I recently hit 73 rep, just under 7,800 followers, and broke 500 blog posts (over 6100 are comments). I’ve been here for about two and a half years. So I figure it’s a good time to do a challenge called #SteemAndMe.

This is a new challenge created by @snowpea, intended to help us think about some of the best things about the Steem blockchain, and some things that need improving.

Steem and Me – Five Questions

1.) In my opinion, what are the two greatest aspects of the Steem platform?

The fact that there is potential to create and earn in a relatively simplistic way, without having to resort to advertising brands you don't care about is huge.

Secondly the way it is able to grow with all these dApps that are springing up. From dtube, to dlive, I love the fact that these are clones of famous sites as that will attract many users to the Steem blockchain. Plus I don't think it will be long till completely unique ones come out. We're already seeing quite a few people designing games for Steem.

2.) What are the 2 largest complaints I have concerning the Steem platform, and what possibilities do I see for improvement?

The user interface (UI) is a big let down for me. There are other Steemit clones and alternatives to Steemit that already look and function a lot better.

However I was introduced to Steemit, not Busy, not Steempress or whatever it's called, and for me Steemit is the flagship. So there's a certain amount of pride there, or at least there should be.

Plus of course, most people will be introduced to Steemit. That's the site with all the Google rankings. So I guess it's me being houseproud, when newbies come here. I want them to see Steemit and think; wow, this is new and innovative, and it's a slick site.

My 2cents Solution: If I were head of Steemit inc. I would hire a team of devs whose sole job would be to funk up the UI. Their first job would be to take the best aspects from the clone sites and incorporate them into Steemit.

I dream of a Steemit with fully functioning working tags and a usable communities/subSteemit section.

The second gripe is the trending page (oh groan not again!).

Before going off on one, I thought to myself, let me check the trending page, maybe it has changed. However the first few posts are promotional posts, promoting and updating info regarding services.

Then we've got - and I don't usually pick on individual posts - what can only be described as a #shitpost about somebody buying an inflatable. Containing a picture they lifted from the product website and about three lines of text.

The reason this grinds my gears is because the trending page is Steemit's calling card. I have had many friends look at the trending page and be put off.

Also it can give completely unrealistic expectations of the site, which will lead to people badmouthing it later down the line. Can you imagine what somebody looking at that inflatable post could be thinking?

I imagine something along the lines of; 'great, I'm going to post a picture of my cat and get $200. Woohoo!' Then later on after realising it's not that simple, saying; pah! This site's a scam where people's mates vote up their cat pictures to earn hundreds of dollars!

My 2cents Solution: Not sure if this can be done, but I would put an algorithm in place which meant that if somebody used more than one bidbot post per week. They would not get onto the trending page.

So the bidbots would still exist, users would still make (or lose) their money. But we wouldn't be plagued by low-value content making big bucks for all the world to see.

If it's not possible to do this, then get rid of it altogether and have the 'New' page showing, or just random stuff from across the tags; which is what I guess 'New' is.

3.) What 2 moments are the most memorable to me?

Dancing around the living room with my then 5 year old daughter, about two and a half years ago after seeing that first dollar sum under one of my posts.

The 2016 July 4th first Steemit payout was a pretty special and surreal day which I'll never forget.

I'm going to add a third . .

Going to an @allasyummyfood meetup with my mate @bleepcoin.

4.) What are the two most important lessons I've learned in my time as a Steemian?

Be patient with the platform. Ultimately it's an open source, groundbreaking project, there are going to be lots of teething problems. A lot of the time stuff will happen, very slowly.

Protect your reputation, it is better to conduct yourself in a respectful manner and not get into stupid public spats. These things will do more harm than good. You can still be challenging and non-sycophantic, but there is no point being rude to people who don't agree with you.

5.) Out of my entire time here, what 2 posts am I most proud of?

It's hard to narrow it down to two posts. I'm incredibly proud of the posts I did as editor of the Spotlight later renamed to the Steemlight Steemzine. That publication helped launch the careers of quite a few Steemians who are still doing well today.

Plus I'm pretty chuffed with the various competitions I've run on here.

I guess if you pinned me down and forced me to choose just two. Then I'd say that first of all I am particularly proud of Can We Prove We Are Living In A Sim? - Yes We Can! simply because it was a theory I came up with all by myself, and I've never come up with such a complex idea.

For the second it would be a toss up between Asimov's Ghost - Chapter 32 - Reclamation Inferno

Or the more recent Sci-fi Short: Jump Start - Part 8 which I feel are two of the best chapters of fiction I've ever written. Although I am very proud of the whole Asimov's Ghost story.

That's it. This was so much fun!

I’ll nominate the following people to do this, f you’re on the list and aren’t inspired to do the post, that's cool. however if you do make a post, then please paste a link into the comment section so that I don't miss it. 😁

@natureofbeing @donkeypong @nanzo-scoop @the-alien @kevinwong @ericvancewalton @sweetsssj @nekromarinist @dana-edwards @joseph @allasyummyfood

Check out the original Steem and Me post by @snowpea, and of course whether you're nominated or not feel free to jump in with your version!

Cryptogee