Hi! This is the Steemit version of bruise

in #introducemyself7 years ago

Dear Steemit!

I wanted to write a longish post to introduce myself and to throw around a few ideas about Steemit and social media. I'm aware that this post won't get much initial traction, so this is more aimed at those who check me out later on (hi!) or for those from other networks I've invited over here.

About me and verification.

So what am I interested in?

I have always been interested in photography - see my Flickr here - I think I have a fairly good eye, but I'm not that technical a photographer and need to learn more. I will be sharing photos. I am also a video producer, so no doubt I'll share some videos as well.

I'm interested in new developments in society as much as in tech; but I'm not a believer in technological 'fixes' for what are truly social issues. The kind of breathless uber-positive TED-type talks leave me cold. I am interested in ways democracy itself can develop and deepen through new technology. I am on the left (we Europeans don't use 'liberal' the way Americans do), and share a libertarian outlook only in so much as that outlook differs from conservatives. You could call me a 'commie', but I don't believe in authoritarian solutions and think that Stalinism has been massively destructive to social progress. You can call me a 'libtard' if that's your thing, but just as I'll try to understand your perspective, I hope you'd return the same courtesy. For those who understand the left, I'd broadly describe myself as a democractic socialist.

I started blogging on Medium, and this is partly an exploration to see if this is a better way to develop as a blogger. We shall see.

I've hung out on traditional social media - and will probably maintain my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for a while. When Google+ was first developed, I thought it a far better platform than Facebook, but would only be worth changing if everybody jumped ship at the same time. It wasn't enough of a difference to make that effort.

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I live in Hastings on the south coast of Britain with my partner and 14 year old son and a reluctant cat (as in - she's reluctant to fulfil any of the functions of a cat and won't go near me!) See a collection of photos of Hastings here

And here's the customary Steemit photo!

20171231_165024.jpg(You may notice something strange - if you do, tell me in the comments!)

Is social media coming of age?

I've been hearing about a potential paradigm shift in social media for a while now and feel that there's a shift coming up. Mainstream social media started with large corporations providing a 'free' service through harvesting all your data: friends, habits, interests, purchases and selling them to the ad men. Apart from the sheer cheek of that - there's problems with a central provider - as with Google and Facebook in China, Iran and Israel, you can see what can happen when there is a 'provider' against whom you can make demands.

What if there's no 'provider' as such? What if there were no central servers that could be shut down? What if users had guaranteed privacy by default? What if users earned money by posting, commenting and endorsing others?

That's the premise of a new wave of social media - Steemit, Sola, Minds... based on blockchain, crypto currency and on rewarding their users. (There are probably other networks as well, if so, please tell me in the comments, I don't claim to be an expert.)

So that's why I'm here. But it's not to be some kind of social media pundit, (though I did run a social media company in Kabul for a short while) - I'm just interested in the possibilities that communities like this throw up, and the best way to explore them is to join them!

I have been exploring Sola for a while now (same username, use this link if you want me to benefit with 100 AP and 5 Sol) and say hello in either place if you want help or just a friendly voice to help you.

I have been an inactive user on Minds for a while, in fact, I confess, so long I'd completely forgotten about it!

And what about Steemit? I'm here with an open mind to explore. But how about I throw out some of my first impressions here, so that you can respond to them in the comments?

What is Steemit about?

"Original content" seems hardwired into Steemit - and users and even bots are set up to slap you down if you simply repost other people's stuff. That seems fair enough to me. However, I hope there's a place for linking to items of news or developments for the sake of discussion.

Steemit feels fairly hierarchical - whales, sharks and minnows - and there's quite a lot of negative comments among 'minnows' about the fairness of the community. Will new users find an audience for their content? How hard do you have to 'work' the community here in order to float into attention?

Are Steemit, Sola and Minds simply Ponzi schemes - generating their pool of money through a continuous supply of new users? What if that flow of new users dry up? Can these communities be self-sustaining?

I've seen advice to newbies to post on two subjects only and 'work' them. I'm not interested in that, I have a butterfly brain and am interested in a range of things (see below) so will that work against me in Steemit?

The original aim behind Steem seems to go way beyond simply a new kind of social media app. The way the original CEO talks about it seems to reflect anarcho-capitalist ideas about economy and government. I don't share that political outlook (see below) - does that matter? Is Steemit pluralist enough to accept a range of views?

Anything else will have to wait for my posts. Please correct any of my nonsense in the comments or ask any questions I haven't addressed. And please say hello!

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Welcome to Steem Community @bruise! As a gentle reminder, please keep your master password safe. The best practise is to use your private posting key to login to Steemit when posting; and the private active key for wallet related transactions.

In the New Steemians project, we help new members of steem by education and resteeeming their articles. Get your articles resteemed too for maximum exposure. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch

Thank you for your welcome! I will keep my master password safe. I have yet to explore the wallet, so I'll check that out and will check out your link. I think I'll work through the Steemit FAQ, then your link. I've already read a couple of good newbie articles, so I'm slowly starting to get a feel for how it works.

The one immediate question that mystifies me is that I don't seem to have a good app to use on my phone - the android one I tried wouldn't accept the password, so got rid of it again and just go on Steem via the web. Do you have a recommendation? Thank you again for the welcome.

Congratulations @bruise, you have decided to take the next big step with your first post! The Steem Network Team wishes you a great time among this awesome community.


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The proven road to boost your personal success in this amazing Steem Network

Do you already know that @originalworks will get great profits by following these simple steps, that have been worked out by experts?

I would never restrict myself to two subjects. Write and be free and welcome to steemit.

I world also ignore the jazz about how unfair it is. You write well and if you continue and interact with others and vote you will do well, I am sure of it!

On the subject of how hard you have to work. I think if you post once daily if possible you would be doing fine. It takes a while to get some initial traction that's true but it will come

Thank you for the kind comment and the advice. I very much doubt i could hit one post a day though. But you never know! Maybe you guys will inspire me!

Lol, I say one just in case you were thinking of four or five. I would say one daily is a good maximum but less is definitely fine :O)

Ha - ok, thank you. I'm assuming because it's original content, not idle chatter, that some thought going into each post would be a good idea! But you don't think it's necessary to do a certain amount to ensure visibility, then?

Welcome to the Steemit community, @bruise. Just came over from your Sola card. Yes, I am on both, too. Steemit is like a huge garden. It‘s what you make out of it. Like you, I‘m the butterfly type and I live it. Like in real life, my world is a world of culture and creativity without borders. I decided to post what moves my heart, may it be memories af a trip or some Yoga practice, a rather philosophical essay or an illustrated story about some art workshop. On Steemit, I find the tagging very useful. From the beginning, I select my contacts carefully and read a lot on Steem and Steemit itself. It is good to learn some strategies. I learn every day by reading posts. It‘s not only being productive. It is living in a community with all its implications and recommendable to know the rules. I prefer Steemit by far. It gives me much more „honey“. And it allows me to write longer texts. In Sola I am compelled to mute many users daily because of disturbing and boring content. The number of Sola posts of sexy girls seems endless. It is a long search for quality and reliable original content on Sola. On Steemit, I find an abundance of quality and great people. You worked in social media and have your critical view behind the scenery. That’s good. I hope it you will soon be fond of Steemit like me. I started posting about twenty days ago and it feels like home. A Happy New Year and good luck!

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful reply. Do you mean you started twenty days ago and you already have a rating of 46? That's pretty cool. How do you think you did that? I'll have a read through your timeline to get a feel of how you are doing things. I've followed you, and I hope you get a notification from this reply. I have no clue how the 'honey' aspect of it works so far, and I guess it's part of the motivation of trying out Steem, but it's certainly not all it's about for me. I completely agree about getting a feel for the community as well as simply posting content. Sola is funny - I've been on it for a long time - well I left Plag because of the skimpy girls and memes - at core there's a really good community, but it can be hard to find for newbies. It surprises people when I explain that I rarely swipe new cards - I'm usually hoping via comments or links sent by friends. If you block some of the 'girly' channels, and some of those kinds of posters, then it's surprising how quickly that kind of content disappears. What I find mystifying are all the photos of landscapes with no reason to post them, I don't understand how they get endorsed. I really undertand why Sola seems strange. And it must feel like there's very little space to post and very few tools to use etc. It is a lot more minimal than here, clearly. I'm not completely sold on Sola myself, so I'm not about to defend it! Why is it interesting to someone who is getting established here? Why do you want to go on Sola as well? If I may, I'll ask you more questions when they occcur? And, of course, anything you want to know about Sola, ask away! I don't claim to be an expert, but I may know the answer.

Hey @bruise. Welcome to the steem blockchain! I saw your introduction over on sola.

Lots of questions! A few thoughts:

  • There are quite a few platforms built on the blockchain. If you're a keen photographer then once you've checked out steemit (which is still the best place to start) I'd suggest also heading over to steepshot - it's more similar to instagram.
  • "Original content" is a pretty strongly held belief here for many. If you're discussing items in the news that's great but definitely add a source, and I'd say also add your own thoughts / views to make it your own piece.
  • No need to restrict yourself to two subjects - post on anything!
  • Personally I'd say avoid the politics until you get a feel for the place. It's generally a pretty accepting culture but there are also some strongly held views.
  • It's difficult to get noticed at first but having read your introductory post you're going to do fine. Stick with it!

Good luck. And welcome!

Oh I noticed a video spin off, so it's interesting that there's a photography one as well. I really don't yet get what the heart of Steem is, so until I feel I have a handle on that, I expect I won't start exploring further, but I will bookmark Steemshot so that I can explore that as well. Thank you for the advice.

Hello fellow Londoner! (Well, I've lived there all my adult life, now in Hastings). Thank you for your advice and kind words! I like the 'original content' aspect of Steemit - that's really what drew me to here in the first place, so I'll be fine with that. I have read some of the views of some of the most senior Steem people, and they seem fairly strongly libertarian, hence my reference to that. It seems to be a growing outlook in the US, so it will be interesting to engage and learn more. Thank you for the welcome.