#SteemitIsToMe / My Experience

A few days ago, Steemit ambassador and all around nice guy @lukestokes made a post highlighting what Steemit means to him. If you're familiar with Luke, you likely have a pretty good idea what he said; he's all about building relationships and building community.

Then he ReSteemed someone else's #SteemitIsToMe post and it resonated with me. My thoughts were captured perfectly in @wadepaterson 's three themes: crypto gateway, blank canvas, and community. Since Wade already nailed what Steemit means to me, I'll just take this opportunity to share my experiences that made Steemit fulfill those roles.

Before I dive in, let me take a moment to recommend you look at @lukestokes posts. You'll quickly see his dedication to this platform and wealth of knowledge, so I hope you'll consider giving his witness @lukestokes.mhth your vote of support.

_{click this image for witness voting:}

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Informative. Educational. Empowering.

One of the best ways to learn is through experience. Around the time I renewed my interest in Bitcoin I discovered Steemit. I'd never owned a cryptocurrency, but was always curious due to my interest in computers; I self-taught html, dabbled with Linux, built a couple PCs; all just for fun.

While reading about crypto Google led me to a Steemit article. I knew I had to join. A place that aims to reward quality content with cryptocurrency? Luke said it best: "Blogging is the new mining."

Soon I was getting firsthand experience with wallets and exchanges, and I got through the learning curve with a lot of help from Steemit. I figured @lukestokes likely gets bothered a lot, but I figured it wouldn't hurt attempting to reach out. He was more than happy to have a discussion with me about centralized vs decentralized exchanges, answering questions about converting fiat, etc. etc. I promise this isn't just a blow-the-lukestokes-praise-horn post, but as a new member of Steemit I was impressed a high reputation member took the time to help me, and simply chat.

I also discovered Steemit has so much more to offer than cryptocurrency knowledge. Another user I came to know right after joining consistently posts fascinating science articles, often specializing in geology. Check out @MountainWasHere to learn something that just might amaze you.

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Buzzword: Community

Luke said it, Wade said it, now I'm saying it. Steemit's strongest feature is community. Whatever you're interested in, you'll get the most out of Steemit if you connect with a community. The first group I happened to find were the homesteaders. I'm not one myself, but I was impressed with the information they shared and how they networked on Steemit.

As I started posting fiction I earned a loyal reader. I was loving the interaction through comments more than the upvotes, but @bashadow goes farther. He regularly posts a "Steemit Mag" called Astounding Steemit Stories sharing his favorite reads of the week. He'll also leave comments on curation posts for authors he likes. Little did I know, I was one of the writers he was promoting around Steemit, for free, asking nothing in return. That felt better than any bot upvote EVER.

Then I discovered The Writer's Block: a discord server where writers hang out, joke around, and host various workshops from fiction to poetry. There I've connected with a community of fun people, amazing writers, and a fantastic editing network. I also discovered a couple other witnesses who are working to strengthen Steemit through the communities they're part of. Consider @swelker101 , @anarcho-andrei , and @sircork for witness.

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Let the creativity flow

Wade shared a story of his teacher assigning a blank piece of paper, which he then spent the evening filling with a piece of fiction. I received a similar assignment in my elementary school years.

We'd receive a page to write a story, but I'd always staple on 4 or 5 additional pages. This was a regularly occurring assignment and we always read them in front of the class. When I'd let my story cascade down in a series of stapled pages my classmates would perk up. I think this developed my early joy for writing, and now Steemit provides that same feeling.

I've been enthused to pursue creative endeavors I might not have otherwise done in my adult life. Now I have an avenue to improve my writing, share photography, or cook up other ideas. Cryptocurrency rewards and community feedback are very incentivizing, and I'm having some serious fun!

Currently I'm working on sculpting a unique chess set that I probably wouldn't have taken the time to do without Steemit. I'm writing a beer advent calendar to post daily in December and learning about a beautiful country along the way.

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I'll end with a thank you to everyone I've met on Steemit thus far. Thanks to Luke for his help when I was a newb, Wade for sharing what #SteemitIsToMe , all the amazing artists who share their work here, and everyone at The Writer's Block.

This community encourages me to be creative and grow. Steemit is an awesome place because it's made of awesome people.

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^{Title image is a photo of my sketchbook. Credit: me.}