Hey everyone!
I've been on steemit for almost two months now and in that time have found so much to love here! I had this idea a few months back about a website where you could tip people a few cents or a dollar for the content they create. I thought it would be a really cool idea, but didn't follow through because it was similar to youtube and other sites out there with a small change, plus I couldn't make that website without a ton of help. Then a few months later I run into steemit, which is that idea with one difference: it's free to tip here, you just upvote!
Now, after seeing this community interact and handle itself I have really high hopes for the platform. While there are some nuances to pick up at this point of development, the challenges aren't so great that they prevent anyone from succeeding here if they are putting in enough effort to network with people and add their unique contributions.
The people on steemit are almost entirely friendly, it's the first site I've seen where being kind and generous is rewarded and encouraged, and it's set up that way. The only person I've found being negative towards me has been myself when I feel I'm not meeting my own expectations, which is pretty incredible seeing how this is the internet. Everyone I've talked to and asked about how to do well here, or in other areas of life, has been helpful. So while the number of active users on steemit isn't massive, we've got a great foundation of users to keep the platform strong and encourage new users to find their own way here.
Some people are promoting steemit by advertising, creating new programs, and . And others are making the site great with fresh content. Sure, we're partial to cryptocurrency at the moment, but look how fast we're growing. Everyday it seems like I see some popular or moderately popular person or group that I used to see on facebook and youtube joining steemit. More people are joining, new, exciting content is being added, and the people already here keep making the place better by creating 3rd party apps, teaching new users, creating communities, and delegating out their own SP to promising and hard working individuals.
Current users, the people with investments in SP and the people who have been here for years building SP believe in this platform, and they want to see it succeed. Some people are doing their thing, creating content and building their blog, while others have taken the role to actively promote and grow steemit. And they figued out that to do that, they will need to help newcomers grow. Sometimes that means delegating SP, sometimes it could be something like content creation for newcomers, and some people are experimenting with new things, like...
The 1kSP Program
Today I hit 500SP! This is a big mark for me, it means I'm halfway to the 1kSP mark that 
At the time I only had one or two posts up, he wanted me to start posting 1-2 times per day! While somewhat daunting since I have never blogged before, I jumped at the opportunity. Having been on steemit for a week or so by then I was already hooked and wanting to create something special here, to use steemit as my own personal outlet to express, and to help strengthen the community in whatever ways I could.
I've done my best to meet that goal, creating over 60 posts. It hasn't been easy to work on it all the time while working a full-time job, helping raise Mila, and living a little. But it's been really rewarding, I treat it kind of like a second job that I actually enjoy, something that I hope one day will take off because I know how much potential is here for people to make a living off of creating content.
I'm looking forward to the day where we can focus on creating content for eachother to pay the bills, where we get paid fairly for what we do instead of watching it all go to big companies taking a huge slice of the pie. This could be something really special.
Moving Forward
Moving forward I'd like to continue my success here by improving my own content. While I feel like I do a good job writing posts, there are so many other things that I could be doing, like creating my own images, personalizing my posts with custom line breaks, banners, and closing comments, creating contests, and networking on discord and steemit chat.
I made it to 333 followers which is really big to me, I feel like having a solid follower base will be important in the future.Even if everyone following me right now was plankton, eventually those plankton are going to grow into minnows, dolphins, orcas and whales. That's why I feel like building followers could be the most important thing to do right now, so I'd really like to start networking more, exploring posts other than those in the hot and trending sections, and eventually paying forward all the help I've seen here.
Once I hit 1kSP I will either be delegating out a small amount of SP to a few users, or copying the 1kSP program on a smaller scale. Helping out the plankton and minnows here might just be the most important thing we can do right now to help steemit grow and retain users. Some of these people are producing some amazing content, stuff that rivals or in some cases is even better than what the whales and orcas and dolphins are making here, and often it goes completely unnoticed.
I think it should be our goal to make everyone feel welcome here, to make everyone feel like they have a voice. I know that's hard to do now, and there are quite a few programs just for that, but we can all do a bit better. We can all make small contributions, whether in the form of delegated SP, or something as simple as writing a comment and engaging with people without looking for a big upvote.
When we think long-term, those pennies are worth just as much as a dollar from a whale, because eventually they will be a dollar. And our relationships and engagement with others will be what bring us success. So do your best to be involved in what you love, meet people with similar interests and meet even more who you can learn something from. Steemit is the place to share our experiences and expertise with the world, and have some fun doing it!
Thanks for reading, if you have any questions for me or would like to add anything hit me up in the comments below, I'm always willing to help people get started if I can, and if I can't I might be able to point you to someone who could. I'd like to give a big shoutout to
PS. Sorry if this was long winded haha