Hi @pharesim great initiative. Thank you for the opportunity and the chance to win a ticket to steemfest.

I have a head spinning with ideas and things that I would like to do/build/achieve if I could make it to steemfest. So lets begin ;-) Apologies in advance if this is a long comment.

First a little about me: My name is Rowan, @raj808 on steemit. I have been writing nearly every day on steemit for over a year. My blog is made up of a wide range of content including, short stories, poetry, travel articles, scuba diving articles, articles relating art and comedy posts.

I have just passed my 1 year steemit anniversary (about a month ago) and in that time I have been involved helping to improve many steemit communities, as well as the platform on the whole. Communities I've been involved with include: @curie as a curator (9 months), @isleofwrite behind the scenes curator, @promo-mentors (as the poetry/fiction mentor for 4 months), @whaleshares I ran a segment called Literary Corner on the Monday night show hosted by @nikflossus for 3 months, I helped promote the Spanish section of @comedyopenmic when they launched, I have recently become involved with @sndbox as a cohort member and am actively contributing to their community with content and hopefully soon by writing a few articles for the @creativecrypto magazine, I have been helping to promote a writing community/challenge called finish the story created by @f3nix run from the @bananafish account and finally I have helped to build a charity on the blockchain called @projectgiving which I hope to promote at steemfest 3...

But in answer to your question; what you plan to do to make the event even better for everyone who attends?

There are three main things that I hope to achieve other than bringing my quirky poetic vibe to the conference 😉

1. This first idea is my main personal ambition for building something on steemit. Recently I wrote a post in response to one of the @sndbox weekly questions; What would your Smart Media look like?. This question inspired an idea which I now hope to developing toward helping keep talented creative writers from leaving in their first few months due to low payout. This SMT idea combines the idea of a steemit community for poets/authors with a token for marketing and creating further value outside of steemit and attracting partnerships with mainstream publishing entities. The idea is in its infancy but it is something I wish to explore at steemfest through discussion and networking with more experienced steemians. If you would like to check out the SMT idea, the original concept can be found here.

2. I have been asked to be part of the team presenting for @curie at the conference, so will be directly adding value and improving the steemfest experience for others... if I can afford to get there. I currently have some steem and SBD in my wallet but this is barely enough to cover flights, (cheap) accommodation and expenses. I am under a huge amount of financial pressure/stress and debt due to limited capability for work. This is due to a chronic condition but I don't really want to go into that too much, if you want to hear more I talk about these issues in a post here. The first section of that rather long vlog explains my condition and symptoms. I can provide evidence of financial pressures/debts if needed.

3. I plan to network and promote @projectgiving charity while at steemfest 3. Projects, ideas and community building are all things I feel strongly are at the core of steemit. I'm hoping to build relationships with other grass roots charity initiatives from steemians who are attending, connecting with them and helping to provide a (@sndbox & @fundition sponsored) platform for both higher charity payouts and exposure. To read more about @projectgiving you can check out our first fundraiser here & the accountability structure, which I developed here.

Ha ha, but I'm not all work and no play. In regards to bringing fun and creativity to steemfest 3 I'll let this poem I wrote about steemfest speak for itself. This is very much what I'm about in my blog on steemit, bringing creativity to the blockchain. I hope to bring some of this creative vibe to the conferance.

Cheers, Rowan