Why I'm Here On Steem - A #snookmademedoit challenge

You can read more into how this post came about by listening to @snook and reading her post here: https://steemit.com/dtube/@snook/kmug58quf73

The main points to be addressed are how you made it 'here' and why you are still involved in Steem.

I would love to make a place where new Steemians can go when they are feeling frustrated about Steem. Read real stories about what kept us all here and why, to this day, we are still here.


This is a good opportunity to explain how I stumbled upon Steem but I think even more relevant are the reasons I'm still involved.

How I made it to Steem

In the autumn of 2015, I bought a shop on the island of Mallorca with a couple of friends from the UK. We'd all had enough of England and in a slightly rash and ill-calculated move, bought a Jewelry shop by the sea. The shop opened in March 2016 and by June we could tell that it wasn't going to allow us to fulfill our dreams of living in the sunshine with the Mediterranean literally just around the corner. I still look back fondly on the 6 km commute by bike and the swim in the sea to cool off prior to opening each day - and I'd happily still be doing that if the business covered our rent and left us with a little beer money.

However, it wasn't to be and I sold my half of the shop to my friends and ventured across the island to my mothers empty apartment, which was also by the sea and has a nice pool downstairs.


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I would have quite happily stayed doing the above at least until the end of the summer but was told that I couldn't retire yet and had to find an income from somewhere. I was during this time that I checked back in with this Internet thing that I'd disbanded for 9 months or so after working and living online for most of the 20 previous years. I checked back in on Twitter and found @stephenkendal was still putting out daily technical analysis on stocks, and now cryptocurrency.

He had mentioned that he'd recently joined STEEM and was posting some of his work there, and so in August 2016 I signed up, on my iphone 5s. I wrote one post, which took bloody ages on the phone, it earned a couple of cents, and just a week or two later I was flying over to Valencia to start work for the United Nations.

It wasn't until around Feb/March 2017 that I noticed Bitcoin had hit an all time high of around 1100/1200 dollars, and I remembered that I had this Steem account. I tried for a month to buy some STEEM but couldn't work out how or where to do this and in the meantime the price had gone from 20 cents to around 40 cents. I did buy a small amount at around this price and started to post again with my phone, and this time with a little more success - 10/20 cents at times.

A hard fork revamped the rewards mechanism and votes went wild, I was hooked. It took months of commenting like mad (even on work time) to gain any sort of traction, and start to see regular names visiting my (mostly average) posts. When I quit the UN in the autumn of 2017, Bitcoin was starting to go mad, and then STEEM (and SBD) followed. Just prior to that though, I made it to Steemfest 2 and put some faces to the names - a fair few of those names are still posting daily, and doing well. The connections made at SF2, SF3, and during my time here are a big reason as to...

Why I am still here

For around a decade, I spent a lot of time online and the vast majority of that time was spent knocking around a video-chat community. I hosted a server, made a load of friends around the world, met and visited easily over a 100 of them - and didn't earn a penny.

Steem in some ways reminds me of this, but as well as the networking and friendships, there is the chance to earn a little crypto at the same time. I read a comment a couple of weeks back stating that if the Steem network didn't have the rewards, it would be 'just like all the other shitty blogging/reddit type networks'. I think this comment is somewhat correct and although I have people here I consider friends, I also now have other means to contact them should the network vanish (which it won't). And so I think it's fair to say that earning STEEM, Splinterlands cards, and a variety of tokens are a factor in most peoples presence here, including mine.

As well as being vested in Cards, tokens, and Steem Power, I am vested in the people, their lives, and I want so much for them to do well, not have sick children or partners, and have a good life - one which I can check in on from time to time. I've always said the only truly original content is the content produced by you, about you - and this, along with a smattering of whenSTEEMmoon, is my main reason for checking in each day.

By my standards, I've been somewhat lacking on content of late. It's partly due to the new job and being tired, and partly due to the pressure of the auto votes. I can't get away with a 10 minute effort, and so I'll only submit something (on this account at least), when I have a good hour or so to write. In this regard, the tribes (and my use of alts.) have been a blessing - I don't pick up a bunch of STEEM going this route, but I feel less pressure to contribute something which could well reach the lower echelon of Trending.

Although my post count is down, I've been buying Steem and using the commute to read about what others are doing. If you thought my lack of posting was a sign I could be heading out the back door, here is my power up history (excluding rewards automatically vested via content and curation).

15,000 in the last 3 months or so. I shall be seeing you in 2020 and beyond :)

Cheers

Asher

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What a great life story!!

I LOVE how it shows we all had to find our own way and what we were comfortable posting about.

I always tell people to write about what they love. How it shows and people come back to your posts.

I too want to know how you went from jewelry to the UN LOLL

Thank YOU for writing your story!!

Thank you @snook, and thank you for the idea to get people to give an account of how they arrived and their motivations for still being around - original community building stuff 😁

I’m an IT guy by trade, not a jeweller, and so the UN was a move back to the norm after the crazy shop idea. It was a lot of fun while it lasted! X

It makes me happy to know that you took the chance to live a different lifestyle then your normal one. No one can take away what you learned by living another way for a while and you will always have those times to look back on and not regret that you didn't try.

Not many people can say that so, in the end, it's a happy fun life story that didn't hurt anyone.

Kudo's to your Mom for making you go back to work though LOLL

Yeah it was a gamble and now I have a story to tell and some nice memories to look back on. Mum was right as usual, that role at the UN was a good one and I’ll not rule out a return at some point in time :)

That was a great read, man!

I still have great memories of meeting you in Mallorca with Bianca and talking straight away about Steem within minutes (Something that seems to unite all Steemians) and later watching the UK football game in the pub. Good times.

ps.

Awesome powerups!

Thanks man!

Good to see you, sorry I've been a bit absent on the commenting this past month but I've been listening in to the vlogs. Yeah that was a top day, beer, footy, and plenty of Steem chat :)

Hopefully we can get some more of the above with the sun thrown in next year, in the middle of a crypto bull - that would be something.

Now seems like a good time to be earning that fiat, and most of the 'spare' is going on STEEM while hopefully it consolidates around here before making a move next year :)

A good insight into the why!! I didn't know you followed Stephen before those whole steem malarkey. I might have to do one of these posts myself at some point!!

I do like reading about what people I've connected with are up to, including which beverages they are consuming each weekend. This post is an ideal opportunity for folks to put some of their cards on the table I think, cheers!

Hehe, the beverages are of course am important thing to check up on!! It is indeed a good opportunity. If I get time this hectic week I will! It's finish up for holidays week. Woot woot!!

Found one in the fridge earlier and it didn't last long :)

My last day is xmas eve, leaving at midday and back on the 6th Jan - can't wait for a break.

I finish on Friday not to return to the 20th of Jan or some such nonsense. Raar! I came wait for the break either. To be honest it's been a mighty tough year.

Many beers to come!

That is a storming break, but as you say this year has sounded like a tough one and so some sunshine is much deserved. Enjoy the booze in the sunshine, tastes even better with a t-shirt and shades on :)

Haha, oh yes, the sun will be very welcome!! And the beer!! And the everything!!!

As always, enjoy reading about your life and getting to know you more. It IS hard writing worthy content and I appreciate you take such care when many don't. Sending you sunshine to get through long winter ahead xxx... hopefully not a crypto one!

Yeah, there is much better stuff than mine and I do feel bad at times, but there is not much I can do about it I guess.

Thank you for the sunshine wishes - I think it'll arrive around oooo, April :)

It sucks that your Mallorca business dream didn't work out, but I bet it was one hell of an experience - how on earth that led to working with the UN is beyond me though! Wow - and now your back in blighty. Ironically @riverflows said on my #snookmademedoit post he always presumed I was just Mr Popular all the time and never thought I might be a redfish (I'm pretty sure I'm not that Mr Popular now even) - but I had the exact same feeling about Asher the master of stats and engagement champion - people build up a particular persona and to me you were not an account on the Steem Blockchain - you were part of it...in a warped Borg sort of way lol

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Yeah the lifestyle was awesome for those 6 months, just needed a bit of luck with the business.

I arrived at a good time and was lucky to get support from some kind and selfless Steemians around the time of the boom. They know who they are even though some don’t frequent our posts with comments, they are still watching over.

Cheers! 😁

Thanks for a great life story, Asher. Too bad your jewelry shop adventure, in the terrific location, didn’t last long but it looks like you had a good occupation to fall back on.
All the best for the coming year. 🎉 🥂

Thanks very much for giving it a read 😁 Yeah there was always a fallback, even if I’m not really big on IT so much. Cheers!

Still hoping to make it to SteemFest one day.

Very cool being able to read how different people discovered Steem and awesome seeing all that Steem being powered up!

Seems like a good time to buy some!

Hopefully I’ll be at next years event and there will be a record turn out 👍🏽

What a great read bro! I'm glad you're here, as is all who know you I'm sure. I'd like to buy you a drink for Christmas, and to toast your presence on steem, but can't so buy yourself one and pretend it's from me. Don't be a cheap-skate either...Get a good one.

I've been wondering if I should do one of these posts but my story isn't as interesting. I can't even drop Mallorca into it and Adelaide doesn't have the same effect.

Thanks buddy!

I’ll probably get one of those overpriced craft ales - still hops and water at the end of the day but they go down a treat 😁

I’m sure you can rustle something of interest up. Was it Taraz who got you involved?

Yeah do it and think of me! 😊

Yep, that little bugger is responsible for me spending hours a day on steem over the last two and a half years. So, the steem community can blame him. I'll smash out a post tomorrow. Am I supposed to tag anything in particular?

I though mr he would be to blame :)

I’d use the first two tags I have and then go with whatever floats your boat 👍🏽

Dear @abh12345

Thank you for sharing your reasons. I've known you for quite sometime and we do have different views on some things (usage of downvotes for example, which I'm not big fan). However I learned to value and respect you on this platform and I'm glad that you're still around.

However, it wasn't to be and I sold my half of the shop to my friends

Did they managed to run this place successfully? I'm surprissed that they purchased your part from you if business wasn't doing well.

I tried for a month to buy some STEEM but couldn't work out how or where to do this and in the meantime the price had gone from 20 cents to around 40 cents.

Was it so difficult to buy steem in 2017? I wasn't aware of it. Since I joined - it has been very easy (especially for binance users).

Upvote on the way :)
Yours, Piotr

Thanks Piotr

As part of a verbal agreement and handshake, we agreed that if the shop couldn’t support the 3 of us (me, him, his wife) that he’d pay me back my investment. They were unable to take the place forward for more than a few more months and so I was quite lucky with the timing/agreement.

It wasn’t so tricky to buy STEEM if you knew where to look - I had no clue what I was doing, and learned the ropes here on Steem.

Good morning @abh12345

I just realized that I never thanked you for your previous comment.

Also - would you mind if I take few minutes of your time? (I hope I'm not asking this question to often ;)

Anyway .... together with few core members of project.hope team - we'te trying to promote our recent publication: an article explaining economy behind our non-profit community project build on STEEM blockchain.

Perhaps I could ask you to spare few minutes and check it out and share your feedback with me.

I would absolutely appreciate it a lot. I read all comments and I drop solid upvote on each valuable one.

Link: https://steemit.com/hive-175254/@project.hope/3-ways-of-joining-our-efforts-project-hope-economy-explained

Yours, Piotr

Yep I sure shall be seeing you in 2020 and engagement league beyond :) have a great end of this year with your family nearby

😁 I’m sure the EL will be around in 2020, did you get your ESTM tokens? I’m not sure what you can do with them and didn’t see an option to sell, but you can use them to promote?

We sure can I will use them for steemterminal they can use it ! Thanx