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Full STEEM Ahead When I Least Expected It...Bloody Typical Huh? AKA A Lesson To Heed For Whaleshares...

stevenwoodPosted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago6 min read

Oh the sheer, solid gold Steem-Backed-Irony...

I think most of you whom know me well know that I still support both platforms, this one and the one that many of us here gravitated from...So 2 days ago I decided to put a quick post up just to keep in touch with my old friends there to make sure they realise I'm still alive and kicking. Well as often happens when I decide to write a quickpost, the hours started to pass...Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...


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So I finished the post a day later!!! 😁 Primarily because I decided to write a post that featured a fair amount of links as it references a few communities on the platform. You see, whilst I was there I wanted to write something that genuinely promoted engagement...Whilst doing so I got really...uhhm...Passionate and thought about the busy, fun-times I had when I first arrived on the blockchain,because of this my post turned into a...

Rallying cry???...I did everything but, recreate the battle-scenes from Braveheart...

I feel a little frustrated that there are community corners that used to be thriving that now don't have a lot of activity...So a strange thing happened...I decided to devote a portion of my time to increasing engagement again...Once the post went live...The response was phenomenal I mean results that I have never seen on my posts.

I am certain that you can guess the reason...

People want to believe, right?



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  • They remember how it was...
  • They see how it is...
  • They dream of how it could be...

Don't get me wrong, the people who engage the most don't really see too much of a problem because if you are doing things right you have a constant stream of comments to respond to and posts to read and curate.

So! Why am I talking about this here, I don't usually talk about my other platform stuff here or talk about Whaleshares stuff there...I do my on-boarding to Whaleshares stuff through DM with people who I really wanna see cross the Steem divide to join us here .

Well Dear reader I shall tell ya why I'm discussing it here...Consider it a warning...No that's too strong...consider it a lesson to heed as we go forward here...Clicking that share and reward button is awesome, everybody loves rewards right? I know I do and I am pretty sure you do too. Rewards are a great way to show people that we value what they have spent a lot of time on, be it a fab piece of art, a great post, an amazing piece of poetry or a simply awesometastical song or video...We all like a little recognition and sometimes a pat on the back is a wonderful feeling from our community, our friends, our peers. BUT...

Rewards are not the same as meaningful engagement...



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If they were, auto-voters and bots would create a thriving community...We've all seen how that works out, right? I am not saying that auto-voters are bad per se, they help us to support great authors whom we don't want to see slip under the radar...But reading the reward amount, doesn't give that awesome warm fuzzy feeling that feels like a hug...I will tell you what does though...A really encouraging, well thought out comment...We can really connect and dare I say engage with someone this way.

Isn't this day 1 Blockchain 101 stuff that I am preaching here?



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The thing that made my day and confirmed that my current thinking is on the right track is the comments I received...Epic, quality, meaningful, lengthy comments from some awesome community members...You can imagine just how satisfying this was in response to a post kinda demanding crying out for true engagement on the platform. My great hope is that some of the leaders really continue or recommit ((depending on their current activity)) to forming solid bonds within great communities and going the extra-mile when it comes to engaging.

In turn those communities need to set strong, deep, firm foundations for the long-run and protect and nurture their little corner of the blockchain.

Occasionally we will stumble across cool initiatives, contests, and engagement drives to really set a fire beneath the engagement levels within those communities...But we are not restricted to just one community, right? We have the ability to move seamlessly and with fluidity through several communities that speak to our passions, interests and areas of expertise, and we should.

Please...Please...PLEASE don't just wait for somebody else to jump in the driving seat and seize the initiative to drive things forward, be an enthusiastic member of your community, the whole point of community is the chance to belong to something bigger than the sum of it's parts and of-course that priceless feeling that you are not alone.



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Right now it doesn't feel like this community is likely to encounter the majority of the problems and issues that Steem suffered from...But are you willing to take that chance and stake your our future on a positive well meaning assumption?

Let's each place a hand on the reins, sometimes we will be ever-present, sometimes life will ensure that we do not have that luxury, trust me, I've experienced this, a lot...But, isn't it heartening to know that if you need to take time out for a blockchain sabbatical, there are always people ready to take a firmer hold on the reins in your absence, and that when you return, the community you love is still growing, evolving and thriving. Much of what I have discussed here is with regard to sub-communities, but of course each of them is but a jigsaw piece in the big picture of the community as a whole.

Let's resolve to take these simple steps to ensure that our progress here is never impeded, our enthusiasm doesn't wane and our blockchain is never compromised...Maintaining strong ideals and integrity is key, because...

Together, we are just better :heart:



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