In the past month, I've been trying to see how I can contribute to the Steem ecosystem to make Steem 2019 great. We all know that in the last 6 months, there has been less engagement and many newbies are leaving Steem because they do not have a proper path to succeed in this big maze of the Steem blockchain.
For this reason, I have been trying to find a way to meet the needs of the newbies, thus starting the "Be A Mentor" program.
You can read about the introductory thoughts in the following posts:
- New Initiative - Be A Mentor (1)
- New Initiative - Be A Mentor (2)
What is the "Be A Mentor" Program?
"Be A Mentor" is a Service Program to the Newbies
I want to emphasize that this is a service program to the newbies who come onto the Steem Blockchain.
With more than 50 dApps that are now built on the blockchain, the ecosystem of Steem has become so huge with new dApps coming on the horizon almost every week.
When I first came on Steem in August 2017, there were only two handfuls of dApps. I was fortunate enough to watch each dApps developing and coming into the scene. In that sense, I grew up with them. But for the 2019 newbies coming onto the Steem Blockchain, they will be so overwhelmed by the variety of dApps on the Steem Blockchain that they can easily get lost and discouraged.
This is where the "Be A Mentor" fits in for all the dApps. Newbies need a mentor to guide them on a "one to one" basis with some personal touch to overcome the initial hurdles in finding their path of success on Steem.
The entire motivation behind this program is to serve the newbies when they come on board in the first month so that they won't drop out so easily.
How to Run the "Be A Mentor" program?
1. Collaborating with the dApps Founders
I am contacting the founders or project owners of the different dApps. In a way, I am also doing a service for the dApps promoting for them and getting newbies to use their dApps right away.
If the dApps have their referral programs where they reward the mentors, that is fantastic as that will be an excellent way to boost the mentors to work harder promoting and onboarding newbies for them.
I wish to start helping our own #iamutopian people first as I have been in the Utopian community for more than a year already. So these project managers are my priorities if they are interested in this mentorship program marketing their project.
I also realize that many of these dApps are built by other people outside of the Utopian community, so I will also open this program to other dApps project.
Of course, dApps that are open source will have priorities because we want to help FOSS projects grow and consolidate on Steem.
On the same note, I also see many great dApps on the Steem blockchain that are making powerful impact on the Steem ecosystem, so they too will also be on my priority list of selection.
Being a community manager for Utopian, I want to prepare the way to get this mentorship working to help newcomers coming in when Utopian V2 launches.
2. Building up Teams of Mentors to Promote dApps
The ultimate goal of this program is to build teams of qualified mentors promoting different dApps that are already working powerfully on the Steem blockchain. With the increasing growth of dApps, these teams of mentors will be a magnetic force on the Steem blockchain.
It is possible that a mentor can function as a mentor for more than one dApp. Like me, many people are expert users of different dApps.
Qualified mentors will be chosen for the different teams depending on which dApp they choose to mentor the newbies. This is my job and if any Steemians wish to help out, I am all ears.
Presently I am working hard to find qualified mentors to promote different dApps to the newbies. This in itself is a mega project.
I will proceed with this mentorship project one step at a time, moving forward from one dApp to another.
This means that I need to work out a plan with each specific dApp founder.
As the saying goes, "Rome is not built in one day" therefore to get this mentorship program running for all the dApps will require time because of the personal administration work I need to do in finding qualified mentors.
3. Finding Qualified Mentors
It is important that the mentors chosen for that specific dApp are equipped with the skill and ability to promote the dApp as they need to guide newbies in using the dApp effectively.
Many times, I only need to point out a few tips and hints for the newbies and they will sail on their own to find their path of success. This is the entire motivation behind the mentorship program.
I have started looking for qualified mentors for one dApp already to get the mentorship program going. When this first team of mentors is built, and the mentorship program is successful, I can then move on to run the next dApp mentors.
4. Mentors need to be screened
Not any kind of mentors will do as they need to be screened for this program to work successfully.
The mentor needs to have a Steem reputation of at least 50.
The mentor needs to be recognized in the specific dApp community as one who uses the app effectively so that he can be trusted in promoting the app to the newbie. In that sense, dApps that have influencers or ambassadors are more eligible to become mentors.
People who are interested to becoming mentors are required to apply for this position through the 'Be A Mentor' program or they can contact me
directly.
Together with the different project owners of the dApps, we will screen the applications before choosing them.
In a nutshell, the mentors need to have passion and commitment promoting dApps to newbies.
5. Monthly Program for the Newbies
The whole idea is to get the mentors to do an excellent job to help the newbies in the first month when they come in. The duration of the mentorship does not have to be a long dreaded process.
During this month, the mentor is there to help the newbie overcoming hurdles and easing them into using the dApp properly and effectively. After the month, the newbie can sail along on his own with his own skills and initiatives.
In this way, the newbies are not stuck with one mentor but can follow another mentor for another month learning tips and hints of another dApp.
All approved mentors move along to help the next newbie in line.
6. Role of a successful Mentor
In this monthly program, the mentor moves in the following 4 stages:
i. Not all newbies will work in this program, so the mentor needs to look for potential newbies to work with. They can search for them under #introduceyourself and #introducemyself tags and read their introductory post.
Or they can go to Introducing newcomers with Welcome Wednesdays hosted by 
ii. Reach out to potential newbies and welcome them!
iii. If a newbie responds, mentor introduces himself to the newbie. Some newbies might be wary about why the mentor is so interested in them, thus the importance of "Be A Mentor" program. He can tell the newbie that he has been chosen to work as a mentor. This will make it easier for the newbie.
iv. If the newbie continues to respond, mentor introduces a dApp to the newbie and see if the newbie is interested in the dApp. If the newbie is interested in the dApp, then the mentor uses the following month to guide the newbie. If the newbie is not interested, then leave the newbie alone and move on to the next newbie.
The whole program is very dynamic and fun. The flexibility will bring a lot of engagement on the Steem Blockchain.
7. Mentors - Great Value to Steem Blockchain
For many of us who have been on the Steem Blockchain for more than half a year and are still around, it shows that we have overcome many of the shortcomings of the blockchain. We have gotten used to bots that come visiting our posts. Bots are needed for the platform to function efficiently. But for newcomers onto the blockchain, it would be so discouraging if time and time again, they only have bots talking to them. In the last half a year, we also notice that people are getting less and less engaged on the Steem blockchain because of getting lost in this impersonal mass.
Here are the values a mentor will bring to the Steem Blockchain:
gives a personal touch to the newbie
guides the newbie to start using a dApp effectively in the first month
helps the newbie to feel at home and get comfortable right away in the Steem community
changes the atmosphere of the Steem blockchain into a warm pleasant environment
With the presence of mentors, people and newbies will be more engaged and responsive on the blockchain as a result!
8. Eventually a "Be A Mentor" Website can be built
I am envisioning that eventually a website will be built to get all the newbies to come to this platform to look for mentors for the different dApps.
Right now, we need to recruit qualified mentors first.
I will personally use my time to run this program at least for half a year before setting up a website. In that sense, I am doing a free service for dApps that are now making powerful impact on Steem.
I hope to recruit new teams of mentors every month.
Like all initiatives, people only support projects that have results.
Soon, I will show you our results.
Thank you for your time and attention. If you have ideas and suggestions, please comment below. Let's work together to make Steem 2019 great!
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