8 Basic Essentials to Get Newbies started on Minds.com

Having recently completed my first year on Minds, there are things I know now that I wish I knew in the first month, as I found it confusing. However, being a writer, the more items I've posted, the more the site makes sense, and I wanted to share the key aspects with Newbies to make it a bit easier for them. The 8 basics are listed in order of priority, so that you know what you need to do first to get things going smoothly. 

TOKENS: Minds operates on a token system which was recently launched. It is linked to the Ethereum cryptocurrency (1 Minds Token = .0005 of 1 ETH) so the value is rather low at the moment. Your account details are listed in your WALLET, the bank icon. That's where you can watch how your daily tokens are doing. Quite simply, the more active you are, the greater the reward for your effort. Information on TOKENS - and anything else - is available here. Please take some time to read it for better understanding.

UPDATE: My 8 basics have obviously worked very well for me, because, as of 6th August 2018, one year after coming to Minds, I have over 3,400 subscribers, nearly 1,800,000 views, and received over 600 Tokens in wires from my subscribers, which I think is quite phenomenal. :o)

When you've finished reading this blog, you can have a look at my channel here to see what it's like!

OK, on with the essentials!

This site rewards participation, so you cannot be a lurker, if you wish to feel a part of it.  You need to do the following to get the full benefit.

1. As soon as you create your channel, put a banner of some kind at the top of it to make it more appealing (lots of images are on Google search) and it is easy to insert. Then SAY something, even just 'hello'. This immediately gives other site members a chance to welcome you, to subscribe to you, or to simply vote up your comment, because your comment will end up on the Newsfeed (or HOME page) that you log in on. If you do nothing, they will NOT know that you are there, and you will remain invisible.

2. SUBSCRIBE to other channels. After introducing yourself, have a good look at the Newsfeed - the backbone of the site. That’s where you will see all the posts from potential, and existing, subscribers. Otherwise, you will only see blogs and images being promoted (stuff you might not like), or other general posts. Subscription is important because that’s how you control what comes on your Newsfeed - the kind of posts you want to see. If you suscribe mainly to people who do NOT post anything, you will only get stuff the site promotes. So make sure you subscribe to people who also post regularly.

NOTE: Newsfeed is king! That's where you can see what's going on so you know what to respond to, and what your subscribers are posting. Take the time to look at channels to see what you like, because you will have NO audience if you do not subscribe so that members can subscribe to you in return. Otherwise, you will only appear on your own feed, no one else's

If you subscribe to someone whose posts are not what you really want, or who posts too many per day, you simply unsubscribe! You can also subscribe to any of the promoted channel BOOSTS you like - that’s the ones that flash very quickly on your Newsfeed, then disappear. You only have a quick glance at these boosts, unless you vote them up, or comment on them. If you don't like the boosted items, just click on their button options to MUTE them. OR you can adjust the little wheel at the top right hand corner of the page. Closing the OPEN and EXPLICIT buttons will reduce the number of controversial, mature or unsavoury content on the boosts.

3. Having subscribed to what you want, you have to be alert when Members interact with you. This is done through the notification bell at the top right of your screen, beside the WALLET icon. If someone has reacted to you in any way, a green dot will appear at the top-right of the bell. When you click the bell, you will see what they have done - either voting up your post, mentioning you in a comment, commenting on your post, subscribing to you, or sharing your post (known as REMINDING on this site). Those are the key actions that keep you in the loop. 

By the way, to interact with anyone you must use the @ sign with their name, otherwise they won't know they were mentioned, or you were addressing them!

The bell notifications subdivide further, just below the icon, into all those actions individually so that you can see at a glance what applies to you, and don’t waste time on the rest. For example, as I post a lot, I tend to get a lot of notifications when I first log on. Some of those are usually relating to groups, or comments that apply to items I might have commented on. So I mainly go to votes, subscriptions, tags, or comments to save time, because those will directly relate to me, then deal with the others later.

Checking your bell notifications often is important, because, apart from them building up, which means you're likely to miss notices, if you do not react to others who make the effort to contact you, they might not bother again.

4. The little building icon beside the bell (called a WALLET) gives you information on all aspects of the site, and mainly deals with your TOKENS. The TOKEN system, along with subscribing, is the essence of the site. Every time someone reacts to your comment or post, you get various points which gives you a score at the end of the day. This can be viewed in the CONTRIBUTIONS section of your WALLET. You also get points for merely clicking on Newsfeed regularly!  If you are already on the site, there is no excuse for not clicking to get those points. It’s a no brainer. The amount of points you accumulate for that day, turns into TOKENS as the site REWARDS, which you can view in the TRANSACTION section. Every morning you can check in your WALLET to see how many TOKENS you have been rewarded with from the site pool, judged by your channel activity of the day before.

5. PROMOTION and WIRES: You can also use your TOKENS in various ways to promote your stuff (through BOOSTS), or gift to your subscribers for appreciation of their posts. These are called WIRES. This is what subscribers use to send tokens/money to each other as a form of appreciation for the channel/posts, or to pay for products. It's a great idea to encourage members to participate.The image below shows the amount of Tokens I was wired in the last 30 days, by 11 people.

So far, so good. :o)

6. Say something each day (in your status box) even if it is to talk about the weather, or wish your subscribers a good day! But SHARING thoughts, posts, and reactions is the essence of Minds.com. If you don’t vote up other people’s posts, say anything to them, or even subscribe, you will feel isolated. The main point is that, if you just receive other Members’ actions and give nothing in return, or simply focus on yourself, they will soon stop giving. Better still, if you find something useful, like this article, REMIND it to your subscribers (that’s the two little arrows to the bottom right of each post where the voting icons are), so that they can get the benefit too. You would want the same done for your posts.

7. Please remember that YOU are in control of your channel. You can make it into whatever personal space you like, in your way, exactly what you want it to be. If you like birds, for instance, it can be your bird channel! The subject hasn't got to be like anyone else's.  For example, when I joined, I thought too many channels had negative stuff that I didn't wish to be exposed to every day. I created my own positive channel where I could empower and motivate subscribers, and it seems to be very successful!. 

By the way, if someone is rude, abusive, or behaving unacceptably, you can report them. There is also a little wheel on everyone’s channel, just below their name, which can be used to BLOCK them. You do not have to put up with negative or offensive behaviour. 

8. Join a group or create one. That’s like a home from home where your subscribers can gather to chat with you, and you can all have a party together! Please note that you can only invite your subscribers to join your groups, so the more subscribers you get, the better.

Finally, if you have an issue, you can also join Help & Support (listed below your avatar), a great group with lots of experienced Minders who are willing to help, and who will answer your questions.

That’s basically it, folks!

There are lots I haven’t mentioned, otherwise this blog would go on forever. But these basics should at least settle you in on the site, and raise your presence with others, until you work out how you wish to use/customise the site for your own benefit. If you have used a feature, or have sonething valuable to share about it, which has not been mentioned, please put it in a comment on this article. Every little helps when you are not familiar with your environment.

Enjoy! :o)

 #minds #features #newbies #tokens #wire