Back when I joined steemit in July, I had previously spent very little time online. I had no real background in either cryptocurrency or social media. Obviously, steemit has changed all of that.

Since there are many different reasons that people interact and post on sites like steemit, I thought that in honor of @papa-pepper passing the 900 follower milestone, I would share a little bit about what steemit has come to mean to me.

IMPROVING MY ABILITIES AND LEARNING NEW SKILLS

Like so many things in life, our skills and talents can diminish if we do not use them. I may have taken some typing classes back in the day and learned some basic computer skills, but a lot of my time is spent outside these days. Thanks to my time on steemit, my fingers are getting more used to the keyboard and my typing consists of a lot less “hunt and peck” style key punching.

Honestly, when I showed up here those few months ago, I did not know how to link to somewhere else on the web in a post, I had never uploaded to YouTube, and I had no idea about things like styling with markdown or how to add an image to my posts. Now, I’m making gifs, blogging daily, and customizing my own posts with by using a variety of skills that are all brand new to me.

Also, abilities like writing and photography, which I did not use all that much anymore, are being brushed up on and refined. After all, steemit does have some level of competition on it, and if my posts are of a poor quality, @papa-pepper will begin to fade away.

UNDERSTANDING OTHERS AND APPROPRIATE INTERACTION

In some of my previous employment positions, I learned a lot about how difficult it can be to interact with only written words. Emails can sound a lot different when they are read than when they are typed. Without the tone and volume of the voice transmitting the words, the attitude of the text becomes open to interpretation.

Steemit is a worldwide community with a wide variety of users from many different worldviews, belief systems, and cultural backgrounds. Interacting in such a community can be difficult, and the opportunity for offense is readily available. Not only can some of our words offend others no matter how we say them, the interpreted tone of inoffensive words can also potentially upset another user.

In my life, I have even avoided phone conversation in the past, opting for face to face interaction instead, so interacting online with only text is definitely not my style. This presents some challenges, but with the challenges comes opportunity. To actually consider how your written words may be interpreted and to tactfully craft each sentence in the most appropriate way requires much insight and skill. Though we may not always succeed at goals like that, attempting to is still excellent for our brains and keeps us sharp and thinking!

OUTLET FOR CREATIVITY AND A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Imagine if someone would pay you to paint paintings for them. Suddenly, regardless of your skill level or previous experience with painting, the activity immediately becomes an outlet for your creative juices and you have a desire to create magnificent artwork. Rather than watching television or going for a walk, you are suddenly inclined to create some new artwork.

In a way, that is how steemit is for many of us. Now, since people can see my photos and comment on them, I am more inclined to take some new photos and post a few. Also, since my poetry could put some STEEM in my pocket, there is a far better chance that I will write a new poem. Unfinished novels started years ago, like LOVE, LIKE HIS suddenly have added incentive to be developed and finished.

The contest on steemit have been a great opportunity to be inspired too. To be given some guidelines in which to work and create, and to know that your entry will be up against many other entries from talented steemians all around the world, can be incredibly motivational and inspirational.

A lot of what you see @papa-pepper doing on steemit right now is all brand new material being created and released because I now have inspiration and an outlet for my creativity.

COMMUNITY AND EDIFICATION

The community on steemit is a strange one indeed, and it helps put a lot of things into perspective. For instance, I never thought about how my activities as a US citizen can affect the national community as a whole, or influence the value of the US currency. Since the US is so big, and so many factors well beyond my influence are at play, such thoughts really don’t cross the minds of many.

On steemit, though, each member of this community has a vested interest in the future of the community and its success that they may actually be able to play a tangible role in. Because our activities here can either add value to the platform or make steemit less attractive to others, each user has great incentive to helpfully interact with kindness and to produce the highest quality work that they are capable of.

For me, somehow I have been able to jump out to the front of the steemit pack. When it comes to the number of followers and reputation, there are not that many ahead of @papa-pepper. However that has happened, the fact remains that it did happen. Therefore, for one reason or another, many other users look up to me. In that position, I can either try to encourage and assist others, or I can be a pompous jerk. However, the realization that without the other minnows, dolphins, and whales in the steemit ecosystem I would be nothing here is a sobering understanding to obtain.

I have as much concern for the success of others as I have for my own success. If everyone else fails, I will too, and as a community, we must work together to accomplish those things that we could never do alone. I can make a great post, but without someone to upvote it, it will not matter.

This is why I try to consistently respond to my comments and answer whatever questions that I can. If I can encourage and benefit others, in the end, it will encourage and benefit me as well, which will benefit the entire community eventually.

CONCLUSION

Steemit is an innovative and revolutionary platform combining blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and a form of social media in a way that the world has never witnessed before. I am so pleased to be a part of it, and am looking forward to seeing where this platform goes in the future, and how it can change the world in which we live.

Whether you follow @papa-pepper or not, I thank each and every user for being here on steemit. Do what you can to the best of your abilities and let’s join together to make steemit a success and set a high standard for what a platform like this can accomplish and be.

I’ll see you on the moon.

Full STEEM ahead.

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Awesome Handcrafted @papa-pepper logo kindly donated by @vlad - Thank you!!

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