After writing my first introduction post without pics and receiving $0.03, and then reposting my intro with picks which earned $18.29, it quickly cemented in my mind the importance of having pics in my posts on Steemit. But you see, for me to include images in my posts is many times more difficult than the average Steemian.
Because I’m vision impaired and can’t see any of the images!
However, somehow it seemed to me that to have any kind of success on Steemit, there was a commonly accepted rule that your posts need to contain images; whether you’re writing a novel, or a philosophical piece, almost all the trending posts have images!
So, for the past few weeks of my Steemit life, I’ve been asking my wife to help me find suitable pics for my posts.
But this has become an extremely stressful process, because we have a two year old son, and my wife rarely has any time to rest during the day. Therefore she looks forward to the small amounts of time that she gets to rest and relax in the evening. You can imagine how annoying it is for her when I’m constantly interrupting her relaxation time, requesting her to find pics for me on Steemit. Thankfully, I’m blessed with a kind and generous wife. She loves me very much, and often tells me that she is happy to help me with whatever I need, especially with what I love doing. But I don’t want to be relying on her all the time.
Last night however, when like previous nights, I asked my wife for her help. But this time around, it was following a very exhausting week for her when my son and I had both been sick, and she had just recently become pregnant with our second child. So she blew up at me and became upset when I had taken up more than 40 minutes of her chill time.
And by the way, that post we worked so hard on all day earned us less than $1.
So this morning, I resolved to start writing about the topics I truly care about. No more stressing out about posts, no more fussing over optimum times to post my articles, and no more needing to find images for each post.
I’m going to start enjoying my time on Steemit.
O yes, again, do we really need images on each post?
For more posts without images, follow me @nextgen622
Jimmy
PS. Thanks @deanliu for the recommendation to post more Chinese articles. I will definitely do more of them in the future.
After seeing this I went back and read your introduction post - its really great to see you sticking at this despite the difficulties and the lack of response you're receiving..
I understand your difficulties/frustrations in having to search images, but rather then leaving them blank how about we make you a standard signature image to put at the end of your posts :)
This way every post has a nice clean thumbnail image, and you can save the code to notepad so you can copy paste it in easily each time and now it will be formatted nicely.
I'm really not the creative type, so my contribution is really plain but its a start - if you like the idea perhaps one of our budding artists can take it further ?
Here is the image I made in GIMP for you just now, its a very plain and simple Steem logo with the text "nextgen622" below it in the same dark blue as the logo.
And here is the code that makes it appear, this is what you would save somewhere for later copy pasting into your posts:
<center><a href="https://steemit.com/@nextgen622"><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/06/nextgen6225f0f3.png"></a></center>I hope this helps! Now you dont need to worry about images anymore, and you're not put at a disadvantage over sighted users in terms of post aesthetics :)
You have a new follower, please dont get discouraged :)
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Here is an alternative version, with the universal low-vision symbol of an eye crossed out below your name
And the code to use it:
<center><a href="https://steemit.com/@nextgen622"><img src="https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/09/06/nextgen6224d5ea.png"></a></center>Best of luck with whatever you choose to do :)
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Wow thank you so much @ausbitbank for doing this. That is so kind of you.
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No problems at all , it was quick and easy - but I'm no artist so we could probably do better !
If you like the idea or have something specific in mind that you would like to use as a signature image let us know and I'm sure we can help out somehow :)
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Hey there--glad to see such positive thinking and optimism from someone who is low vision! Just wanted to let you know about some options out there, such as these low vision aids from OrCam. They have glasses for the blind and vision impaired that help with everyday tasks such as reading, facial recognition and more. Their electronic glasses for the blind, vision impaired, and those with reading disabilities have made a huge difference for my brother, who also suffers from vision impairment. Definitely worth looking into--hopefully they can help for you! :)
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Thanks mate for your comment and suggestions. Appreciate it. :)
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I'm glad you brought this up. I think this site favours photographers and looks down on writers.
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Upvoted and followed!
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Thanks @future24
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I think too much emphasis is put on images. Sure, it might matter for grabbing attention, but it shouldn't matter so much if the writing is good.
I've read many classic novels - War & Peace, Crime & Punishment, Les Miserables - and do you know what they didn't have? Pictures. We can paint our own pictures in our minds. It's up to you to provide us with the story so that we can do it well. That's the mark of a great writer.
Don't worry about images in your posts. Just focus on your writing. I have faith that we can do the rest.
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Thanks @ats-david. Exactly.
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hi, came across your story but that one is too 'old' for me to upvote or comment so I leave a message here to say: hello Jimmy! followed! Your story or thoughts are very unique. I feel that I can benefit a lot from you in the future! Cheers!
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Thanks @deanliu. Appreciate it.
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That's the way Jimmy. I think you've figured it out and you've found your niche. It's not about pleasing everybody. It's about being yourself and attracting those who appreciate you being you. Well done! I'll follow you till the end of Steemit. :)
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Excellent point. Had never thought of that.
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Thanks
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How do you manage the formatting?
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It was hard at first, but I try to visualise what it might look like.
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I saw you and your wife posted once each with chinese ... why don't you do more chinese posts? even without pics, you can get noticed there for sure...
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Good idea @deanliu. Might do more chinese posts in the future. The thing is that my written chinese is not very good, but will definitely encourage my wife to do more chinese posts
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Images in blog posts are like pretty women: fun to look at, but at the end of the day it's the content that lies beneath which determines the quality of a post (for this reason I will rarely upvote a post in photography that only has a picture and little / no text; I want to see at least some effort put into the writing). So I will happily upvote your posts, images or no images, if I enjoy reading the content. Kudos to you for being willing to buck the trend. Write for the simple enjoyment of writing, not to make money, or else it will just feel like another job and then what's the point?
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haha good analogy @cryptomancer. I agree, our time on Steemit needs to be enjoyable.
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"So this morning, I resolved to start writing about the topics I truly care about. No more stressing out about posts, no more fussing over optimum times to post my articles, and no more needing to find images for each post." You are an excellent role model. I'm trying to do the same.
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Thanks @hanshotfirst. I've read several of your posts. You are a great writer. Keep up the good work.
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I am also new to Steemit. But I do believe I can help you with your vision. Meir Schneider was also legally blind before achieving the 'impossible' and correcting his vision using natural eye exercises: https://steemit.com/health/@samstonehill/natural-vision-correction-1-an-introduction-a-steemit-exclusive
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Thanks for posting this @samstonehill. Appreciate you taking the time to drop by. Unfortunately the technique you refer to only assists people With problems with the lens in their eyes, such as people with short or long-sightedness. I was born with an eye condition that affects the cells at the back of the eye, where the macular is. But thanks again for your link.
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You have a great attitude. Thank you for that!
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Thanks @trevorlyman
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