After a full day of being in a Netflix coma to recover from the first Community Engagement Challenge, it's time to announce the Grand Prize winner! This lucky challenger was in a pool of 25 people who had an equal opportunity to win one week of 5,000 delegated Steem Power.

But first, some thoughts...

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About two weeks ago I was scrolling through the NEW tab looking for new-to-me people and decent content. The more I scrolled the more frustrated I became! The copious amount of crap posts and spam was enough to make me want to karate chop someone in the throat.

Back in the 90s I was very active with iVillage, first as a member, then a volunteer Community Leader, which eventually led to a paid Community Moderator position. Note the word community. Here we are in 2017 with an awesome site and untold potential. What the hell is going on in my beloved Steemit? Is the good and decent content being overrun? Where are the people who want to chat?

Where is my tribe?

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"Enough is enough!" I thought to myself.

It should never take HOURS to find decent content. Have our veteran creators given up? Does this new batch of creators know how to build and grow a tribe?

But I don't just bemoan the problems. I want to help fix it. That's when I said...

"I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and show everyone that the 3 C's work!"

^{The Three C's are: CONTENT, COMMENTS, CURATION}

^{Created in photoshop using this photo}

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Thus began the first Community Engagement Challenge.

Pshaw! I thought.

I've hosted challenges and contests before.

Maybe I'll count myself lucky if five people sign up. That would be amazing. Besides, managing 5 people is nothing! I can coach, interact, have some fun... Easy Peasy.

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And then 42 people signed up!

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I was going to reflect on what I've learned throughout the challenge but @denmarkguy nailed it with his post. I really encourage you all to read it.

Pause for Reflection: What I Learned from Doing the Steemit Community Engagement Challenge

360 SBD Prize Distribution

Below are screenshots of the prize payouts. Thanks to donations, the original prize pool of 150 SBD grew to 360 SBD which was equally distributed to all challenge winners.

Additionally, I awarded our close-call challengers 5 SBD as a consolation prize. They wrote 7 qualifying posts and simply ran out of time before they completed 500 substantive comments. None of them gave up or disappeared. They remained engaged and committed throughout the challenge and I make no apologies for recognizing their accomplishments.

Winner announcement for delegated SP

The Grand Prize for the Community Engagement Challenge was 5,000 SP delegated to one lucky challenger whose name would be randomly selected from the pool of all winning participants. I recorded it for proof that I didn't just pick a favorite or omit anyone. Watch the video for the announcement or scroll down for the reveal.

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Congratulations @creatr!

Between July 23 through 30 you will be delegated 5,000 SP, which is roughly half of my Steem Power.

Have fun, upvote, create! And to borrow a line from @denmarkguy: "Be part of the conversation."

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

You have a duty as a new Steemian to learn about witnesses and their important role within the community. Read @pfunk's Complete User's Guide to Steem Witnesses. You have 30 votes. Use them wisely.

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