Firstly just have to say I'm loving it here on Steemit and I'm attempting to manage my new addiction... well I'm not really trying too hard lol.  Anyway for those of us who arrived mid June 2017 we landed on planet Steemit right in the middle of a big high...

Payouts on posts were really good and then HF19 happened and we all just sat around watching our balances in some cases double or triple instantly, it was incredible.  So we really got quite the 'red carpet' treatment on arrival without putting in as much time and effort as our predecessor minnows.

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUEkcVjL7rjKp8kPfS72t63NhNqR3bz6vdSV5optxQ3xn/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDB0ZuVUIAAnY8z.jpg">Source</a></center>

So while I'm incredibly grateful that I finally activated my account on Steemit, which had been sitting dormant for several months prior to my getting my butt into gear in June 2017, I have to acknowledge that I benefited from 'standing on the shoulders of giants' or swimming in a big school as the case may be!

If it wasn't for all the minnows, dolphins  and whales that came before me for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months or more, then I wouldn't have benefited from HF19 and many other initiatives that support minnows like me on Steemit.

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXiXWobj5ss5ZoPUbLH2ovFisnds8vQGvQsNLD5tSj5WN/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/r0Oe9sA2obc/mqdefault.jpg">Source</a></center>

Of course like most Steemitizans, not every post I put up will do well, and I'm sure that also like me, there are other minnows that have dreams of posts that reach the seemingly impossible heights of the $1,000 payout or more, and these are not unrealistic dreams, we see them in 'Trending' every day...

However, if you objectively review those Steemitizans that have achieved this kind of payout, you see that they have put in the hard yards, they didn't arrive on Steemit that recently, they've been here week in and week out for months...posting, curating, chatting in the chat rooms etc.

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTzSLqpoxeyhuEKc8HHGFDL1gG2754Pp8AS2NbJcVjUDT/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/07/20/giphya1c1e.gif">Source</a></center>


I'm sure just like most of you, I've been advised to focus on posting original content, curation and socialising in chat rooms...and that sounds simple enough, until you try to do it!

Posting:

I was probably a little more fortunate than some, I had some previous experience with HTML from working with Wordpress, however if you only used Facebook or Pintrest, HTML can be a bit of mission at first, so there is that hurdle to get over...

There is also a lot of etiquette around posting!  You don't always find this out until someone get's a little cross with you when you stuff up.  So it's all a bit tricky while you try to learn the rules and regs (and I don't necessarily mean the written ones) or if they are written I think maybe I haven't found them all yet. That said even the odd chastisement has been very polite and everyone has been friendly and helpful...

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaH4dtPcSSmbey4RnaKv3U6rRVt6vQwbhnComRStud1iN/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="https://s21.postimg.org/4n8kos59j/vote.jpg">Source</a></center>

Curation:

Then there is curation... I lovingly refer to this as 'going down the rabbit hole'!  Because there is always so much interesting stuff to read, look at and hear, but the flip side of that is you do feel a bit useless upvoting what you find and enjoy like a crazy person when your vote is only worth about 10 cents.  

However, I still read as many posts as I can possibly read (that interest me) and upvote and comment on them.  Now there are the technical aspects of voting which quite frankly confuse the crap out of me...for example I notice that sometimes my vote is worth 10 cents other times it is worth 14 cents...WTF!

I have read a few 'idiots guides' on this issue, but even so I can't get my poor little brain around it! (By the way thank you to all those Steemitizans who posted those guides!)

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXEGVGHHNBxSewgJonBSC5wbtBxzh9vysqTwWG8HqbFAK/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="http://s.pictub.club/2017/01/22/sPL6nx.png">Source</a></center>

Resteeming:

Now this one really confuses me a lot... I don't know that me resteeming a post is much help to anyone when I'm such a little minnnow.  Also I've been advised that I should always resteem  before posting my own posts, so that my followers can find my posts among all the posts I resteem.  

So always resteem first and post later!  My tip of the day...

Now I did see somewhere that you should only resteem items that your followers would be interested in!  So don't know if that is good advice or just a personal opinion of one Steemian?!  Who knows?

Upvoting:

Now this still gives me a bit of grief as well...so obviously if I like someone's post I upvote it...but then if someone comments on my post, what is the etiquette then?  As I haven't located any 'rules' I've developed my own... 

If a fellow Steemitizan makes a comment that clearly indicates they have actually read my post then I always upvote and thank them, if I just get the obligatory, 'good on ya' then I just respond in kind.

But I often find a response that is in depth or funny that will peak my interest and I will end up following that Steemitizan and I usually tell them that I upvoted and followed.

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPUS8Lzi6nTV2UEbR6fQhz7paciLvW7126yVSjf9QY4rm/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="https://topsy.one/hashtag.php?q=Steem">Source</a></center>

Steem:

Now this is where I loose the plot!  I will not even pretend I have a grip on what's going on here, so I'm making it my mission to try and get my head around this part of Steemit so I can really take a more active role here on the platform, but I think this will be the bit that I take the longest to figure out!

In terms of advice on this topic, bad news...I got nothing.  Yet!  But stay tuned.

<center>![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc5PctR1zBGWafonzju5368Tij6onNrMXjuyyXkoEZzGv/image.png)</center>

<center><a href="http://www.steemimg.com/images/2016/08/15/5c9236_daf200df05a1435bb441b235515eace3-mv2_d_2941_2046_s_23ba92.jpg">Source</a></center>

Conclusion:

So as I mentioned above I've been reading a lot of posts, especially from fellow minnows that haven't been on Steemit for very long that are disappointed and frustrated at the time it's taking to get bigger payouts, more upvotes and resteems... and while I was fortunate to have some family members on Steemit to support me when I first arrived I still anticipate that I will be posting my butt off for quite some time before I ever reach the lofty heights to which I aspire.

Likewise I have now brought a few more people with me and they are starting to bring their friends and family members with them and so the platform continues to grow...

I look forward to many of my fellow minnow joining me on the evolution to the dolphin and ultimately whale, and being a Pieces that is both exciting and a little disconcerting...

If you enjoyed this post please check out my other random ramblings on Fast Food in Tokyo, Poltergeists in Queensland and other totally unrelated stuff...Steem on!