Yesterday was an amazing day, between the hard fork & the support of so many of you. My rewards shot up, and I went to bed totally filled with gratitude and hope at what may come of my commitment to Steem. I can't tell you what this means for an artist that has been hustling hard for years with very little financial support. It's the kind of thing that could literally change my life right now.
Today, although I posted very similar content, my rewards are very low so far (although I'm seeing great interaction from my followers--thank you!).
The point here is not a pity party, but this: Steemit is inherently unpredictable, and that is the element that should make it fun. We shouldn't let it ever discourage us, because that unpredictability is precisely why the "little guy" can hope to do well, even against the odds, especially if a person works hard and produces great content. The fact that, at any moment, one of your posts could blow up and secure all of your bill payments for the month is incredible. (Especially when you think of the amount of time and energy you have spent on other social media sites (not to be named!), not for free, but for a HUGE cost of your privacy and being treated like a commodity to be advertised to.)
The flip side of that, of course, is that sometimes you'll have low-reward days. Sometimes, I imagine, you will even have full weeks that will lull a bit more. Other people get a chance for their glory days, too.
It will be crucial for new users, and even older users, to not get overly attached to the money aspect of things here, and not depend on it as a predictable income, but to keep the right perspective--the humble, grateful one. The fact is that this is the best social media platform for having a fair shot at growing an authentic following and having intelligent, kind, supportive people to back you up as you try to grow and reach the world. Was anything else you've tried even remotely like that? Seriously?
If money stays as the nice addition, rather than the thing that drives us, we will always maintain a disposition of gratitude and joy, no matter how we are "doing" on the platform on a given day.
I have spent countless hours writing blogs, editing photos, writing friends asking for support, etc., on other social media platforms and have been met mostly only with discouragement. It's been really hard on me, especially when I feel like I have something real to give. Worse than not being paid for a real skill that you believe will bless people, is just seeing them not even bothering to read or listen (this is why I refuse to play at bars, for example.. the same dynamic.)
(Me on my daily walk on country roads)
On Steemit, people are attentive and interactive in incredible ways. I've already had people go and download my free songs on my site and some have even donated. It has been pulling teeth everywhere else to get people even to listen.
So, especially if you're someone who is new and just starting to "grow," I really encourage you to keep focused on the many impressive things on Steem that make it such an authentic and quality experience, and invest in it with the big picture in mind--both for you, and for the platform. The more we keep the focus the joy and goodness that is very real here, the happier and bigger user base we're going to have.
And that in turn subsequently actually means more success for us all, even financially.
Keep your chin up and your head screwed on, team. Keep interacting and encouraging others (yes, share that upvote when something is good), and go enjoy scrolling all of the interesting content! We need to cooperate for this thing to keep working, so dig in, rain or shine, reward or not. You know you'd just waste your time elsewhere online anyway, right?
Xx, Kay
(All work on my Steem blog, in any presented form, is always copyrighted, so in your interests and mine, please use proper attribution. Thank you ALWAYS, sincerely, for your love & support, in whatever way you can give it.)