Going to present the idea of Steemit @ 1 Million Cups Event - upvote to spread awareness!

Quick Backstory

Hello steemit community! I'm excited today to present an idea that I think we can all get behind in regards to spreading the word of the steemit community. I'm sure many of you have not heard of the entrepreneur networking group called 1 Million Cups. 1MC (as it's called) is a free, national program (in the United States) dedicated to education, engagement and connecting entrepreneurs. The idea behind 1MC is the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and networks over a million cups of coffee.

Each week (or month depending on how frequently the group gets together) a speaker presents on their business to the group for 5 minutes and in turn has an open Q&A from the audience for 20 minutes. The way I best describe this to others is to think of it as a mini-mock Shark Tank. In my opinion the 1 Million Cups audience is one of the best groups of people to get in front of to discuss steemit because a majority of participants are:

• in the tech space themselves
• forward thinking and open minded
• engaging and willing to try new ideas
• well connected both socially and professionally
• strong networkers with large circle of influences

The Plan

So earlier in the week I reached out to my local chapter here in St. Paul, MN and had asked if I could be added to the calendar to speak on behalf of steemit. Now "technically" I believe you are suppose to have ownership in the company you represent. And although I don't own much steem power (yet) - I figured its as close to equity as you can get with a decentralized platform like steemit... - so I figured it's close enough ;) Sure enough they got back to me and said yes - they'll add me to the calendar. Boom - just like that steemit is in!!

The 1 Million Cups group in St. Paul, MN is one of the fastest growing and has a weekly event sponsored by the James J. Hill Center in downtown St. Paul (very beautiful building).

Spread The Word Of Steemit

Last week I read a great article that encourage steemit users to start a meetup group to help strengthen the community. I thought "what a great idea" which lead me to thinking - what else can we do to help create awareness for steemit?

Now I completely understand not everyone likes to get out there and shake hands with strangers, which is completely fine. Even less people probably feel comfortable speaking in front of an audience, and that's fine too. But as an extrovert myself - I thought an event like this would be perfect for those of us who do enjoy business networking and even possibly public speaking. The 1 Million Cups events are free to attend, there is no membership/sign-up cost, no commitment and I encourage anyone who is interested in the idea to find a chapter near you and at least attend the event.

I will most certainly keep steemit posted on my own journey with this as well as take photos and post them here during the event. If anyone has any questions regarding 1MC or how to connect with a group in your area please ask in the comments below.

If you think this is a good idea please help spread the awareness by providing an upvote and sharing your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks everyone!!

Quick update: Wow! Thank you all for the support and feedback! I'm excited for the future of steemit and have a few other "ideas" in the hopper on how to spread the awareness of this site. More good things to come!!