It’s funny. The longer I hold on to the cowboy hat, the more conscious I become of my inputs (rewards) and outputs (posting & commenting).

I’m happy that when I put the spotlight on my SN habits, I gradually gather insights that help me gain clarity on the mechanisms of this fascinating multilayered site. Maybe it will influence my future posting and commenting.

The most important realisation is the Proof of Work process embedded within our posting/commenting efforts. Maybe I attribute too much significance, but I find that if I zap others sats and the sats get “reimbursed” to me, I would feel extra happy than when I get zaps from posting something. It makes me feel that I truly deserve the sats. After all, I have tried to give them away, but they come back to me like a boomerang! By then, I would consider myself the “rightful owner” of these sats and withdraw them from SN.

When you zap and comment to show a Stacker appreciation for his/her contribution, you will first feel happy because sharing with others yields endorphins. And you will feel happy again because your comment generates some zaps.

Another thing that feels settled in my mind is my default zap amount - 108. I already knew that 328 was unsustainable but the good thing about trying it out was that 108 feels like chump change these days. I can just give it away with nary a second thought. My heart has been expanded.

Which is good because I think it frees up mental energy for me to write better comments.

Eventually, I hope to settle on 168 because it means “prosper all the way”. But for better or for worse, I feel more comfortable with 108. It allows me to zap and respond to Stackers who have given their inputs on my posts. I’m falling behind in my replies because there are many of you out there.

Lastly, my commenting behaviour has mainly been concentrated on responding to Stackers who reply to my work. But it pays to comment early on emerging posts. I scored second for my comment recently.

Hurray!

Having a discerning eye to determine the posts that will gain traction later during the day seems vital to getting more sats. Which is why I’m setting my default zap to 108 - to have the bandwidth to spot potentially popular posts as well as zap other posts that I know won’t gain momentum. But at some point, it isn’t so much about the sats any more, is it? It is about signalling to others that their work has a place here, that their contribution matters likewise.

Yeehaw! 🤠

Off to zap some Stackers!