This is an entry (a late one!) for Hive PH's contest: How to Improve Your Blog. I am not a full-fledged blogger but I do enjoy putting out written content from time to time and here are some things I've picked up along the way!
Keep It Simple, B-baka! Stupid
It's a common mistake to throw some complicated terms into your piece for more flair. But let me remind you that fancy doesn't matter if your reader doesn't understand anything you wrote about. You may have all the time in the world to dish out a 1k-word long blog post and have a wide vocabulary tapos titigan lang nila yung post mo and say, "Waw, grape. Ang ganda pakinggan pero 'di ko gets!" Sinayang mo oras mo at oras nila.
...then they'll just look at your post and say, "Wow, grape. This sounds good but I didn't understand a thing!"
Regardless if not everyone reads your posts all throughout, create ones that still make sense to you if you were to read them! You're not chasing after word count for most of the time you'd be here. Posts don't have to be long to have significance. Give yourself a favor by keeping things simple and move on to the next piece!
Write Whatever You Want (...as long as it's something you're not going to regret.)
There's no censorship in Hive but if you end up saying anything that you don't really mean to, Bestie, there's no turning back. Even if you edit it out, your data is on the blockchain. Every action you make will constitute an effect, good or bad. When you write and share it to a community, make sure that you're still adhering to its rules otherwise the post can get downvoted, you can muted from the community, or both.
Cite Your Sources
Thought that thesis project from high school/college won't help you? You'd be thanking the stars and your professors this time since you know you have to give credit where it's due! Let's say you want to use an image from Pixabay, Unsplash, or even Canva, make sure you take note of it!
Sa Hive, 'di ka pwede at bawal na bawal mag-plagarize, Bessy. Madali ka pa, naku po. Adding sources also helps other creators gain exposure and saves you from any misconception!
On Hive, you cannot and should not plagiarize someone else's work, Bessy. You'd get caught for that.
Let's take this image as an example.
This is the simplest way to add your source. If you look at the Markdown below, the captions are in between the square brackets [ ] and the image link is in between the parentheses ( ).
![Simon Hurry | Unsplash](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1616045090958-458bd0e43e70?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1633&q=80)
Draft 'Em Up for Later
Are you the type who gets spurts of ideas but can't commit to finishing a post in one go? Then, you're in for a treat. When you're in the middle of writing on PeakD and suddenly space out, it usually saves a draft for you. Just double check before closing your tab if it's really saved!
I'm not familiar with Ecency but look out for this button as well.
If you were successful with finishing that post but find that there's a right time to have it published, make use of the post scheduling functionality!
Honestly, that last tip still bites me in the ass as my drafts never see the light of day... Don't be like me and try your best not to be nit-picky and get it out! I know there are better creators out there but we can be one too, as long as we get ourselves to do it.
Hope you were able to pick something up from here but if you need help or just want to lurk and silently gain information about Hive, join Hive PH's Discord Server! We mostly talk in Filipino / Taglish / Bisaya and I bet you'd be able to express or ask comfortably in there. Watch out for shitposters like me ;)
You've reached the end of this post. Thanks and see you around!
Arc likes to play games on and off the blockchain when she's not lurking around Hive/Wax.
She currently plays Valorant, 7 Days to Die, Rising Star and Splinterlands among other games.
Do come over her Twitch stream to chill or participate in occasional giveaways!
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