Coming Back Home to Steemit: My (Re)introduction

I joined the steemit community a year ago when the network was just emerging. I got lost in all of the new blockchain start-ups, hype, and various cryptocurrencies that I let steemit fall to the wayside.

But today I listened to Mitchell Loureiro speak at The New Digital School in Porto, Portugal. He relit a flame of interest for me in the network and I'm happy to say today that I'M BACK.

In my first two posts ever nearly a year ago, I was planning to do some traveling and enter a PhD program in psychology. Boy, do things change quickly. Since those posts last year, my travel plans fell through but I still packed my bags. I moved to Brighton, England in the fall and enrolled in a graduate school program in applied psychology and civic technology.

During my time in the UK, I helped build a decentralized academic research app on the Bitcoin blockchain called OpenResearch along with some colleagues at the Dublin Blockchain Hackathon. I later started a university club on campus called the Brighton Blockchain Network. It has since begun to branch out into the wider community and I'm happy to say at the time of leaving, I think the group has a bright future.

I also ideated and designed the initial presentations of a potential local/community cryptocurrency called Brightcoin that uses Proof of Capacity/Space. Although I didn't make it to the final round of the Barclay's competition for the idea, I met some great people and joined a helpful network that has helped me get more involved in blockchain communities.

At the same time, I enrolled in a web development full-stack bootcamp as well as an EdX MicroMasters in UI/UX design. Given these new venues, I can safely say I never would have imagined this academic and career trajectory. In many ways, this new journey was spurred by the creation of my steemit account.

I now live in Porto, Portugal where I work and research at The New Digital School. This week we're hosting the Tomorrow Conference and we are lucky enough to have Mitchell and Paulo Fonseca give a keynote today on blockchain incentive structures and innovative design models.

Which brings me full-circle. This is my long overdue (re)introduction to the steemit community. I'm excited to get back in and can't wait to connect with you all =)

P.S. feel free to get in touch if you want to chat anything cryptocurrencies, blockchains, Node/JS developing, or photography. It'd be nice to share wisdom and learn from your experiences.