Vlog 232: Steempower or the value you add to the blockchain is your mining tool.

in life •  7 years ago 


I often make the comparison to Bitcoin mining when it comes to earning rewards on Steemit.

If you look at earning rewards as mining a lot becomes clear.

With Bitcoin, you can basically mine more bitcoin when you add more computer power to the network.

Now, after 9 years of bitcoin mining, you will have to compete with huge mining farms in China as an individual. Impossible.

It's also complex to set up a miner as a normal human being because you need technical knowledge.

This is where the Steem blockchain made a genius move. Instead of mining with computer power, you can mine by creating content.

Anyone can make an account on the blockchain and start mining. It's super simple to start.

Now, if you use this platform as a place to share your stories with others and keep them on the blockchain forever you are done. You found your place. You will build connections and friends here. It happened to me. It will happen to you. And that's cool because we have a great community here.

But it's not simple to mine (get rewards). This is a huge difference with the above.

Why?

Because you need Steempower to mine and at the start, and you don't have any.

So you need to get the attention of people that have steempower to direct their mining effort onto you.

You can create the best content in the world, but if nobody knows it exists, that's a problem.

It takes a lot of effort to get yourself known.

This is the process I call the 'the grind' and it gets harder the older the blockchain gets.

The fact that you can still earn Steem with blogging today should tell you are still early.

I talk about it more in my vlog.



I am a witness with our developer group @blockbrothers for the Steem blockchain. If you want to support us I would appreciate your vote here.

We build Steemify a notification app for your Steemit account for iOS.

Get it Here:



▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS
Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

You make a lot of interesting points here. There are definitely people who come to Steemit and expect an audience to just be waiting for them but that is not the case. These people criticise the platform but the truth is it would exactly the same for them on YouTube or any other site. Building a following takes time, persistence and patience. A lot of people would be happier if they just accepted this role IMO.

I don't put a lot of effort into my posts because there is no particular subject I'm interested in blogging about, but I'm happy to just curate and comment for the most part. You're right about people seeing the trending page and wanting to be making the big bucks right away but not everybody is going to be a successful creator. Steemit needs content CONSUMERS just as much if not more, and people can earn whilst curating without having to put in all the time and effort that is required to make posts consistently and build a large following.

We agree, buddy! Everyone believes that when they get to Steemit and post quality, they will receive excellent votes. But it turns out it's not that easy. You have to be persistent and already have a vision of what you want to do with your blog. It is also very important to join communities to make you known and establish relationships, such as PAL, Steemians, Cervantes, Trail Hispano, among others that are in the Discord platform...

In my case I like to comment on posts from other people and be part of the conversations between bloggers.

STEEMIT is just like the real world, we all have our desires and roles to fulfilll within our community and I agree with your statement about needing content consumers as much as creators or more; moreover, the site would be useless without the people that digest other's material.

This is part nobody gets about steem.
Expectation to start earning rewards from the first post or the first few months with NO STEEM POWER.

I started 8 months ago and see it already. I didn't have the knowledge when Steem was 0.1. But now with a price of 3 it's harder to collect some SP by only creating content.

exyle, your posts are so poignant and perfectly timed for this newbie!!!!! in fact, i just doubled down on my steem and powered UP....so i can "mine" more efficiently! my first post of my 10 year old food forest garden coming soon and many after that. learning so dang much from just curating and re steeming others work for now. very used to the process of building an audience. we've been posting on YT since 2008 and i've shared to all my other social networks about steem and steemit....and dozens of my friends are waiting to be approved. over two weeks now!!! they are patiently and excitedly awaiting the opportunity to start mining and investing also. if steem keeps dropping in price, i'm going to just keep buying more...and powering UP! please keep it coming exyle! you are an anchor in these shifting times!

Wow over two weeks!? I had no idea the sign ups were taking so long

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

yes...it's crazy...but perhaps a good sign of growth! this account i signed up with "rawutah" took about 2 weeks also. exyle nailed it...IMO. so many people are coming over from YT....and will be mining here soon! i enjoyed watching the explanation about the account approval wait time....... at the 8:20 mark of this video. https://steemit.com/steemit/@ruwan/i-filmed-this-video-of-ned-pkattera-and-sneak-talking-about-the-smts-and-the-future-of-steemit

Yes I saw that video and enjoyed watching it. It's interesting to hear that there's been such an explosion in new users wanting to join recently but it's a shame they are having to wait so long to be approved...still, it's a good problem to have.

i hear you about the let down....to new users waiting for approval. i've continued to post videos like the one above...and many of exyle's posts...to my social pages...to update as many people as i can. it's creating a fervor....but how to retain users once here...is another story. i've had quite the learning curve so far....but i'm enjoying it! so grateful for those posting/mining... about it all. please keep it coming exyle and steemians!!! you all INSPIRE!

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

@adamkokesh just posted this on youtube...and soon here on steemit i'm sure. more YouTubers head this way! way to bring it adam!!!!!

I hope Alex joins! I don't particularly like him but he has a huge audience and generates a lot of funny memes!

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Excellent viewpoint. I feel I am late to the Steemit world but I agree with you that opportunity is still very much in reach.

As the powerhouses arrive, the competition for attention will become harder and harder, so it’s best to start building your foundation and brand now. I am not looking to earn a living from creating content, but I believe by attributing value to the content it has caused people to put more time and effort to share higher quality content. So as a content consumer I find I enjoy the content better on this platform. it has also forced me to rethink how I want to present my own content in an attempt to reach that higher quality bar.

I have made my rewards mostly from curation and authoring of comments, but just last night I published my first d.tube video. Instead of just recording my screen I ended up putting some post production effort into it to amp up the quality to meet the culture of the platform which I enjoyed. It may feel late to the party, but it is early days.

Steem On! thank you for posting this.

Yeah, buddy! Due to the high level of competition, it is very difficult to stand out from the rest, even publishing content of the highest quality, as everything is taken by trend and the first options (the oldest ones). People are also accustomed to the fact that if they need content on a specific topic, they are looking for a writer who has a good reputation. I particularly like to sit a couple of hours a day looking for quality content from people who are not yet known. In fact I have found better quality content and editing in some people of low reputation, compared to content from people with many votes and high reputation...

But it's never too late to start... I'm already eight months old in Steemit. I've learned a lot about the platform and I'd say I've done pretty well. It only takes a good promotion in the posts, as well as being in communities to build relationships and get support from bigger ones.

Once again you have helped this old bald bugger understand better the blockchain and how it works. The “mining” item always confused me here but now I get it. There are different ways to mine and creating content is just one of them. Thanks for clearing it all up for me :) ...again!

Mark this is Great you put it all into perspective even for the Newbies. @exyle has done "The Grind", he knows what it takes and now he is fairly successful here. If I can share two things that I think will make anybody successful on STEEMIT, it would be Consistency and Persistence. If you want a Third item I would tell you to start investing in yourself. Buy some Steem as you can afford to do so and keep Powering it UP !

People want instant results and the truth is that no matter which platform you use that is never going to happen. I'm sure a lot of people make YouTube channels and give up after they've made 5 videos with a total of 10 views, a similar thing applies to Steemit. A lot of people would be happier if they accepted a role as a content consumer rather than a creator. At least here you can earn curation rewards unlike on Reddit, Facebook etc...

This is brilliant though from you @stokjockey. For me the newbieb to adopt and i still need ur upvote to keep me update. Thanks a lot

Welcome to STEEMIT Prince; You will do well here just put your heart into it everyday. You may be a Leader for your community where you live and you may not even be aware of it yet. There are people here on Steemit that are doing wonderful things all across the Earth to help others become self-sufficient on there own. You may want to look at some of the postings that people like @surfyogi and @ackza are doing to make the World a Better Place for people who are looking to improve their lives. I wish you all the Best.......

Thanks a million my boss and my mentor, and i will love to be in ur discord link, for those two u have drop, i have key in and promise u to be one of ur proud candidate u will always love to use as sample too. @stockjockey. I love u to visit my link one of this day. Ur support to me put more smile and strength to be honest to u. Thanks once again and keep ur good work boss

That's right, buddy! Persistence and consistency is the key to success at Steemit.

Investing in Steem Power is vitally important, and now it's easier because it's lowering the price.

Exactly!!!
Steem power or credible content is the mining tool in Steemit.
Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency and blockchain news came late in Africa.
Fortunately, it is really amazing seeing how far we can achieve in Crypto and blockchain from this part of the world by creating good content on Steemit.

The Brain is the greatest money making instrument and this is made very feasible with Steemit.
My brainpower earns me Steempower

Maybe a little later in Africa than in the West for example but we are still in the early days of blockchain!

Very good information and useful @exyle .. I really agree with what you say .. But frankly raise the steam power is not an easy job, especially for very small fish like me .. I hope you continue to educate about the development of blockchainc and the effect for us is this little steemian .. Thanks @exyle

Keep trying and you will get there, the more SP you have the easier it is to earn more. Patience pays.

You brought up a good analogy that a lot of newcomers should understand. When you tell some people about Steem, they say things like, "what? you can vote for yourself and give yourself money?" It sounds strange to give yourself money, but that is what mining is. In other words, if you own stocks in a company and you earn dividends, suppose you could give those dividends to someone else. If you choose to give the dividends to yourself, would people say, "that's absurd!"? Not really, it is how it works!

With Steem, you have the option of giving your dividends (upvotes) to yourself (just a like a owning stocks would or mining) or you can give it to somebody else. It just seems strange to some people because there is a choice. But if the only choice is to give it to yourself, then it doesn't sound far-fetched to noobs.

I often make the comparison to Bitcoin mining when it comes to earning rewards on Steemit.

I just love that comparison, it couldn’t be said any better. I never thought about that this way. But you are completely right. When Bitcoin started it was made so any average person could mine it on their home computer. Currently bitcoin mining has extremely high difficulty. You easily could compare today’s Steem rewards to the beginnings of bitcoin mining.

Hey @exyle,
I also think that it's not profitable to try to mine bitcoin because of the overpricing of GPU's.
I'm totally feel "the grind" right now, even producing quality content, It's more difficult to associate with other people.
So I'm trying to Power Up every Steem that I get. But I have seen people use SBD for BOTS to get more recognition on their posts.
How do you get someone big like a whale to notice you?

It's hard but if you make a lot of good comments you can earn respect from the whales without necessarily posting content yourself

Yes..It is the steem power that matters above all..Today,after more than a month of hardwork I increased my SP to 90 from just 15 through blocktrades..they are delegating it for 90days..All that I had was just 8SBD so I converted it into SP through delegation instead of giving them to bots.I know it is the wise use that will earn me more SPs

Yeah,it is hard to get recognised even if our content is the best in the world..I'm going to convert all that I earn into SP instead of cashing them out! But I never compromise with quality..I will ensure the maximum possible quality to my contents as it will personally change the man me!

Excellent video friend and i agree with your thoughts hard work is required in every work and no doubt hard working is great course and the peoples who stick with this course surely see great results in the end but on the other hands peoples who are trying to make short cuts might see success early on but in the end they lose, so we all need to work hard and try to produce best of the best content on steem blockchain, thanks for sharing your nice thoughts with us regarding mining steem and wish you a fantastic week ahead, Stay blessed

And with every post we're getting more powerful. Connected and whole with you all, that's how I feel.

Yeah, buddy! This idea of mining by creating content was ingenious. I, for example, devote at least 75% of my time to Steemit. I use this platform as a working platform and also to form friendships with people from all over the world (I am very sociable).

And in fact with Steemit I have learned English little by little (my native language is Spanish). I have improved my way of expressing myself, my writing, my creativity has evolved... All this thanks to Steemit. So I would say that this is a very good multifunctional tool.

Greetings and a hug my friend @exyle

You explained beautifully the comparison between Bitcoin and STEEM. I agree with you that sometimes we can be frustrated when we looked at the Trending pages but if we looked at another perspective they had built their brand early on Steemit.

I am lucky to be able to get STEEM while it is attainable. Be consistent, do up quality content and you will see results. Be engaging to other Steemians as well. Upvoted!

And the more Steem Power you have the easier it is to mine more. This is why as a minnow I decided to invest all my small amounts of SBD earned into Steem Power.

I just hope SBD doesn't fall much in price in the near future.

Very nicely explained, @exyle. Laid out so everyone can understand, even us non-techies. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

You're welcome!

This is really through, bitcoin mine with computer powet while steemit mine with content. Being a newbie on steemit (joined last month) i understand the stress it involves in getting to be known, sometimes you make a post and only 3 people sees it and you might earn nothing. But would keep aiming for the sky

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

This is such a clear explanation of how we should see it. I have had many questions over the last two weeks about how the blockchain works and how to understand the rewards on this platform. Quite funny that everytime when a question pops up, somewhere over the next days you drop a vlog online which exactly answers those questions. Great post @exyle, as usual!

I'm going to have to wait until later today to watch your video in full as I'm uploading one of my own and that pretty much takes all of my wifi's power!

That little explanation of bitcoin mining set off a few light bulbs for me already.

I've written this quote on a post it note for when I'm feeling fed up with the 'grind': "The fact that you can still earn Steem with blogging today should tell you are still early."

Thanks for the encouragement as always! 😊

Thank you!

@exyle,
From the day 1 you started Steem Power conversions! That means you made a huge investment on STEEM mining! I got the idea and hope to follow what you did!

Cheers~

I like to say that I believe in Steem much more than in Bitcoins because it is mined (mostly) by people who post meaningful/interesting/informative content while Bitcoins are mined by powerful computers solving otherwise useless algorithms. Thus, Steem is one of the rare crypto currencies that have a real value behind them + is has an emotional value, since Steemit is a social network too. Cheers! 😊

You are absoluetly correct about the comparison between bitcoin minning and brain minning at steemit...moreover patience, SP, consitency, quality posts and building contacts are keys needed initially in order to succeed here

It's the grind that is that necessary bit that is forgotten all too often with folk who just start. I actually love the term the grind because that is exactly what it is. Stellabelle called the steemit mining, Proof of Brain which I never liked as a term but it does get the point across!

The grind is definitely real, but it's something everybody needs to go through whenever you're starting on a new platform. Just got to keep posting an commenting to slowly grow your SP and influence.

Then you end up where you are ;-) Sounds easy enough, in theory...

Thanks for the video. I heard what you said! This is a great place and time to be. Patience is key for sure. I have been going hard with the proof of brain. Trying to create and be noticed by those with more SP. I have slowly been trying to increase my SP, and at the same time take care of my life. Thanks again. Be well!

This is an inspiring post, really. As a passionate blogger, I do feel that this is almost home. I have read many stories of fellow steemers and I can see that we are all here, together, to create an amazing community.

The “grind” keeps getting harder and harder. Even as a (small) dolphin, I’m finding that having more SP than most have helps only marginally.

Some very talented newbies here really need more attention. For instance, it’s a real shame that @donallogue seems to be falling through the cracks. His post on serial killers belongs on the Trending page in place of some of the dreck there.

As signups pass the million mark and keep growing, damn fine posters being overlooked will likely be more and more of a problem. I hope that Communities help out in that regard.

thank you so much for your kind information @exyle

Thanks to your background, I'm now even more hypnotized by your video as usual. 😀
Still a little bit dizzy, but I wanted to add, that Proof-of-Brain simply rocks and with SMTs we will see different ways of PoB for different niches and types of people. So it maybe won't get more difficult to mine STEEM in the future, just "different" and more individual. Nevertheless, we still have a huge first mover advantage, which is awesome!
Have a great day!
EDIT: I also wrote an article today, that touches these aspects. The point is, that not everyone can really "mine" STEEM, because not everyone is a content creator - actually 90% aren't. You may want to read my article about my take on marketing for the blockchain. Sorry, I don't want to use your post for self-promotion, but wanted to hear your opinion on that. Maybe even an inspiration for your future vlogs. Thanks!

4 months in and im still grinding with 100 steem power

I'm 8 months in Steemit and I only have 60 Steem Power. You're doing better than me hahaha

you should consider bots. steem power is 4 times harder now than it was a few months ago

What bots do you personally recommend me to leave a good profit colleague?

pushup/upme/buildawhale...i always pay the minimum amount to bid

Thanks colleague :)

no ploblemo

Now, after 9 years of bitcoin mining, you will have to compete with huge mining farms in China as an individual. Impossible.

In only two years of steemit you are having to compete with bots and and comment mining farms.

However, most steemians are smart and won't stand for those sorts of shenanigans.

I agree with you. You are totally right.

You can create the best content in the world, but if nobody knows it exists, that's a problem.
It takes a lot of effort to get yourself known.

I think it is the hardest challenge in Steemit and I try to do my best.

Wow, seems like all that you touch in the D.Tube/Steemit world turns to gold. Have you done a video sharing your secrets?

again thanks for ur good motivation.i have no idea this important matter.because i have new joined to steemit some days agi.so,i don,t know this blockchain matter properly.how it works blockchain?your every post always helped me new thing matter knowing.steemit platform very needs one man as like you.you giving encouraged me always my steemit work perfectly.i am really respect doing of you.this new tropic very important for me.thank u very much for your good post sharing of blockchain..... @exyle

@exyle. Thanks a lot for ur wonder and excellent work, u have really make me look up to u and a good leader and i kindly as for u to show me more ways as a newbie and visit my post to time for encouragement . thanks once again

Thanks exyle, your words motivate me a little bit more this morning. I really need to make some money extra and I am thinking in make trading, what do you think?

You have said it all we need steem power to be able to get to the light

Can you make a post on how we can get to make people with high steem power visit our blog for example what interests you in the blogs you visit

It will go a long way

Happy steeming

Yes your right this is complex to set up a miner as a normal human being because we need technical knowledge. But steemit give us a very esay and technical plateform where we can mine with over brain power.

I agree. I'm truly lucky to find Steemit. If I ignored my friends point of view on this site, I might have not seen its true value.

Steemit is a great Avenue to earn without mining. :)

New blockchain-based decentralized internet being built by Princeton-trained computer scientists.

Wow !!!
I agree with you..
Your explanation and thinking is awesome..
Thanks for sharing your experience...

upvote and follow @rikineng
i am a newcomer in steemit

Good you postting

Herkes sizin paylaşimlari beğendi tebrik

Bitcoin mining is far difficult than earning from steemit.

wow very excellent post Thanks for sharing i will done upvote..

Amaziing analogy. love this post.

As steem gets harder to get the value of the rewards in USD will get higher so it will be a trade off.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Love your vlogs every morning, and appreciate your perspective, especially having been a part of this platform for quite a while now.

That said, I do think your perspective on popular creators coming onto the platform misses a few crucial points. The analogy that "they are bringing their massive computer" to mine is honestly an incorrect analogy. In reality, the value that they are brining is future growth potential.

A better analogy would be giving IBM or Google massive amounts of Bitcoin on a promise that they will dedicate an entire data center to mining in the future.

I can't speak for the sincerity of their actions, but giving them the benefit of the doubt is a fair assumption, that they are genuine in their interest of the Steem Blockchain, and growing the community here. But the literal "mining" is other whales upvoting their content on the promise of future growth. They see efficiency in backing popular creators now for the potential that they bring to growth of the platform, and thus increased value of STEEM.

But everyone I hear from on this platform jumps to the conclusion that these Youtubers are bringing massive fanbases on Steemit/DTube/etc. Where is the evidence for this? None of these platforms have viable analytics associated with user growth and it's source. The signup process is currently broken with regard to massive user growth (which HF20 will hopefully solve).

My concern is really around the rhetoric that these creators are bringing their fans over. I truly believe that only a negligible portion of their audience has even signed up at the moment, and an even smaller amount actively uses it. Not to mention the fact that all those new users have effectively zero Steem Power with which to reward the creators. In reality they are bringing very large chassis for computers to the table, with the hope of getting the internal components later.

I don't disagree necessarily with rewarding them in an outsize manner in order to drive further interest and adoption. To my point above, that might be a great strategy for efficient mining by others. But I don't think the frustration that many others express is entirely off-base either. A handful of whales are picking the winners/losers of a brand new paradigm, and that feels frustrating to those who are trying to start off now, regardless of whether or not it is deserved.

Waww.. very good post.

This is precisely why I love steemit. For the most part, you start at the same starting line and it takes the sweat of your brow to get ahead of others. What I love the best in regards to your analogy to mining is that producing novel content is like discovering a block all by yourself!

I also like the fact that I don't have to increase my electricity bill to be on here for a while, so that's a plus :)

How are you doing so much Steemit without using any electricity? :P

Thanks for sharing your opinion.
I have a long "grind" before me and I'm excited about what will happen on this way :)

Found this really helpful and illuminating. Thanks!

This is very true, things have changed drastically over the past couple of weeks, upvotes are getting harder to find these days especially from the whales. Most newbies cant even afford to bid for bot upvotes, its that bad now but then i think it has something to do with decrees in the value of steem?

"Anyone can make an account on the blockchain and start mining. It's super simple to start."
Super simple if you have your own dedicated cellular phone, are computer literate, and don't mind waiting at least 2 weeks (and rising) for signup. Let's keep it real.

Nice work..

Always good to hear for minnows everywhere...thanks!

Yes it's a great platform to earn while to create some significant content on steem block chain.
This kind of platform inspires me and many minnow out there to be more creative and more engaging out on the block chain.
I'm hopeful that down the line in next 5 years this platform may reach a considerable heights that gives us back significantly.

the hustle is always on no matter who we are we all need to start from the scratch

on steemit earning reward is like we are the human miners of steem who work through our blogs just like machines hahah and you said it right we need to grind to shine :D

Yea,you are very right,I think STEEMIT is cool

Hmmn
I found solace in your post
Well said

You're absolutely right.
But the question is, how does one get his/her blog noticed.
Many of us comment severally on whales posts ( through the help from @ginabot) but the responses from them are sometimes discouraging.
How do we get our blogs itself noticed?

this will only get tough with time to remain on this platform and the user will barely get hands on steem

excellent contribution dear friend @exyle, you are completely right in the points you have touched, thank you very much for sharing your point of view and experience in the subject
I wish you a great day

Steemit way is the better way!
Mining here is simple and it rewards consistency and hard work. If you want to get some STEEM without much effort then you can Delegate your SP or sell you votes and there are many interested in paying you for that.

Believe me, if you dedicate yourself to everything you post, then you will start growing, I´m an example of that, I started in late December 2017 and I think I´m doing just fine for a guy that had no followers from other platforms.

hi exyle can i ask for your help
to vote got me

Before come here i invest in bitcoin and loss my half of money because i bought at Peak Level. Then in find this platform. I am happy that this is very easy for people to start from zero.

Now i again start from zero. Let's see how much i can grow. I even want to buy steem power but as i said i am already in loss.

This is very good platform and even hope for me to recover my loss and work for long term.

Soon after my exams i will start vblog.

This is better platform then bitcoin mining because here mining is your friend who always support you. No worry of hardware or software corruption because friends are heartbeat.

Well yes we are indeed lucky to get on in the community as this early !As time is going by more & more people are entering resulting more pressure in
here!

Glad that we are the early members!

Great breakdown on how things work and Im with you I believe you get out of life of what you put in. In this case Steemit and dtube

Thanks for great story..i appreciate this writing ..i like this life...

Miners must always work with the right tools to get their job done efficiently and effectively.

The beauty of this is... On steemit, opportunities are not limited to how far you can explore because the tools are always available even if you don't seem to have the best at hand. But with perseverance you can keep mining until you get to the hidden treasures.

That's a very good post @exyle.

Congratulations @exyle! You Are Extraordinary and Feel Good in Steemit.
upvotes received
click here for more information about heir17.
Reply to this comment with the vote.

I'm so gonna learn this by heart :) A wonderful explanation of what Steemit is all about! Resteemed :)

Thanks bro, u might like my content!

Wow, seems like all that you touch in the D.Tube/Steemit world turns to gold. Have you done a video sharing your secrets?

I think that is a great outlook for Steemit, I am new to Steemit and D.Tube, and I am enjoying it here very much!

There are still a lot of people I watch of YouTube that are not on D.Tube (yet) ...but when go online to watch new videos I come to D.Tube 1st. Considering how new D.Tube is, and how good it already is, I am very hopeful that there will be a very interesting and positive future here.

This is on point, and also there's a wealth of good info in the comments section so I had to resteem and upvote this.
I'm fairly new to the platform - I joined at the end of January, which took 8 days to get approved. My partner signed up almost 2 weeks ago, but still hasn't been approved.
I just found out from a fellow Steemian that you can essentially sponsor a newbie's account to be instantly approved if you pay 3SPD...

Anyway, thanks for a great article and discussion igniter!

Yes I've noticed random steem pop up in my wallet. I figured mining came from the users operating on this social media