~ First Things First ~

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After having been here for 56 moons, or since September 2017, i thought i could give back to the blockchain by sharing some of the ins and outs of how to function properly here on HIVE. The learning curve can be steep for newer users and the unknowns can be offputting to say the least. Don't worry, i got you covered.

_{Free to use.✓ No attribution required Pexels.com image}

Of course, there is some etiquette here on Hive that you should get to know if you want to get a great start or grow into a content creating pro. There are many unspoken rules that can get your account reputation and rewards wrecked if you find yourself on the wrong side of those codes of conduct. I want to help you all avoid that from happening so your growth can be as smooth as possible. Since the rules are unspoken... that's why i call it etiquette and i'm willing to speak to it.

_{Free to use.✓ No attribution required Pexels.com image}

Don't worry, once you get the run down... it will be pretty obvious why these standards are the norm when it comes to expectations of how users should conduct themselves.

~ Rules & Etiquette ~

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• The first and most obvious thing to share is that plagiarism is expressly prohibited. Notice, i have cited and sourced each image in this post. These are all zero attribution creative commons images... but i still put the hotlinks. This is to err on the side of caution because it's always better to be safe than sorry. The main point is not to pass off any content, written or visual, as your own when it's not.

Since real money is involved and the reward pool is at stake, it's best not to try and cheat the system for your own personal gain. It not only hurts the community but it steals rewards from the content creators that are putting in the time and effort to be original and create their own original content.

_{Free to use.✓ No attribution required Pexels.com image}

• Copy and paste is not permitted unless it's cited and sourced. Using images or written text, especially Wikipedia info, is still considered plagiarism. So, if you are going to use an image follow copyright laws and rules based on the image being utilized. If you are going to use text, make sure to cite and source any text that isn't your own creative property.

• Recycling old content is also frowned upon. It's considered double-dipping rewards to repost your old content for more rewards. If you are sharing old content that you have created there has to be some new information or progressive content to validate the need to post it again.

For instance, if you are an artist, sharing progress posts is natural. To share a sketch in a newer post that has an update on the progress of that sketch is not considered recycling your content. However, to post the same sketch more than once, say in more than one community is considered recycling content.

Another example would be photography. If you have photos that you have shared before... unless they are part of a new compilation, to reshare the same photos would be considered recycling.

• Sharing the same post more than once is not acceptable. If you are going to share your post in more than one community using the cross-post feature on peakd.com is the only acceptable method.

I have seen many new people share a post on their blog. Then they share that same post in a community more fitting to it's content. Then they share that same post in another community that fits. That's three posts for one creation of content. This is seen as reward farming and will get you downvoted quickly.

Crossposting is a legit option... Although, i have to speak for many og's, that too many crossposted posts seems a bit tacky even if it is legit.

~ What TO DO ~

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Now that you have heard what NOT TO DO... i thought it would be helpful to hear what you should do in order to get a great start here and be successful on the Hive Blockchain.

_{Free to use.✓ No attribution required Pexels.com image}

• The first thing that i, and many others, would suggest you do is engage in comments. Comment on content that interests you. As of this moment, for the last month on December the 10th... i have 4 posts but 1321 comments. Engaging in comments and content of your own interest is a great way to network and get rewarded as well.

Some people never even post on their own blog but just engage in comments alone. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of this social media web 3.0 experiment.

• Engage your own audience. The worst thing you can do after making a post is to not respond to your own comments. When people enjoy your content enough to engage your post by commenting... then it's literally the least you can do to respond.

• When you make a post... put effort into the content. Describe your thoughts, inspirations, and processes. Any contextual information is always relevant. You may feel like less is more but that isn't always the case here on Hive. Don't just put an image or a photo and mic drop it and walk away.

_{Mic Drop from Cpt. Obvious on Giphy}

You will have a much great chance of getting curated base on the effort and content you provide in your posts. It may seem like breaking 3 images into 3 posts would get you 3 times the rewards... but putting more effort into explaining the context and adding all 3 images into one post may end up rewarding you from curation much better in the long run.

As a curator for many different communities less is never more! Context is King and effort is easy to identify! Don't copy the success you see from older and bigger accounts than yours if you see there isn't much context or effort put forth. Their support probably comes from autovotes and voting trails that predates the Hive hardfork. This is not a formula for success.

~ Final Tips ~

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My final tips to your success would be to encourage you to be a contributing member of the Hive community overall. Find the communities within Hive that fit your content and post your content there. Think of the whole community first and engage within your subcommunities afterward. This community oriented thinking will help you to engage and fold into the environment as a whole. This ecosystem is built and grown by users just like you! You are not too small or insignificant to have a major impact. If you see new users that need help... give them help. If you need help or have questions... reach out!

We are in a golden age and era of where the future of technology is taking us. Monetizing our own content is just a bonus benefit of building and growing a community. Decentralization is wonderful... but not without the users that make it such. You have a vested interest and stake, quite literally, in making sure this all goes and grows in a direction healthy for all. The time and energy you put in will be well worth the benefits bestowed upon you.

_{Bob Ross Motivation}

There is work to be done in order to advance. Here are some old posts that can help you maximize and optimize your efforts. These are some fantastic posts that will give you all the information you need in order to make great content and get noticed for curation which would mean larger upvotes. It's well worth your time to check out moving onward and upwards!

3 things Newbies should do in their first week on Hive

My Personal Choice of Formatting Techniques

So What’s The Criteria For A Quality Post? - How Curators Make Their Selections...

The last tip i would give you is to keep up with your voting power. Every time you vote your power goes down. It recharges automatically but you want to give it enough time to recharge. The two biggest nooby mistakes i see is either not voting ever or voting way too much.

If you are on Peakd.com (which i highly recommend) then you can hover over the I on your profile page to see your current VP, or voting power. Another spot i like to use is Hive Blocks . Com

If you click that link... just change the username that you have instead of mine after the @ sign. Finally, the last thing i would say is that you should power up as much of your rewards as possible if you want your votes to be worth more and you want you curation rewards to be more fruitful. That info may be fit for a post another time. Until then, happy hunting for your curated content and keep creating! I hope this post has helped you in more ways than one!

_{Bob Ross}

If any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments below. Thanks for taking the time to read and/or share this post to the benefit of others! I truly hope it helps avoid conflict and negativity through educating and having our newer users (and some older users) to be more informed!

_{Keanu Thanking You All For Being Awesome}