I was just reading a post from @empress-eremmy about powering up to reach 250 SP and she mentioned @whatsup and myself as two of the people turned to for mentor support which I find interesting. I don't really consider myself a mentor but I do tend to write a fair bit about various Steem related activities which likely help people in some ways. @whatsup although with normally a different approach, does similar and is often someone I turn to for a changed perspective from my own.
Mentors are really important and there are some people's blogs that consistently offer value and have the influence to make me think differently about certain aspects. This goes beyond the information presented though and is heavily related to how it is presented and authenticity is a large part of the equation.
At Steem there are many types of personalities but the ones that have the greatest value to me at the moment are those who are able to build communities around them, people who can create an environment at their blog that makes people consider Steem in ways they haven't thought about before.
The reason is that most people come onto the platform with various assumptions and expectations and although some may be correct, many aren't. If people don't find the different views, new information and types of communities, they become isolated in their assumptions and are very unlikely to have their expectations met or tempered as the case may be.
There is very little chance of long-term success at Steem unless one chooses to be part of the community and a community within the ecosystem. Finding the right group can be a challenge since discovery is not so great here but, it is a challenge that is up to each user to take. Perhaps that is the thing that is learned from blogs similar in approach to mine, there is very little chance of an easy ride.
Getting out into the community and interacting widely is the best way to get a complete picture of the platform and in time, it is possible to build a feed that will give a more complete view each day. Too many people seem to come in and only read what they want, write what they want and interact the way they want yet, expect to be able to receive all of the benefits Steem has to offer. It is an unreasonable approach.
There are so many aspects to this platform that are continually changing that to stay abreast of the development and trends, one has to be relatively good at separating the wheat from the chaff and being able to identify nonsense quickly. It is great to get motivational content but if that doesn't lead to changed action, it didn't serve its purpose. For me at least, I would rather have something that inspires me to change, not supports me to stay the same.
It is really great that @empress-eremmy has been able to increase value and power up by doing exactly what so many of the influencer type people have said which is, being a part of a community and engaging across the platform well. Essentially, anyone on this platform could have done similar if they spent the energy to do so but, that would have required dropping some expectations and assumptions, and picking up some new things to learn.
This doesn't mean believing everything you read and swallowing whatever is delivered, it means to find the content that helps build a picture of the platform that supports your own goals here. For some that might be to power up, some earn more, some to get a readership and others to improve certain skills. The benefit of it all here is that it is an ecosystem, it all ties in together.
Pick up a thread and start pulling and use what you unravel to start knitting your way in.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
Looks like I'll be starting from bottom up, so I'll start with this quote. The Steem ecosystem is as big as the ocean, and in it you have all forms of lives. Only a few people who came onboard this platform actually knew what they want to do and achieve here, so for those it was easier to know where to look. But for most others, we had to go round the entire ocean picking things one by one, dropping the ones that appeals to us in our net and the rest, discarded into the ocean.
Steem is a special kind of social media, because everyone here have some profit or earnings as their number one goal. Which there is nothing wrong, in fact, it's what is keeping us here. But many fail to create a path for themselves on how to achieve what the want.
Of course, how do you expect someone to create a path when the person isn't even planning to walk a long distance. Short term goals too is why many people have failed to build the right kind of communities around them.
Now talking about mentors. If you want to walk faster, you will have to borrow some knowledge of routes from those who have been there before. Some people like you have lived quite number of years more than those of us in our 20's, and as such have learned a lot more in the outside world which have informed your steps here. So, it's very important that newbies who which to grow faster borrows some knowledge from those who have gone before them. I might not call them mentors, I refer to you guys as my tutors even though you might not know you have students (which is better so you won't ask for tuition fees, lol).
So, @empress-eremmy, you have taken the right step and from what I read here I'm sure you will do well on this platform. I'll take a few minutes to visit your part of the ecosystem. All the best in your journey.
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The creation of the path is an important thing but most people want the road pointed out to them which means, it isn't their path and therefore very hard to commit to.
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That too is a bigger problem to many when you accept to help guide them through. Most want to be spoon fed. One of the most annoying calls I receive these days is to help guide someone. And I'll ask the question, 'what don't you understand, what should I help you with'
And mostly as expected the answer will be 'everything, I don't even understand anything about Steemit'.
Well to such people, they are not worth an extra second. So those who wants a path pointed out to them are in for a rough ride.
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Some more prep talk feel good gibberish to keep the sheeple distracted from the real problems the platform has.
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It is the real problems people should be reading about and engaging with.
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You write enough about them so I wouldn't say that's the problem. The biggie this week has been retention. What led to that problem? To many people writing about the problems and not enough fixes would be my guess. You are probably about the fifth person this week writing about retention issues, funny it's like you guys sit around some round table and decide the topic of the week. Has to be everyone's to busy writing about the problems they don't have any time left to solve them....
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It happens because of the way a community works as information feeds off information. Those who just throw in random topics expecting engagement aren't likely very connected to what is actually happening in the various communities.
However, retention has been a discussion topic (at least for several) for many months and it is getting approached from several ways. For me personally I don't care much about retention currently, I care about having people willing to engage. The problem with retention isn't the platform, it is the people who sign up thinking it is a get rich quick scheme.
Solving the problems doesn't happen on platform yet, that is where most people will spend their time.
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Also it could be the fact is that the content itself is not worthy enough of retaining most people's attention. I find reading Medium articles more interesting, watching YouTube videos more entertaining, and Facebook conversations more engaging. And I don't make money there. Maybe there should be less talk about crypto and Steemit's shortcomings / wonderful future and maybe people could be social again? Post something for someone else instead of themselves.
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Engagement is one of the critical elements to success on Steemit. You're right that it can be difficult to find the right group, but normally networking with friends of friends will yield results.
I just hit minnow status after (just shy of) six months and it was a long journey. In the last three months I've started plugging in more with #steemsilvergold, a group of precious metals enthusiasts. That community has been what's been driving my engagement as of late.
Whatever your tastes or preferences, there is probably a group for whomever joins Steemit, it's just a matter of getting plugged in with them. Maybe we'll get "communities" one of these days and discovery will be easier. Until then, it's important to just keep reading articles, commenting, and working to find where we fit.
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It is like any group of friends, the relationships develop over time but, they take investment in.
Congrats on becoming a minnow :)
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Thanks, it's been a long time coming and I'm glad to have made it. :)
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When I first entered this platform, I noticed an apparent lack of actual communication happen.
A lot of posts I saw, independend on how high the payouts or the number of upvotes were had empty comment zones aside from the occassional bid bot or spam bot saying hello.
That was kinda demotivating to see at first, but then I decided to just be the change I wanted to see in the world myself and it has really helped me.
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Hi Taraz. I have used you as my mentor from day one. I kind of understand where you are coming from and it helps when you click with someone. I have never chased votes and it is all about the interaction to me. This way you enjoy it and are true to your self. If you do this you will automatically grow and be of use to every one around you.
Your posts inspire and guide many people on here and glad that others are seeing you as a mentor as well.You are true value and a good friend.
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Another great community piece mate. You really do mentor well, well except for me, but I need to be spoken to like I'm really stupid so not your fault at all. Apart from that you do influence many and your encouragement is surely appreciated.
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