeypong as well as this video from Trevor James:

Building an audience

I always believed that one needs to understand the mechanics of a platform in order to grow an audience. This only works if you use real life mechanics and apply them in the digital space. If you want that people listen to you and you can create a nourishing dialogue then you will be able to build a long-lasting relationship. This might take longer then modern growth hacking techniques but I guarantee it pays off in the long-run.
Hence, I try to get in contact with all of my followers. I dm them. I read their content. This is the key of building a name in my opinion. I am also not alone with this one. Influencers like Gary Vaynerchuck in Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook or Kevin Kelly with his book 1000 True Fans share this point of view.
I will continue getting into this discussion and if I haven’t say hi yet, then drop me a message and say hi. I am really curious what you are up to and I would love to see if we could do something interesting together. Maybe even here on Steemit.

Some critique points

However, it is not all gold in this crypto-world. I had some chats with more esteemed (pun intended) players on Steemit and we came to the realization that there is still a lot of greet in this platform. As soon as a money incentive comes on the table people do not share or curate stuff because it is genuinely good. They share it or upvote it in order to gain money. The motivation is directed falsely. I am not taking myself out of this but I am aware of it and I try to bring as much value as I can.

Steemit and the Blockchain technology are amazing projects that can only work, through the people. This is kind of a paradox, but it is true. Even if the technology becomes decentralized and self-sustaining, it is just the infrastructure. Just the roads and bridges that are perfectly build. However, we add the true value. We are responsible on how we drive our car on them. We should seek to drive it respectfully and in the most efficient way. Let’s strive for excellence and not make the same mistakes we have seen in our current systems.

#QOTD: What are you up to? What are you writing about? How can I help you to achieve your goal?

Vaynerchuck, Gary (2013). Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. Harper Business.