Steem And Me - 5 Questions Answered by @gregorypatrick

I ran into @snowpea the other day in Discord when Steemit was down and found out about this cool challenge there. Fun things like this are what keep things interesting and make it more than a news source or more like real social media and so I had to put in my 2 cents in.

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

For me it is the payout system and the creator to consumer ratio.

The idea that I could earn real money by participating in a social media sphere blew my mind and got me to sign up. It may be odd to hear someone admit this upfront but I really did think that those who were constantly posting to the old mega-sites were just being vain or something like that. Now I practically LIVE here on Steemit and I get way more for my time than an ego boost, that is cool.

When I speak of the creator to consumer ratio I mean there is a vast majority of content creators here than on any other site I have seen. The great thing about that is in the feedback you recive on your content. Not only do most people understand what process you use to create posts, they can and will help you up your game, where else is that happening like here on Steemit I wonder?

2.) What are the 2 largest complaints I have concerning the Steem platform?

Well, as you probably know there is an accessibility issue with Steemit and a lack of advertising on their part so we don't have as many users as we should have.

I have led many people in my life to the Steemit website and had them begin the sign up process but many have come back only to say they never received their confirmation e-mail. That's rough because it means that most of us will not have their most ardent supporters in real life here to help them out. That needs to be addressed asap.

They also seem to be relying on word of mouth from us content creators to get more users at the same time. If they are advertising please let me know because I have tried to find recent relevant ads but didn't see any. They can't grow if this doesn't change but I hear the new update may solve these problems or at least help with them.

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

I think the day I remember most was when I checked a reply and saw an invite to Discord. I wasn't sure what to make of it because I had no other SM presence and was looking to go 100% Steemit at the time but I figured, hey what the heck, so I clicked the link. Immediately I said "wow, that's where everyone has been hiding" lol.

I think about a month after I started joining the groups I found outside Steemit but were all about what here I finally understood the point of social media beyond the financial aspect that drew me in. I think making friends online change me and brought me into the 21st century.

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

It's hard to admit but I may have just learned how to speak to people and have a healthy argument by participating here.

My first day here was interesting, I searched for terms that I was passionate about found plenty of posts that fit the description. The problem was I had no reign on that passion and instantly got into an argument with someone. I quickly realized that I wasn't getting my point across and was ready to hurl insults but kept myself in check because of the reputation system here.

This lesson about myself made me reflect on my personality in general. It would have been easy for me to cull the person I was talking to if we were face to face, but this wasn't that kind of confrontation. I am a large and intimidating person and have even used that to make a living in the past, bought a house with the money I made running security teams and bouncing at various places. I got used to having the authority and ability to "win" in those ugly situations but as it turned out that I wasn't as convincing with my arguments as I thought, oops.

Now I am not saying I have matured and grown out of my needs to feel successful in confrontational incidents, I'm say that after I learned that lesson about myself, I learned how a healthy debate is supposed to work. The necessity to use the tools of philosophy instead of the tools at Gold's Gym became real I had to get on it imo. I now approach those situation with passion, but a subdued and acknowledged version of it, I want to learn from a debate partner and not defeat an enemy. I thank Steemit for that, if I had joined a mega-site I'd probably in a never ending battle with someone and stressing out rather than writing this and getting stress out.

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

I tried to go back and find some older articles to put up here but honestly, I had no idea how to write in this format and my blog didn't have much of direction at first. I really am most proud of the work I have been doing late now that I have had all the help learning how the coding works here and what I can bring to the table.

The first article I want to show off is this one I did about the trade war going on. It is a month long effort of mine to shed light on why the U.S.A. and Trump started this battle of wills and where things stand from an American's perspective.

The 2nd article is a recording of a podcast I did the other day with @makinstuff and @jackdub. I feel privileged to be able to go on air with the people I meet here and want help get us together as much as possible. I wish I could put more posts like this up because I still have so many more from people who have taught me the ropes and have given me opportunities to learn still to mention.

Thanks again to @snowpea for hanging out and getting me on this challenge, I enjoyed writing it. I don't know how to use tags other than for sources and references on my news articles so I have tagged you incorrectly I apologize, it could be a new learning moment though so figure why not ;).

@c0ff33a, @r0nd0, @katrina-ariel, @saffisara, @crescendoofpeace, @honeydue, @timcliff, @empress-eremmy, @jaynie, @abh12345, @ihashblox, @acidyo, @papa-pepper, @paradise-found, @surpassinggoogle.

Have a great day everyone!