My Hive Story
I stumbled upon a post by @themarkymark that was answering 10 questions about his time here on the blockchain. Initially it was a post by @snook, but it’s past the payout period, so if ya want to throw a little love @snook’s way, do it on a current post. Otherwise…I’m just going to jump right in.
How long have you been on the Blockchain?
It looks like I’ve been around here since March of 2018. I remember wanting to pop on a few months earlier, but you know how that goes….
What was your background in cryptocurrency when you first came to the Blockchain?
My experience was fairly limited at the point I popped onto the chain here. I was new to crypto at the end of the 2017 bull run, so I was still very wet behind the ears as I learned the ropes of this nutty corner of the world.
What was your background in writing when you first came to the Blockchain?
That’s interesting as I really didn’t have much of a history with writing. I was at a strange point in my life and was looking for something new to pour my heart into. I initially thought Steemit would be a great place for me to discuss the cool aspects of my comic and toy shop…I never thought I’d be tackling personal stories as much as I have over the years. It’s been a helpful tool and outlet for managing the crazy in my head.
How many people did you know when you first came to the Blockchain?
Sadly I knew of nobody here. I kept seeing folks talk about a blogging platform where you could earn crypto. That is initially what dragged me in….the possibility of riches.
How did you meet people when you first came to the Blockchain?
It was kind of tough to make a mark at first. Shit…still is. But I remember when I first started getting a little love and support from the nerd community. That was cool even if it was only a few folks. There was next to no presence at all for nerdy content outside of a few stragglers, so I saw a place that I could leave my mark.
Who did you look up to when you first came to the Blockchain?
There were a few folks that I immediately gravitated towards. @tarazkp was probably and…Christ, I hate saying this as it’s going to give him a big head…but probably still is one of, if not my favorite content creators here.
@anomadsoul was another fella that I enjoyed interacting with early on. He also was a nice early supporter of mine as he spread some love when nobody else even glanced at my drivel. Having guys like that pay any attention to a new scrub like myself was enough motivation to keep on keeping on.
How would you describe your first three months on the Blockchain?
I would say…uninspiring. I had no idea what I was doing. Not only in crypto as a whole but especially on this chain which seemed like there was so much opportunity if you could only figure out how to crack the code. I was going to look up my early posts to get a better idea of what the hell I was even blabbing about, but I didn’t want to get the douche chills. So take my word for it…uninspiring is probably going easy on myself to be honest.
Has being a part of the Blockchain changed you in any way for the good?
I think there are obvious dreams of helping to achieve some sort of financial independence. It’s helping me on my way there, but more importantly…it’s helped me to be able to get shit off of my chest.
My blog here is a strange mixture and blend of my business, my pets, my personal struggles, and honestly…any other strangeness that is sitting up there. It’s helped me deal with the losses of my pups, which I would probably keep pent up if it weren’t for this outlet.
What is your favorite memory from your time on the Blockchain?
I’d have to say hands down…Steemfest in Krakow in 2018. I was so nervous to meet some of the wonderful folks from here but after a few hours into the opening night, it was all smooth sailing….and drinking. Man, some of you fuckers can chug!
@eveuncovered introduced herself to me and invited me to hang that first evening. We went out to an awesome dinner with a ton of folks that made me feel like family. That will always stick with me and be near and dear to my heart. I might have to do a Krakow recap soon…
If you could advise a new person signing up to Hive, what would it be?
Man, there’s a lot of tips or recommendations I’d give or have given. But the main thing I always tell folks that I drag on here is to be patient. Building a following takes time and a lot of effort. Most of the people that have given it a shot based off my recommendation, bail shortly afterwards as they don’t see immediate results. You have to engage and be approachable. Pop up interesting stuff that folks want to check out and tune back into for. But be patient…
If you happen to somehow be inspired by this and choose to do your own, be sure to tag me and lmk so I can throw it some love. Also…seek council as I’ve never been inspiring. You are on the wrong path…😉
Blewitt
Someone on Hive once asked me if I ever 'daily journal' I said, Have you read my blog!? LOLL
It was wonderful reading your story!!
😂
Yup! My blog here is basically my journal as well as I kinda just write whatever is on my mind at the time. It’s an outlet for me. The fact that I get to interact with others on it is a tremendous bonus. But mostly, I have found that writing just helps me deal with all the wackiness that goes on with life. So for that, I’m super thankful.
Super appreciative of you taking the time to skim through my drek! Much appreciated and it was fun doing this. I don’t participate in these as much as I used to or should…so thanks.
You are very welcome!!
Ah yes Krakow was a blast, and Hive is so much better now too!
Always interesting to hear a back story!
Damn, thinking about it, out of that Krakow generation, most are still active on Hive, I can't freaking wait for next year where hopefully we'll met again.
It’s pretty inspiring to see that most of the folks from that trip are still here. I guess if you are taking a trip to Poland to meet a bunch of bloggers, it stands to reason that you take it serious enough to contribute on. I think of years from now, how cool it would be to see all of us in a much better life situation…all or partially due to this little chain.
I know amazing right, it's been life changing already, defo for the better, and so many people still blogging, lost a fair few to Splinterlands mind!
And it’s only just beginning,…
I think we might actually get a real life event next year, it sure would be good to get out!
I have so many pics and stories from that trip. It was a magical several days for me that I honestly think about often.
I still remember your very first posts and how we met and cherish how we met irl and the frienship we have (so much that I noticed when you weren't around lol). Hopefully we can meet again next year, it's long overdue.
Snapped this when we first met in person that night before we all went to dinner. I love your brother in the background. Lol
I am trying to remember how I even found you on Steemit. It must have been either because of funko or your pooches.
But so glad I did! 😀
Yeah, I’m thinking maybe the Funko stuff?!?
I am so glad I'm not the only one who found my first three months on Hive uneventful. I was so confused and overwhelmed by everything, and I still feel like I'm just getting my feet wet. It's really great to see your perspective from being on the platform since 2018.
I think the part I enjoyed the most is when you said:
"Man, there’s a lot of tips or recommendations I’d give or have given. But the main thing I always tell folks that I drag on here is to be patient. Building a following takes time and a lot of effort. Most of the people that have given it a shot based off my recommendation, bail shortly afterwards as they don’t see immediate results. You have to engage and be approachable. Pop up interesting stuff that folks want to check out and tune back into for. But be patient…"
I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that in my first month when I didn't understand anything about the platform, and I really appreciate you taking the time to interact with me and encourage me.
Definitely. I’d also add to not overthink things. For example, there are times when I pop up a silly post about some random crap that walked into the shop that we ended up buying. That post ended up with a ton more interaction and earnings than sone well thought out and constructed pieces. Sometimes…it just is what it is. 🤷♂️
That really is the fun part about it! We really need to do it for the love of it because getting too caught up in payouts per unit of effort just leads to disappointment.
A very funny yet painful story to highlight this: my second blog post on the platform was going to be the start of a whole series on what the Modern meta would look like in the absence of Chaos Legion with speculation on ways the devs could explore Chaos Legion design space prior to its release. I had such grandiose plans for it, and I finished the first installment on Blue Summoners and Melee Creatures at 1873 words. I was so proud of my analysis, and I had put in so much more effort in this post than my previous post which was curated by Monster-Curator. So surely this post was going to be a blockbuster.
At that time, I was exclusively using splintertalk which doesn't show hive votes, and I didn't yet realize that Hive was used for voting. I started splintertalk because someone told me SPT counted for airdrop points, and I didn't look into Hive blogging at all. The post earned 12 hive, but I thought the post was a complete failure because it only made 22 SPT. I cried because I spent eight hours on that post, and the post right before it, which I spent about thirty minutes on, was curated by Monster-Curator for 4436 SPT. I was so upset I quit the series and blogging altogether for a while after out of misguided entitlement and a profound misunderstanding of blogging tokens.
Looking back, I've learned three lessons from that:
I learned no one owes me anything, and while the curation projects on the platform are amazing, they weren't always there. It is possible to build an account without ever being curated by a curation project, and my thinking was far too short sighted and unrealistic to understand. I was greedy, and I'm not proud of it. I'm still incredibly embarrassed, and I feel very vulnerable sharing it.
I learned to look into and be aware of as many blogging tokens as possible. They all have their benefits and drawbacks and are better together than the sum of their parts. I still laugh so hard that the post I was convinced was a failure, had a better return than the previous one I considered a massive success. It's especially embarrassing that I was upset at a DREAM start most bloggers would kill for. I was on easy street from the get go, and I still missed the forest for the trees. What other bloggers quit out of frustration because Monster Curator curated their first post, and Steemmonsters curated their second post. The level of entitlement and misunderstanding still astounds me.
I learned to do it for the love of self-improvement. Before I even found out I made a ridiculous payout from a post I assumed failed, I found myself missing the effort and achievement I felt in the work. There was a love of the work fermenting in me while I was away. Before I even realized I fell for the Wen Lambo trap, but in blogging, I still wanted to blog to blog. This fermentation came to completion when I wrote the summary for the Astral Entities AMA for the first time because Shadows couldn't make it. That's when I started writing without a care who voted for me, and when the post was curated by Flauwy, I felt a very different feeling. I felt gratitude and humility with the understanding that I didn't deserve that.
It certainly still stings a bit looking back, but I'm able to learn from and laugh at my mistakes, and I hope that I can do my part in helping even newer bloggers avoid my mistakes. While I still very much consider myself new, and I've learned humility for the amazing platform that I frankly took for granted, I feel like I've learned enough to help guide others to a more long term and realistic expectation. And I hope to continue to learn more, and be able laugh at those mistakes too, as I develop into a better person and writer.