My Entry For Steemfest Ticket Contest by @smooth

There is no denying that traditional social media is out there to make money and not for charity. We use their services because we sometimes need them and not because we believe in them. Steem blockchain is much different. Steem is not a charity but something far better – it is about getting a chance to making an honest earning for your work without paying commission in any form. I won’t say that everything is good here. I also won’t say that this is the best place to be in the world. What I would say is, that the people here are here because they see that this is leading to somewhere better and they believe in it (at least a good portion of us do).

Although I joined Steemit in January but I became truly busy with the Steem blockchain after March (around the time when price of Steem tokens was falling below two dollars). Now I am a seven month old steemian, who came to this platform when he heard that you can get paid for your time on the internet. That was back in January and since then a lot has changed. I still love the fact that I can get paid for blogging, but I have also some to appreciate that I can be a part of a community that actually believes in what they are doing.

I am a simple man with a simple lifestyle. Although I might not be a talented developer or a whale or even a minnow (I am a redfish), but I do think that I have made a few small contributions to this community. I believe that my most meaningful contribution to Steem has been the comments and the engagement that I have tried to generate through them. For me comments are the oil that keeps the wheel of blogging turning.

These are the rules that I follow for my commenting:

1. Read the post
2. Understand the post
3. Try to understand what the writer is trying to say (basically listen to the other guy)

Without these three things the comment is basically a spam. As you can see that I also think that points 2 and 3 must be listed separately.

1. Comment in a way that adds value to the content already written in the post (if needed reply to the reply received from the author)
2. Comment as soon as possible
3. Sometimes you put your heart in a comment and do not receive a reply for your efforts. In this case please remember that nobody is obligated to reply back to you. Move onto that next post

For the videos I have much the same rules as above. I try to watch the full video when I click on it. If it's too long for me to watch then I don’t comment. If I still feel the need to add say something in comments, I try to be honest about not watching it completely and mention this fact in my comment.

I know that this does not qualify as the best contribution or anything but I do think that this has added value to the Steem. I feel that there is a definite need for people to listen to each other. There is so much noise around us that sometimes it is easy to mistake a sound for noise. People talk and yet I feel that they are not heard. I guess keeping my ears open helps in the sense that even if I might not be able to do something for somebody, but I can let them know through my comments that I heard them.

(Together with @roelandp, @nathanmars and @breadcentric in Krakow)

I am also trying to add value to the Steemfest event. I am incredibly lucky to have been staying in Poland for the last three years. I think that I might be in a position where I can be of use to the community for this Steemfest. This last weekend I went to Krakow to explore the city and do some helpful reviews about travelling in Poland. @nathanmars and I went to Krakow and met @roelandp and @breadcentric. I was lucky enough to be able to interview @roelandp about Steemfest, Steem, his work on this platform, dapps and life in general. The interview is almost forty five minutes long and I would be posting it this week.

I would also be doing a ‘Introducing the Krakow Steemfest to Steemians’ series where I would try to show how to get around in Poland and find your way to different places within the cites and also what places to stay, etc. I have already shot 20 plus videos for this purpose and would be posting them throughout the coming months.

I will also provide my telegram and WhatsApp number in these posts. My purpose in this is to let the people who are coming to the Steemfest know that they can call somebody who knows the city. I am sure that there are several people who would be coming to Poland for the first time and some of them might appreciate talking to me if they feel the need.