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Hello!

Within the next few days I'll announce winners of my most recent haiku contest. I'll also open a NEW ROUND of entries. And, I'll announce the recipient of a 200 SP delegation.

@bananafish and the rest of the bunch, I owe you (all) a response and you'll have one in the next few days.

Tonight, I have time for just one post. In reviewing responses to my post about SP delegation, I discovered a lot of great activity happening on Steem's blockchain. @bananafish and @gardengnomepubs and @thewritersblock and @crowdmind and @EquipoCardumen and @jayna and @firepower and @pifc and @mermaidvampire . . . I could go on and on, and still miss somebody important.

In my book, Consensusland, I created a country that runs on cryptocurrency. The people who started this country have a problem: everybody buys their money simply to hoard it or sell it. As a result, the country has a ton of wealth but no native industry. Every bit of currency that leaves its people's wallets leaves forever. One of the arguments and challenges I present to cryptocurrency enthusiasts: if you want a cryptocurrency to succeed, you need to make it useful.

When reflecting on my 200 SP post, I realized:

You are all making STEEM useful.

Then I reflected on my role in Steemit's ecosystem. Most nights, I set aside about 30-40 minutes to post, read, reply, and comment. I do this because Steemit epitomizes all the potential I see in cryptocurrency -- a global forum that has no gatekeepers, an economy with rules that nobody can unilaterally or arbitrarily change. And because sometimes I fell down the rabbit hole of content on this platform!

I joined Steemit for fun and because I wanted to learn about cryptocurrency. It was one of a few projects I got involved in during the 2017 mania, and I stuck with it because I like writing and I like reading creative works. Once I got the idea to write a book (appx. March 2018), I committed to staying active because people on Steemit would appreciate a crypto-related book more than the other 99 percent of people on earth, almost all of whom have never touched cryptocurrency.

Now that my book's published, I'll be spending more time on the promotion side. I'm also writing content for Quora and my personal blog and talking to people about my book. I need to find a different way to engage Steemit. I love the fun contests and awesome blogs and great videos that all of you post. I also love spending time with friends and family. I also need to work for a living. And then there's always housework and errands! Did I mention the book?

I suspect many people joined Steemit expecting to make money, or at the very least, to get rewarded for their content. I see many people post about the tokenomics and bots and whales and how unfair the voting system is. It's all about upvotes and payouts. And, of course, the price of Steem.

Not for me. One big lesson I've learned from investing:

If You Focus on Price, You Will Never See Value

When I look at Steemit, I don't see upvotes and payouts and influence. I see content creators. I see communities. I see contests. I see meet-ups. I see engagement. Those things are far more valuable than upvotes, payouts, and power-ups.

As @rycharde said in his recent post, we are all bankers here and as a result, social fabric can be built on top of this financial machine. If we are building the social fabric of Steemit, we need social bankers to fund development of these projects. We need people willing to lend something of value to others who can better serve the platform.

I will play that role of social banker. Over the next few months, I plan to invest more of my money into the Steemit ecosystem, with the intent to delegate my SP to projects that make Steemit useful. A small social bank, tiny in the grand scheme of things -- but you have to start somewhere. I will use every increase in my SP for the sole purpose of delegating to projects building on the Steem blockchain. While it may not seem like much, it will make a difference. And that, after all, is the point.

If my delegations are successful, I will feel content knowing that my small contribution will make this promising platform better.

If my book is successful, it will help people around the world understand the innovative potential of Steem (and all cryptocurrencies).

If I'm successful, I'll have a venue to share Steemit with the rest of the world. We will all benefit.

If @ned is listening, hit me up, bro, I'm trying to build your business!

Stay tuned for the 200 SP delegation announcement. More SP delegations will come gradually over the coming months. As always:

Keep steemin' people.

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See who I'm delegating to: https://steembottracker.com/delegation.html