So 100 followers... I know its probably nothing special, but for me it is a milestone nevertheless.

I want to believe that each and every one of my followers chose to click that button for a reason, not because I begged for it, or gave them anything in return, but just because they genuinely interested in what I write, or perhaps even in me.

I have joined steemit about 4 month ago, though it took me a while to write my first post, actually I wrote my introduction post just about a month ago.

The first 3 month I was researching, learning the platform, trying to understand how it works, but really I was just trying to get myself to write the first post.

I haven't been much on facebook or any other social network in the past few years, due to their centralized nature and the amount of trolls that are flooding those networks, so writing didnt flow naturally and I have been writing and rewriting the first paragraph of my introduction post way too many times.

It all flowed from there...and now a month and many thousands of words later, I finally feel that I am finding my place around here and writing starts to feel much more natural and inviting.

So 100 followers is not necessary a symbol of success to me, but rather a symbol of me following through, of not giving up after the first few sentences, of actually trying to give this platform a chance…

So I want to take the chance and share with you the DO’s and DON’T I have learned and experienced on my short time on steemit.

I hope it will be beneficial to some of the newer members of this amazing community (not to say society).

So lets start with the Dont’s, with no particular order:

The DONT’s

1) Don’t beg

Don’t beg for anything, not votes, not follows, not money...unless you are in a real need, and then perhaps it is better to just write a post about it and share your story and need, that will be much more effective for your cause.

Inspite of my short time on steemit and on relevant discord channels, I get several messages everyday with links to posts with a request to upvote them, or people begging for resteems and comments…and that's for my 0.03$ vote, I can't even imagine what the higher SP members here are experiencing daily...

I think that is a very bad use of time, as most of the time those messages will be ignored, as they being sent to people that don’t know you, that are not interested in you in any way.

In my opinion it will be much more beneficial to just try and connect with people, try to make a genuine comment, or just talk and interact with them on steem.chat or discord, try to make new friends...be part of a community, in my opinion this is what steemit is all about.

2)Don't plagiarize

I know there is not yet a proper consensus regarding what is considered a plagiarism on steemit, as there are many ways to look at it.
But blatantly copy pasting content you found on the internet, without adding anything new, without at least providing some sort of your personal opinion, is definitely plagiarism.

It might work for a few times and I have personally encountered some mid-high ranked members that managed to slip by numerous posts (and from very reputable websites) as their own, without being noticed...but it’s not going to work for the long run…

So my suggestion and a request - don’t use other people content without permission or at least some kind of sourcing and that includes images and videos as well.

3)Stop Spamming

It doesn't really matter where, just don’t spam.

Be it in the comments, or in the chat, or sending random people links to your post...I believe such behavior is not working here the same way as jumping in front of a stranger's face will not get you the attention you looking for.

In best case scenario, it will get you a few low value upvotes from fellow spammers and in a worst case will hurt your reputation badly.

4)Stop Concentrating solely on the money

Yes steemit has currency in its DNA, but it is not its purpose.
I know that money plays a big role in this ecosystem, you can even argue that it would not survive without it, but I want to believe that its purpose is to utilize this monetary feature for bigger things.
To create great content, free of plagiarism and copyright infringement, to co-operate as a community on amazing projects that can have major influence on the important issues in the “real world”, it can help struggling communities, families…

And that is exactly what is valued on this platform!

There are many more points that i can mention in the ‘Dont’s’ , but they all pretty much sum up to to the same general understanding - Stop Trying to make a quick buck! Stop posting crappy content, or even worse stealing somebody else's great content (stealing bad content is being a complete idiot).

So after pointing out the most important things, I think you should not do as a minnow on steemit, lets jump into a few points I think you should consider doing :)

The DO’S

1)Write Great Content

I know it is probably goes without saying, but yet there is so much crap content around here, people flooding the feed with posts containing low quality images with a few lines of text, videos they found on youtube without adding any commentary of their own, articles they copy pasted from some other source on the internet without adding any significant addition of their own.

So in order to stand out in this noise, it is important to write quality posts, with great photos and videos, to share your own personal story, you knowledge, your strengths and weaknesses.
Originality is highly values on steemit, so make sure you bring something new, something unique to the platform...and simply being yourself is the most unique thing you can offer.

So if you are an artist - post your art, tell us about it, share your process, teach us something new.
If you are a Traveler, share your stories, I know I will be very interested in hearing them.

There is a place for everybody here, just try to bring something to the “bonfire”, before expecting to get anything in return.

After you wrote that great piece of content, make sure to proofread it, style it, add some nice images and videos and you are good to go.

2)Research and Learn

There is a lot to know about steemit alone and if you add the supporting chats, bots, exchanges...and so on...it can be very confusing.
So if you are here for the long run, make sure to dedicate some time on researching the bits and pieces of this platform.

Learn to properly style and markup your posts (great post on the topic by Hive account@themarkymark, thanks Hive account@torico for sharing this guide with me, it was very helpful :))
, learn how to properly utilize tags, how to upload your images, what are bots and how to use them, how to implement additional “layers” to you post like @steemitworldmap...and so on…

It will be very beneficial to understand at least the basics, so make sure you are learning from other users, exploring, trying things out…

3)Build Relationships

Steemit is all about the community. It is important to grasp, that after all those are real people (unless they are bots ;)) that are reading the stuff we write, they are also the ones to upvote or resteem them.

Sure you can get a few votes by spamming your way around here, but that will not benefit you for the long run, the people that gave you an upvote just to receive one in return, are not really interested in what you have to say, they will click that button and move on to spam somebody else.
So in my opinion it is very important to get to know people, to connect with like minded individuals that will wait for your post to be published, that will genuinely read it and comment and will share with you their thoughts, time after time, post after post.

So make sure to go out there, join some discord or telegram channels (my personal preference is the awesome community on Discord : Peace, Abundance, Liberty, if you are new to steemit and never heard of it before, make sure to visit and say Hi, you will not regret i), on steemit chat , facebook groups...get to know people, talk to them , be helpful and kind...and you will be gaining some new friend in no time and perhaps loyal followers as well.

4)Genuinely Read and Comment on other people content

This would be one of the best ways to get popularity on steemit.

Think about that, you are invisible at first, your posts will not be popular the second you join the platform...it takes time to move along the ladder, it takes time and dedication to get noticed...so how can you be seen right away, without even publishing your first post?

Thats right, by commenting and upvoting other peoples work.

Trust me if you really read a post that someone worked hard to publish, and then you will genuinely comment on what you have written, by adding your thoughts, opinions or anything else to the subject, I promise you that in most of the cases you will get a comment back and perhaps even a new follower.

So make sure to “get out there”, read other content, but really read it...comment, resteem it, get to know people...that is the best way to get noticed and make your way on this platform.

As with the Don’t, I can keep rumbling here for hours about things you should DO on steemit, but it will all come up to the same conclusion...just be nice, be kind, try to add something new, try to be yourself and show it to others...write about your life, about your work, about your hobbies...write about anything you want...just make sure it is you that’s writing… ;)

So i would like to thanks once more, my 100 precious followers :)

I appreciate you taking the time to read my life stories, commenting on them and sharing your love and appreciation with me…

I am here for 3 month and thanks to you I enjoyed every moment of it!

Thanks for reading,

If you have any additional tips worth pointing out, or perhaps you just wanna say hi...Ill be more then happy to hear all about it in the comments.

And if you like the post then a upvote and perhaps even a resteem ;) will be much appreciated!

Best wishes to all of you lovely Steemians!

gif sources: Giphy.com

My other posts so far:

Celebrating My first 100 Followers - And some Do's and Don'ts I have learned so far.