Wow. It’s my steemit 1st birthday. One whole year in my ever changing and evolving life. It has gone ridiculously fast as I’m sure you have heard others say but it seems to be accelerating as I get older. So hitting 365 days on steemit is not an achievement in isolation. Hell, I could have sat on my ass and done diddly squat and got to this point but I haven’t. I have actually been working hard to grow, as a steemian and as a person, through this time. I’ve had to learn all sorts of alien procedures and openly chat to some complete strangers to get to this point and it has been a lot of fun. I thought I would use this time to tell you about it. Maybe some do’s and don’ts for newer steemians and maybe a few stats for the fellow geeks. So let’s get to it.

So who am I?

My name is Gaz. I come from Bristol in England and up until 10 years ago I had pretty much spent my whole life there. I’m married to @crypt0wid0w and we have a beautiful 15 year old daughter called Jaime. I love both of them beyond measure. We live in Bucharest, Romania where we work and study. My wife is a Business and Economics teacher at an international school, Jaime goes to that same school. I privately tutor English as a second language and I also coach football (soccer for our north american friends) among other sports.

How did we get here?

It’s a fairly long story so I won't go into the full details but it started with a phone call. That phone call was from my wife and it was to tell me that she had been offered a teaching job in Bahrain and we had less than 24 hours to decide whether to accept it or not. We both agreed to do it there and then and that we would make a decision after 3 seconds, so 1………….2…………...3 YES!YES! Life has never been the same since! We have since traveled and worked in different countries, starting with Bahrain, then Thailand and now Romania.

How did I end up on steemit?

Completely by accident is the honest answer. Late 2017 I was entering into a new world. Along with my father, we nervously purchased some Bitcoin, not really knowing what the hell we were doing. We also obtained a few other crypto’s of choice and had a little spare for one more. My father suggested Steem after watching a Crypto Bobby YouTube video. I did a little research, liked what I read and we made the transaction. It was for 14 Steem and at the time Steem was about $1.26 each. What was confusing me, unlike the other currencies that I had bought, was that I couldn’t find a wallet to store them in. Eventually I realised that you had to create a Steemit account and load it up. The rest is history.

I am now a blogger?

I have never written anything of note before, not even a diary. Putting my thoughts on paper was a new thing for me. Not only that but I was really nervous about it. What if someone tells me I’m not very good? I suddenly felt very vulnerable and I tend to avoid those situations. Before I posted anything I looked up as much information as I could about what to do. The general consensus was to write an introduce yourself post and be as honest and open as I'd dare. Gulp! Ok, here goes. So it was fairly brief and to the point. It outlined who I am and my current situation. It covered my family and the promise of writing about my experiences. The response was surprising! People were reading it and commenting. Nice stuff too, really complementary and encouraging. What's more, that little counter with the dollars was going up, and up! I made $7.20 out of my intro post and I was totally hooked!

Slow down there champ!

Ok! Like everyone else, my posts went from $7.20 and loads of interaction to $0.00 and no interaction. I was struggling to get anything and everyone had disappeared. Was it me? Or my writing? Had I been found out for the writing imposter that I am? No, of course not, but it is the reality of starting out in Steemit. You have to work your socks of for very little reward and for a long time before you start to see the benefit. A hard lesson for anyone but I was still hooked!

My gaming obsession is now my Steemit obsession.

My PS4 is sat in the corner looking very lonely these days. I don’t need it anymore because the gaming fix comes from Steemit. It is like a big game. You make your moves, try something different and watch the counter go up. Sometimes more than others, admittedly. Every now and then you beat the big boss and @curie comes along and gives you a whopping great bonus. What a great feeling that is. I am as obsessed with Steemit as ever, I have made a little steem in a modest way, I have improved my writing skills, which is also great for my job but most importantly I have found some really good friends here that I enjoy spending time with. Long may that continue.

Some stats for you to crunch.

At 365 days
Reputation - 57.1
Followers - 619
Posts - 233
Comments - 1,979
Replies - 1,791
Following - 180
Upvotes made - 43,435
Upvotes received - 14,367
SP - 1,648,94 (1198 purchased, 476 inc. SBD earned on Steemit)
Steem - 6.708
SBD - 9.345
Delegations - @actifit 50 steem, @phctop3 100 steem
Intro post stats - $7.68, 29 upvotes, 17 new people commented
Highest single post earnings - $32.57, 523 Upvotes, 32 comments
Highest earning post - $14.02 (not including curie)
Average reward per post - $2.04
Most Upvotes - 747
Most comments - 89
My 5 favourite Posts - Link/Reward/Votes/Comments/curie’d?
Decision to Work and Travel$0.00/4/4/No
Pineal Gland $0.53/19/30/No
England Fan Rollercoaster$32.57/523/32/Yes
Alpine Cycling Adventures $26.90/706/18/Yes
My 10 Favourite Cartoons $12.37/747/89/Yes

The right choices

My steemit experience has been enhanced by a number of things along this journey and I want to say a few things about them. The decision to join some communities was massive. Steemit is a lonely place without them. I joined a few communities and one in particular the @steemitbloggers AKA Power House Creatives is my daily base. But more about them later. A Steemit friend of mine and fellow Packers fan @paradise-found introduced me to the @gratefulvibes and these guys were on Discord! I had never used Discord before and I was a little wary of it. I joined with some trepidation and quickly realised what a brilliant tool it was for enhancing your steemit experience. An absolute must for any steemian. I also got introduced to Gina, a very attractive lady who is a bit of a workaholic. She also gets her own little spot later in this post.

Tools for the job

There are certain tools that I could not live without in my daily steemit life. Discord being one of them. Here are a select few of them.

Ginabot

This is the attractive lady I was speaking of! She literally makes me feel organised and on top of everything. Gina is a piece of software built into Discord that monitors and interacts with you. She will notify you of any interactions on the steemit blockchain and she logs everything as well. An absolute must and, if for no other reason, a great reason to use Discord.

SBI

@steembasicincome is another upgrade to my daily experience. It’s not a tool as such but one of the most useful and great ideas around. You send SBI some steem and it upvotes you for life! FOR LIFE! Awesome. The more shares you have the more it will upvote you. You even get to include another account to include with your share.

Steemd.com Link

A website that tells you what your vp is in real time and it also tells you your exact rep score too. It supplies a multitude of other information as well but I like it because it keeps me instantly informed of my vp. Just add your account name in front of the url.

Steemworld.org Link

So much information at your fingertips. Everything you need to know about your account. It logs all the interactions, both ways, it gives you up to date steem info, tells you when you have been mentioned, shows you when your vp will start to weaken etc etc. Try it out. Remember to add your account name in front of the url

Partiko Link

I have just started using this app. When I am out and about, I log into the steem blockchain using Partiko. It is a really easy to use interface and the big bonus is that you earn while you use it. Partiko points are stacked and are worth steem. You add points by posting, commenting, upvoting and also by viewing short advertising (optional). In a world where I really try and maximise the pennies, it’s a winner.

Do you get paid for walking? I do!

As unbelievable as it sounds, I walk and I get paid. Thanks to the brilliant Actifit Link and their wonderful app. It is rare that I miss a day to post my steps using the very clever but very simple to use app. I even have @crypt0wid0w using it! The idea that @mcfarhat and the people at @actifit had was to get everyone thinking about getting a little bit fitter whilst using the blockchain. Whether you are super fit or a couch potato this will change your motivation and give you a brilliant reason to get out and about. Hell, I’m fairly active because of my job but I find that I take longer routes each day just to increase my total step count. I really try to sell this idea to my friends because I believe it is the easiest way that a non crypto person can understand the use case and the benefits of being on a blockchain. A brilliant community, brilliant leaders, a clever app and a bunch of slightly fitter stemians.

My new family

As I have already mentioned earlier (and if you're still reading, thank you so much and well done!) steemit can be a lonely place. We are all busy trying to earn a couple of cents here and there that we forget that interaction is the key and should always be the key. Early days I was trying to post everyday and to find a way to increase my potential earnings. To be fair I have always been pretty good at replying to people and I do enjoy the conversation but it was harder to feel good when your massive blog, about a really important point in your life, is only worth 2 cents.

Then along came @jaynie and she changed my steemit life forever. I wrote a post on the pineal gland (check my 5 favourite posts) and it caught @jaynie 's attention. She invited me along to her community called @steemitbloggers. I had to apply by giving reasons why I would be a good fit. I was accepted! I quickly figured out that this group of people contained a lot of talent and certainly people that like to talk a lot! You know who you are!! 😂

My daily routine starts and ends with @steemitbloggers. I check into the discord in the morning to do my daily duties, supporting other members with upvotes and comments, and to chat with whoever is online and there is always someone. In return I get wonderful support from the other members, the leadership of @jaynie and @zord189 and from the account itself. My posts never go unnoticed now and that makes me feel good. Steemitbloggers AKA Power House Creatives, for me, IS Steemit. PHC is our new branding and I think it looks very cool.

I have met real friends that belong to this great community, too many to mention all in one go and I don’t want to start a war off!! 😁 We really are a family and we take good care of each other, help each other, fight for each other when the time comes and I know they have my back, like I have theirs.

If you like the sound of the Power House Creatives and would like to apply then click the link below. If you are willing to do the little bit of work required you will get great support in return and also meet some fantastic people.

Power House Creatives

Initiatives

Well funny you should mention it but yes I do actually! 😁 Whilst chatting with a very cool, very funny group of PHC’s about our favourite movies, we had the idea to expand this and start a competition. The competition is called The PHC Top 3 and is a monthly competition where you can win prizes whilst talking about cool stuff like movies, TV and music. What’s not to like? We have just posted our introduction post Check it out here and we are getting prepared to launch on the first of the month from the @phctop3 account.

The very cool panel consist of me and four other hardcore PHC members.

They are:

@nickyhaveyTravel, Crypto and Life Blogger who also produces & DJs Drum & Bass music.

@foxyspiritI am a sahm and baker. I enjoy nature and everything that it provides.

@walesPhotographer, author, artist, musician

@plantstoplanksPersonal trainer and nutrition consultant specializing in plant-based food! Excited to share food and fitness tips with everyone!

@cheese4eadHusband and Dad. ESL Teacher and Football Coach. I love Travel, Music, Crypto and Sport.

So check it out. We are aiming at PHC members to start with but we absolutely intend to open it up to the general steem public very soon.

So that’s my first year on Steemit in the bag. I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey so far. I feel I have improved my writing skills and confidence, made some really good friends, received some therapy through writing about my experiences, made a little money and stopped playing on the PS4 all day! 😁

I hope you enjoyed my year as much as I did. Keep supporting each other and keep on steemin' on!

Cheers, Gaz