From despondency to exhilaration in a blockchain

Hello Steemians. My name is Ben Mason and I’ve been involved in crypto since 2011. Around about that time I was feeling really low with all the propaganda in the media, whitewashing the blatantly destructive, cleptocratic, corporate welfare system, along with all the abuses to people and the environment it requires. Then Bitcoin landed and boom! What an innovation! Suddenly there existed the prospect of being able to build critical systems that are resistant to subversion over time. If everyone could rely on the rules of the game and the rules were fundamentally non-aggressive, we might have long enough to get things done and make some genuine steps towards building a healthy, civilized society. Nothing before or since has demanded my attention or galvanized my passion in the way Bitcoin did. Ever since, I’ve been trying to learn, understand and contribute to various projects and experiments (mostly via the BitShares forum) as we all try to work out the best way to deploy the marvellous blockchain.

Mass adoption remains elusive and one of the reasons I really like Steemit is the prospect of capturing the attention, then imaginations of a much larger number of people. Hopefully, as the platform matures, the incentive design will cause all the beneficial outcomes we are hoping for and people will see this and be encouraged. As I understand it, Steemit’s user base is growing rapidly and that is very good news because the more people there are, the more recognition of quality content there will be. For example, there are so many beautiful photographs being published and although I try to upvote every time I get a positive emotional reaction, I feel I have to limit my votes to some extent or they effectively don’t reward anyone. However, when there are millions of Steemit users, I can envisage all content of value getting a greater share of the recognition. Before then.....must...have....more....Steem!

I’m as hopeful as anyone about the prospect of hitting the moon with one of the projects I’m interested in, but I try not to lose sight of the real reason I’m involved. It’s for the legacy. I want our children to grow up and have their children in a world that is free from systemic corruption and all the horrendous consequences it brings. Nothing can change the often terrible history that people all over the world live with today. But if we stop creating more in the present, within a handful of generations, perhaps the children of the future could be, to a greater and greater extent, free of it.

A bit more about me….

I read sci-fi fantasy…..my favourite being Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson….I fish, play golf and table-tennis, snowboard whenever I can, swim and cycle to keep fit. All of that hardly ever happens at the moment as work and my daughter take up most of my time . I’ve been working in Media in the UK as a systems admin/pm for over 10 years. Before that, I did all sorts. I’ve lived in London, Hong Kong, Perth, Oslo, Geoje Island in South Korea and visited many other places. And now, I’m on the approach to the big 40. I don’t feel like I’m on the verge of a mid-life crisis……I wonder if I'd know if I was? Certainly I’ve had no urges to buy a Porshe so far. Though I doubt I could afford one of the wheels so that’s handy. I’m thrilled to be a part of the Steemit community at this exciting, embryonic stage! Wherever we’ve come from, whatever led us here, I hope we can forge something better together.

#helloworld