Yesterday, the final of 13 segments of my recent power-down completed... leaving me, once again, a lowly Steemit "redfish," to use the parlance of our strange little ecosystem.
I won't get into the specifics of why someone who often rants on about the value of "long term holding" in Steem was powering down... suffice it to say that it had nothing to do with the place and everything to do with a particular form of "violence" known as taxation.
At least, a number of the "Freedomists" around here would call it "violence" because I'm not giving up something voluntarily.
Fiery winter sky
But Enough About That
Anyway, as the last vesting withdrawal completed, I found myself down to 472SP, as of this morning... the lowest it has been since sometime in March of 2017.
A couple of days ago was my 2nd anniversary here, although February 1st 2017 was my first post.
Funny (sad?) thing was that I was pretty sure this place would keel over and die within a year... and hinted at as much, in my intro post. Way to show up, with guns blazing!
My introduction post got almost 550 upvotes and earned $40+ in rewards. I hold the distinctly "odd" Steemit record of having had my very first post @curie'd. I had no idea what that meant, at the time.
By my 4th post, I was earning $0.00, just like everyone else!
It has been a bumpy ride.
I made it to "Dolphin" fairly quickly, because I was posting extensively and powering up at a time when Steem was 7-10 cents and it was not uncommon to get 100+ SP for a single good post.
Spring dreams....
On January 29th, 2017...
The price of Steem was $0.1683. Today it is $0.2790
The price of Bitcoin was $921.99. Today it is $3,419.23
On March 11th, 2017...
The price of Steem was $0.06953
On January 3rd, 2018...
The price of Steem was $8.57
I was a very active poster and curator at both times.
In Another Time...
I've actually had three posts organically make it to the first page of the now infamous "Trending" feed... purely on their own merit.
Although I am pretty broke now, I've actually earned somewhat in excess of 14,000 SP, purely from authoring posts. Which adds up to a helluva lot more than I have ever gotten from any other content creation venue... save for a $10,000 year in my first year (1999) on epinions.
At its most "valuable," my Steemit account was actually "worth" US $21,327.00. That's a slightly scary thought, in today's market. This morning, it was worth $127.92.
I have actually made it to "dolphin" status twice; majorly powered down twice, mostly have lived here as a "minnow," now am back at the lowest end of the food chain... but I expect that to be short lived... and hope to make it back to Dolphin before I grow old and blind!
It's easier when you've done it before...
Bird on the fence...
I'd Like to Send a Shoutout to...
... the only other person who joined on the same day as me that I've been able to track down — and who made any kind of mark here: @tarazkp.
I mention him because I want to give him a "Happy 26 Moons" shoutout, but also because he represents — at least to me — the potential of this community. What you can do, if you put your mind to it.
Neither of us ever considered "gaming the system," as many do... instead taking the "hard work" approach. It has actually been a pretty fun ride.
I could list a bunch of other people here, but I'm not trying to give an Oscar thank you speech, so I'll refrain.
But a lot of you matter to me, a lot, and we have become friends across the airwaves. You know who you are.
Thank you!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190202 01:42 PST
0868
Taxes, taxes, taxes. It is the only reason I have ever come close to a powerdown but getting the second job has meant I am able to schedule repayments and eventually cover them. While not ideal, I am glad that you at least Steem gives you some benefits.
Over the two years, I don't think people realise how much value you have added to the chain both through writing and direct voting on content. It hasn't been a smooth ride by any measure but I think that you like me are a bit more pragmatic in our approach and as a non-maximizer type, have been able to keep a clear conscience too.
It is a journey and an adventure and there is a long way left to go.
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The one thing I remember @dan saying a long time ago was that this is basically an experiment. And everything each one of us does here is a part of that experiment. By my choices and actions — and by YOUR choices and actions — we make our own "statements" about how we want that experiment to turn out.
Yelling and screaming about "fairness" and "not-fairness" might offer a nice momentary release, but I think you and I have chosen to look at this and think "How can we make this WORK?" And then we take the steps we feel supports making "this" work.
A long time ago, I remember @lukestokes wrote a really meaningful piece about what amounted to "selfish altruism." By focusing on the well-being and survival of the entire ecosystem, we're ulitmately being "self serving" in that we benefit from its success. That's what I think I'm trying to do... if my efforts focus on "I want there to be a thriving Steem social ecosystem in 2025, and Steem that's priced at $25 because this is an awesome place!" that serves MY interests... and it serves yours, as well.
I'm still hopeful that we'll come up with other ways to pay the taxes owed, in which case I'll just plow the 3000-odd liquid Steem I'm holding back into powering up.
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This is a great post. Seeing the arc of value and the worth of posts grow and shrink has been heart wrenching. I wish I knew better how to be dedicated to this platform the way you have been.
This comment is the first thing I have posted here for two months or so since I read that post from @ned talking about shuttering cubicles and laying off people.
Anyway. Thanks for the role modeling of dedication.
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Hi @tawasi, thanks for the thoughtful comment!
There's little doubt that it has been a rather volatile and bumpy ride. But A social platform on the blockchain like this is a completely new idea... so I suppose it has always been hard to know what to expect.
Perhaps the lesson here is that there is no "they" that's going to come along an make anything work here... WE are the the "they" that have to be the example of how things can work.
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My sons have both done their taxes, while I'm still waiting to see my wife's tax statement so I can do ours. I'm not expecting to owe a whole lot, but who knows. Things change from year to year with tax laws, which means one year with a similar income you're not paying, while the next you are.
If things go the way they normally do, we will be paying Oregon state taxes, while getting a federal return. The latter will probably go to help pay the last installment of property taxes.
The not so easy come, very easy to go, in our case. :)
Congratulations on being around for a couple years here, and coming in with tarazkp. Also, thank you for the way you've approached things here. As one attempting to do the same, I greatly appreciate it.
Reaching dolphin twice with a full power down in between is a pretty major feat, considering conditions the second time around have changed from those earlier days. The closest I've come to doing what you're talking about is through musing, but that was very short lived and doesn't appear to be happening from here on out.
Good luck with the coming year. I wish you all the best. :)
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Thanks for the kind words, Glen! I find your efforts here to be an excellent example that people can still build something in the world of Steem through persistence and consistency.
I think we've been slowed a little in our progress by the pervasiveness of vote bots as a "stardard" for many... whereas I am not directly against them, they do serve as "limits" on the "social build" here.
But there are some good "movements" afoot here. The recent "delegation contest" held by @theycallmedan really showed how many humans are active and engaged here... and if we can swing more attention back to the human factor, and away from the automation, I think it will serve the long-term "thrival" of the community well.
As I said in my reply to Taraz, I'm here on a sort of "selfishly altruistic" mission: If I can help this place succeed in the LONG term, I am helping MYSELF succeed, in the long term.
The challenge is to get people to think beyond the attention span of a 300-character tweet, and towards where they will be — and what they will have — five or even ten years from now.
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Well, excellent example or not, I'm here, @denmarkguy, and I'm in agreement that the more human interaction the better.
I find the whole idea of the bots somewhat exasperating (when I think about it for longer than two seconds), but I don't have the answer. I know we keep being told that they're a fact of life, on the one hand, but on the other, they're a detriment to the long term whatever of the platform.
Well, if we can see that coming, and it's true, then at some point, they need to be gone, or we lose the platform, right? I know there's all kinds of layers there, and in reality, vote bots are actually using the platform for what it was made to do—commerce—but I guess that's a bit like merchants paying the mob to protect them from the mob. Or maybe not, but I liked the imagery. :)
As far as the challenge and attention spans—never before in the history of the world have so many people had so much say over anything, including their own lives. It's all thanks to the internet, social media, etc. But while that's amazing and awesome to contemplate, it has a downside. That being, not everyone who offers an opinion is going to know what the heck they're talking about. Not every idea is valid in every circumstance. And frankly, because such a grand part of the noise that rises up through it all comes from youth, I am becoming more and more sure that a little more maturity is in order to guide this thing through.
I know. Maturity isn't always age related, but in good measure it is. And for those who are mature beyond their years, well, they can certainly be a stabilizing force. Maybe it's time that those of us who have been around the block several times step it up a little. Provide some value to the idea of long term, and actually discussing things as opposed to what amounts to flinging inane tweets, signifying nothing, back and forth.
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Did the same thing, powering down from Dolphin now a Plankton although for other reasons. No regrets and I even took a few weeks off after posting daily for about two years. I made a lot of money using that power down and greatly appreciate Steemit for this opportunity. So all the best going forward!
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As much as an "investment" I have also viewed Steem as a sort of "forced savings account" where I could engage in social blogging — which I would be doing, anyway — and slowly dribble the rewards away into long-term holdings. And at the same time, have an "emergency fund," in case something unfortunate came along. As it has turned out, we have been in a bumpy patch for a couple of years.... multiple failures of projects that were previously doing well... and at some point I'd like to think the fortunes will turn again.
Hopefully, continued community participation will help rebuild that "fund."
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You have been very dedicated to posting and put out a lot of really fun to read articles. I bet you won't have much trouble earning back more Steem. I hope that things continue to improve - creative content such as what you have been producing should be valuable.
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Thanks for the kind words @lightsplasher!
I'm hopeful that I'll regain my "minnowhood" in another week or so, and my "dolphin" status in another 9-10 months... we'll see how it goes, but I have no plans to stop now. If anything, I have more energy than ever!
I think the development of "Hivemind" will help a lot more self-organizing communities form here, and that will be good for the overall ecosystem... and help ensure this becomes a long-term thriving social system.
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Why are you power down in the first place? You seem not someone dedicate on the long term of this blockchain.
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Hi @chesatochi, I ended up powering down because I found myself in a financial position where I had to use all possible resources to pay some taxes... or I would end up losing our home and end up basically "living in a cardboard box" somewhere.
It was not a choice made likely... and if our personal financial hardships somehow turn around (they seemed to start a couple of years ago) soon, I am planning to re-invest whatever I can into the Steem ecosystem.
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I know finance can be really hard sometimes and we need to make a choice that we don't feel comfortable with. I appreciate your openness and have a great Sunday!
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Happy belated 2 year anniversary!
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Thank you!
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