I've just realised that I am only 2-months away from my 2nd year anniversary and it feels appropriate to give some thoughts(and thanks) back to a community I enjoy spending time with...

I've never really celebrated any of my milestones. In-fact, just 1 springs to mind and that was a long while back. To be honest, this isn't really an anniversary celebration, more an appraisal, if I may take the liberty of doing so.

After nearly 2-years(well, 3-years if I add my lost account, @dogtanian, into the equation) I'm still a little fish in this vast ocean of talent, but, nevertheless, I have still managed to gain a few close acquaintances and some new skills that I would certainly not have, had it not been for steemit or, more precisely, the people who make steemit so appealing to me(that's you by the way).

Along with a few new feathers in my cap, I now have a decent amount of SP that helps keep me afloat. All of my SP has come to me in return for the content I have created and shared on steemit. I know there are some steemians who will disapprove when I say this, but I have never invested any of my own Fiat cash into the system...Sorry, not sorry. There are a few reasons for this, but mainly it is due to not having the spare cash to do so. Lately though, I have begun working for a new employer who happens to pay me a decent wage, so maybe there is room for change. I have also moved in with my girlfriend and having someone to share the bills with also helps create a possibility for investment. Granted, there is a part of my journey here, past, present and future, that's dedicated to turning a profit. This is by no means what keeps me here but it is something that supplies me with a healthy dose of FOMO. Saying this, I still have some reservations about investing my hard earned cash, which I will explain soon enough...

I've now been here long enough time to understand we are all playing the long game when it comes to seeing big returns on our investments, be that from a personal Fiat injection or from personal content creation. However much I manage to accumulate over time I intend to give to my daughter when she is old enough to make use of it in a sensible manner. Therefore, I take any decision to invest my own money very seriously and this is partly why I am writing this post.

Mass adoption, that's the name of the game, right?

For any company to succeed they must listen to their target audiences and adapt its product to their needs(If possible). Over the past few years, of which I have spent 3 of them witnessing this product grow, I have noticed that being part of a Blockchain community means that you need a certain amount of understanding towards the technical side of this platform. Many of you out there(well, probably all of you) possess much more of this knowledge than I could ever possibly absorb and I can see that it's made your experience a much more interesting one. The steem blockchain has evolved in many ways and lately it appears that some members have pushed for a more decentralized approach to the way things work around here. It seems that some folk were less than impressed with steemit.inc and the way they've handled things, but like I said, I understand a fraction of what I read due to all the tech jargon, so I won't be throwing my tupence into this particular hat. All I will say is that HF20 seemed a dick-move and made it pointless for newcomers to join the community. If new members can't comment, post or even vote, then why the heck would they join steemit? I'm not sure if this is still the case and I really hope it isn't, but it's old news now and I've reached the peak of my learning curve when it comes to technical talk. For me, there is just too much to learn, too many distractions and far too many "must follow" personalities. So, getting back to my original point, it feels like steemit/steem has listened to part of its target audience and adapted accordingly.

We now have SMT's, which I don't understand, and we also have an exchange that is paired with SBD/STEEM, which makes it easier to cash in and out, but only if you understand how to use it... But guess what? I don't understand that either! You can call me ignorant and lazy if you like and to some extent I would agree. Thing is though, there are plenty more where I came from, people who aren't here because of the technology but are here for the community, something that replaces what they've lost on websites like Facebook, Twitter and the likes. My point is that the people behind the scenes have listened to those who are similar minded, those who understand the technology. This isn't to say that they haven't adapted the site to help out folks like me, as that would be a complete lie to say so. Steem Connect is a god-send, as is Blocktrades. The guide within the steemit welcome page is something I'd be lost without and my heart-felt thanks go out to the clever folk who put all these things together. These things have all helped me to enjoy this website to the best of my ability, but now it feels like I'm losing touch a little...

Decentralisation overload!

Lets take drugwars for a perfect example. Here was a game from the mainstream that I was familiar with and this familiarity made me want to join in. Then, just as things were getting interesting the rug got yanked and the Steem payouts were exchanged for a some token I had no knowledge about. I've not even got my head around the way tokens work and now I have to have a masters degree about them to enjoy a game that was working just fine, seemingly... So there's another part of the wider community I can no longer connect with. It's the same with Whaleshares and many other sections of the community that decided to splinter off. My cynical side tells me this was all done to gain a larger slice of the pie or, maybe to gain notoriety. It seems like everyone wants to be the next Ned and I understand that completely. Only problem I have is that I just don't have the time or the mental capacity to compute all these different languages and currencies. I tried to keep up with the trends and I even have a bitshares account, but logging in and out of several different exchanges is too time consuming, especially when you have a laptop as slow as mine.

Let me put it to you this way and maybe I'll finally get my point across and you can carry on with your day...

IT'S ALL GETTING A BIT COMPLICATED. IF YOU WANT MASS ADOPTION YOU NEED TO APPEASE PEOPLE LIKE ME, THE LAZY ONES, THE LESS TECH-MINDED FOLK.

My rule of thumb is this... If I can connect to a community or another website via steem connect I'll happily visit it. If the site pays out in STEEM then I'll keep coming back, if not then I'll just stick to what I'm comfortable with and return to steemit. Maybe one day I'll put in the time and learn how to use these "tokens" you all speak of, but until it's described to me in a language I can understand then it looks like I'm staying put. I'm guessing this will never happen as my world and that of a tech-minded person's are just too far apart.

Just to clarify things here, I love the fact that people have forged their own paths and created their own tokens to gain some kind of evaluation for their product. I wish I had the time and knowledge to keep up but I don't. What I do have time for is steemit and continuing to build my profile(along with my nest-egg). I love this blockchain and all the people who still post quality content within it. And I love the tech-heads who grease the cogs and stoke the fires down in the engine rooms. I have massive respect and even more love to the old guard, those who carry on flying the steemit flag and have done for as long as I can remember. I'd also like to give my respects to all those who create dapps that connect easily to steemit. Dapps like @super8ballpool, @tasteem, @steemmonsters, @partiko and many more have all made this a wonderful place to be proud of.

And finally, let me say a big thank you to the PAL discord server. If you haven't come across this community yet then I would seriously recommend you do so. @pal has an amazing line-up of radio shows and an even more amazing set of host' who all make the most interactive radio I've ever witnessed. You'll need to get yourself familiar with using discord, as this is where you'll be able to tune into the PAL show. But, hey, if I can get my head around it then you certainly can. If you don't fancy uploading discord you can still tune into any of the PAL shows by visiting their website, http://mspwaves.com/home/listen/.

Here's to a happy 3-years of blockchain blogging and I pray steemit holds its own and I can return in another 3-years time and celebrate some more.

Peace to you and yours!