Here I sit, a mere three months old on one of the Steem platforms, writing about “what I know”, or at least, what I think I know!
I'm not going to talk about the blockchain. Nor am I going to talk about Witnesses, or trends, or hot topics or any of those things, I'm just not that intelligent. But I am going to talk about the first observations I have had as a newbie on the very basic and simplest of subjects.... communities! What newbies should do, and how community leaders can make the experience of their newbie members better.
Like most everybody, I had absolutely no clue what I had gotten myself into when I arrived here, nor did I know what the heck I was supposed to do once here.
I floundered around, lost my breath, came up for air, dove down again, floated around a little and here I am, still hanging in there and still finding my way.
Find Your Family They Said
What family?
What is a family?
How do I find a family?
How do I get in to a family?
Oooh, I like how that looks written out…. like a ladder…. steps to climb! … but I digress!
Community, Family, Discord
The whole reputation, purpose and foundation of the Steem platforms is people from all over the world forming a community.
Family is the communities you join… the places where you feel safe to talk and free to be you!
Once you are on the Steem platforms and have started making quality posts, the next bit to know is that it starts with joining groups in Discord. You can make all the fantastic posts you want, but until you get discovered, those don’t mean a whole helluva lot!
A simple fact. You will work your ass off trying to get people to find you, and you will get noticed, but it can take a lot longer than you thought it would if you go it alone!
Now, I am not going to tell you I know all about Discord, because I don’t. In fact, I don’t even know how to find groups on Discord, but I do know that if you are reading interesting posts on any of the Steem platforms, more often than not, there is a link to a family in Discord.
If that family is of interest to you, then click the link and get yourself in.
The thing is, Steem platforms are all about community. It is about the coming together of people to share information, share lives, share stories, share experiences, share knowledge, share sentiments… become friends.
By becoming friends on Discord, you can share all of those things, then when you write about them on the Steem platforms, your friends and your family will support your posts, and that is how the two are connected.
Now, I’m not much of a talker until you get to know me, then you might never get me to shut up, so getting on to Discord was a real challenge for me. In fact, I am socially awkward… even behind the computer screen… but I am working on it.
Getting myself out there to actually conversing with people was the biggest hurdle for me to over come… but I have steadily put one leg in front of the other, leaped and landed on the other side of that tipped over hurdle.
I envy those who don’t have that problem, those who can jump right in screaming “hey, I’m here, love me!”.
If you are lucky, you will fall into the hands of loving and understanding people who will accept you and guide you and take you under their wing!
I tentatively started finding groups that sounded interesting to me and I joined them. I will admit, some I am not that active in at the moment, perhaps that will change, perhaps I will leave them as is the case with a few already.
The thing I am finding is not to spread myself too thin. Speaking for myself, I find it impossible to spend as much time as some other people seem to on the internet, but I do my best. By choosing only a few good communities I feel more committed to them rather than jumping all over the place. Kind of like, “better value for a buck”… I can spend the limited time I have adding more valuable comments and more quality time to the communities I choose to support.
Observations for Community Leaders
From a newbie and observer’s perspective, while I am not in any way trying to tell any community leaders what to do, it sure would be nice if you could think like a newbie once again.
We tend to forget what it was like to be a beginner. We also tend to forget that not everyone has the same level of technical skills and understanding of technology that others may have…. especially if you are of an older generation 😉
Communication is a Two-Way Street...Here’s My Two Cents Worth
The things I have noticed is that sometimes rules, regulations, do's and don'ts are not spelled out clearly. Newbies are left guessing what something means. In an already overwhelming situation, asking questions can sometimes leave one feeling inadequate, incompetent, and downright stupid.
So, it would be nice if communities would make pinned posts more precise and more clear. When “teaching”, you always have to speak to the least skilled person in the room. So, yes, it should be clear and broken down to basics. What may seem abundantly clear and straight forward to you, may not be to the beginner… and most communities are created once a person already has an understanding of everything, so they tend to forget they were a newbie once. Think of it this way, if you have it written somewhere, and still people continue to ask the same questions over and over again, either it is not as clear as you think it is, or it is written in the wrong place. (On a side, yes, some people are just too lazy to read!... but if you have a place to guide them to, and it is clear, then you have conquered half the battle.)
A couple of examples:
Banners. Some groups allow you to use their banners on all posts if you are a member of the group. Others only allow it if you are creating a post that speaks to their specific subject. As a member of the community, I am proud to use a banner, and I would use it as much as I can. But I understand that, even though it could generate you more publicity for the community when used even if the subject is not related, the community does not want to waste upvotes and sharing because it depletes their resource credits. But as a newbie I may still not be sure when I am allowed to use it. So my suggestion is that the first sentence in your channel that holds your banners, should be explicit about when you can or cannot use the banner. Also, how to download or link to it, and whether or not you are permitted to adjust it for size.
Delegations and Curation Trails. Some communities require some sort of delegation or to follow a curation trail to be a member. This is not always clear and upfront. Sometimes it is hidden in one of the channels or discovered through conversations after the fact. Guaranteed some groups will offer leeway when you don’t have enough to delegate, but knowing what is required gives a newbie something to strive for, or at the very least, to decide if this is a community they feel they want to delegate to.
Discord Channels. When joining Discord, every community sets their own channel names and channel topics. For a newbie, wading their way through every channel and reading the comments can be confusing. Not every group has a “glossary” about what each channel is for, who can use it (I know, when you try to use it, it will tell you if you have permission to or not), it sure would be nice if there was such a thing as a “glossary” for channels, abbreviation meanings, and even what channel to start with, because some may be more important than others.
Requirements, Rules or Regulations. I have noticed that as communities evolve and grow, sometimes they change some of the requirements. I will stumble upon a community post through my searching and read it, noting that it may be two years old. Later, I will stumble upon another with different or additional information. The two posts are related, but they are not co-joined in any one location. Posts on the Steem platforms are great, but they can be missed. Those changes won’t be missed if they are listed in a specific channel on Discord, not in the latest post-promotion channel, and not solely as a post on the Steem platforms.
The Final Words
So far, I have enjoyed my time on the Steem platforms, I am not saying it has been easy, but it has been the fix for my personality which is that it has been challenging, interesting, and rewarding in so many ways.
I am looking forward to growing both as a writer and a content producer. I would love for you to continue to join me on my journey along the way.
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Newbies
- Hang in there, it does get better. I joined in October 2018 and made my first post in late November of 2018 (I'm a procrastinator)... I am steadily growing and becoming more confident. You will too.
- Join a few communities on Discord, and find the family that is right for you. Stay in the ones that work for you, get out of the ones that don't.
- Continue to write good quality posts.
- Experiment with how often to post, what topics work best for you; writing about what you know is the easiest.
- Learn the proper use of tags.
- If in doubt, ask. This is hard for me, but we will never know if we don't ask.
- Make sure to comment on other people's posts so they can get to know you.
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Community Leaders
- Don't forget to think like a newbie. Make your information understandable to the least skilled.
- To be the best, we must continue to meet challenges, accept change and strive for excellence. We cannot become complacent and expect that if things always remain the same then it will always be good, life doesn't work that way.
- Our home is only as strong as the effort we put in to making it so. Like a house, there are always upgrades and renovations that need to be done to make the house both attractive and strong, to make it stand the test of time.
- Create your community with newbies in mind, this will keep them coming back when they know the process is an easy one, making the community stronger while growing it.
- Make everything clear... if you must, ask a newbie if what you are saying makes sense, is clear, and is easy to understand.
- The easier it is for a newbie to understand, the less questions they need to ask, the more time freed up to put towards other more important things for all parties involved.
And I just want to say personally to all community leaders, thank you for all you do. I know this takes a lot of your time, energy, commitment and heart.
Family and Communities Who Have Personally Helped Me Grow
First and foremost I would like to acknowledge the communities who have become my family, the few places I spend most of my time.
Other helpful communities I am a part of that continue to offer up great information, especially to newbies are:
And a special thank you to 
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