Advice For New Hivers: My Story by: Simgirl

Today in my travels through Hive... (and by travels I mean clicking one link after another, jumping from one post to the next on Hive) I came across a post by Hive account@shadowspub, Snook's Blockchain Challenge. Her answers were a lot like mine would be. I know nothing, but here I go!

Finally, I found Hive account@snook's original post, Scamming Newbies on Hive| Advice for New Hivers, which I did read when it was posted, but I didn't feel the urge to write a post until I read shadowspub's post.

After spending some time back on Hive and spending time in Splinterlands, I see a lot of new faces here. So, as an experienced Hive blogger, I've decided to give my two cents; tell my story and hopefully someone new out there may benefit from my experience here on Hive.

Here are the Questions:

How long have you been on the Blockchain?

I have been on the Blockchain since September 2017, which makes my Hive account@simgirl account 4 years and 3 months old. I started on the blockchain when it was the Steemit platform and moved to the Hive platform when it was established.

What was your background in Cryptocurrency when you first came to the blockchain?

I did not know anything about crypto currency. I did know it existed, but I didn't know the history or the market. I opened my first crypto currency wallet after joining Steemit in 2017.

What was your background in writing when you first came to the blockchain?

I was an aspiring writer in my youth. I started writing on a typewriter, and progressed to the computer when they came around. I wanted to be a Harlequin romance writer, but was never good enough. I did write a how-to book which I promoted when I first joined Steemit. I took a short-writing course before, wrote lots of poems, and song lyrics. Of course, I had also been writing school papers.

How many people did you know when you first came to the Blockchain?

I knew no one when I came to the blockchain, (only because my friend Hive account@snook who asked if I would join, got cold feet and didn't join until after I joined!) But I love her anyways.

How did you meet people when you first came to the Blockchain?

I was straight out of school, so I approached this blog as a business. I created a brand, stuck to my theme, marketed my posts, and networked. This worked very well. Eventually I found the discord servers of the groups that were established. I met people in different chats, by reading others posts, commenting and entering contests and challenges.

Who did you look up to when you first came to the blockchain?

This is an odd question... I don't think I looked anyone up when I first came to the blockchain. But I did look up Hive account@snook to see if she ever created her account yet!!!! And, her son Hive account@ecoinstant. I followed his posts, to read other people's posts that he had been tagging, or interacting with. He is such a go-getter, and I still follow his lead by reading and following fellow hivers and their posts.

How would you describe your first three months on the blockchain?

Very confusing. Everything was so new, and there was so much you shouldn't do. First was the responsibility of the keys... and the fear of losing them or using them wrong. Then there was the blogging. My goal at the time was to post 3 times a day. Then, there was the power situation. I could only vote so much before I ran out of power...

Then when I ran out of power I would try to meet my comment quota which I imposed on myself, 100 comments a day. (yeah right!) Then there was the actual crypto, was it going up, was it going down? First it was worth 2 cents, now it's worth a dollar, how does that affect post payouts? A contest that awarded 100 Steem, now only offered 1.

Then suddenly, we were the people who knew what they were doing, and more people are joining the blockchain, so I started writing posts about what I had learned. (I'm glad I did because my future self needed some of them.) Learning to edit posts, making gifs, along with learning so many new programs were challenging in the beginning.

Has being a part of the blockchain changed you in any way for the good?

I do think that being part of the blockchain has changed me for the good in many ways. I am more knowledgeable in crypto currency. I have written much more on the blockchain than I ever did in my life. I have tried different things like singing, trying to produce music, and streaming, which I never would have done otherwise. I am more patient with technical difficulties, and less intimidated by the long, tedious process of moving my assets from one platform to another.

What is your favorite memory from your time on the blockchain?

I have to say the creation of Hive account@splinterlands is my favorite experience. It was new, it was fun and we just ran with it. All of the blockchain began collecting cards and battling each other. I spent all of my earnings trying to keep up with the others.

But my favorite memory was doing the skits with Hive account@carrieallen, Hive account@chrisroberts and making new skits for various subjects including the Hive account@spinterlands. It was so much fun and I do miss the simpler times...

If you could give advice to a new person signing up to Hive what would it be?

Think of Hive as your job, or your home away from home. You get out what you put in. If you want to be popular, then you need to know the people. If you want to make money, then you need to promote your blog, if you want to be helpful, then you need to write posts about what you know.

Most of all you need to have some fun! When I first started out on the blockchain I did want to make money, but after being here a short while, I wanted to read and support the others' posts, and participate in contests. I wanted to show up for meetings, give feed back, and help grow the platform.

My advice is to simply be involved.