SteemMag – Steemit’s Weekend Digest #13 : Of Discovery, Mentorship and Creativity – Chat With An Early Investor and Whale……The #SteemPrentice Initiative…Behind #SteemitPhotoChallenge…SteemFest Ticket Giveaway Winners …and lots more

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you guys to the thirteenth edition of SteemMag, a weekend digest for Steemians.

Every week, I take a look at some of the most important topics and have a chat with top Steemians who have expert views on such topics.
In case you missed it, here are links to Issue #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , 5 , #6, #7 , #8, #9, #10, #11 and #12

This Weekend Edition has exciting features you would enjoy.

In page 1:
SteemMag reached out to @nextgencrypto. He is an early whale and an investor. Its really an honor to have him on SteemMag at last… After several attempts :)
I also reached out to some early steemians on Steemians Speak feature and asked them to make predictions on Steemit at the end of the year…

In Page 2:
SteemMag had a chat with @sykochica, the Lady behind the SteemPrentice Initiative – a wonderful project aimed at mentoring and developing Steemians..
I also reached out to @jamtaylor, the man behind the SteemitPhotoChallenge
SteemMag has been giving out free SteemFest Tickets and this week, we announced the winners of our recent giveaway.

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A Chat with @nextgencrypto

SteemMag:
How did you join Steemit? And how has been the journey so far?

@nextgencrypto:
I've always been a long time miner of random shitcoins launching on bitcointalk. I don't know what it was that drew me, probably the mystery of not knowing what was truly going on behind the scenes. I had a hell of a time getting set up mining but with the help of some friends and random people on bitcointalk I was able to get up and mining pretty quick.

The journey here has certainly been an interesting one. From being an early witness, to working on steemservices, supporting project @curie, @steemcleaners,
#steemitphotochallenge, etc.

I’ve gotten to know a lot of really great people I can see myself working with into the future. There have also been many bumps along the way, which is to be expected when you’ve got a “strong personality” like I do and don’t accept bullshit at face value. But, in the long run we’re all here for the same reason, to take Steem to the next level and help it succeed.

SteemMag:
Steemit clocks 6 months in a few days.. Has it reached/surpassed your expectations when you joined?

@nextgencrypto:
When I was mining, I expected Steem to be nothing more than a random shitcoin I could hopefully dump on some random exchange. Did it surpass those expectations? Absolutely, without a doubt.

SteemMag:
You've been on Steemit for 6 months now: What's been your (i) favorite (ii) Least favorite change on Steemit?

@nextgencrypto:
I’d have to say my favorite change was the addition of the vote weight toggle, which I was requesting for months, finally giving those with large voting power the ability to vote with a lower weight without having to use command line.
I’m not sure there have been any changes I haven’t really liked. There are plenty of features I’d like to see added, but that’s for later…

SteemMag:
Most exciting moment on Steemit?

@nextgencrypto:
Realizing I didn’t mine some random shitcoin (again) and there was actually a team with some plans behind Steem.

SteemMag:
What's your Outlook on life?

@nextgencrypto:
According to a test on buzzfeed:

SteemMag:
As an important stakeholder, what are some changes you will like to see on Steemit?

@nextgencrypto:
First of all, I really believe we need to stop focusing on Steemit and focus on building the Steem ecosystem in order for real adoption to occur. I’ll save that for another interview.

With that being said, I’d really like to see an improved UI on Steemit and additional personalization features. There’s also no real Search functionality on this site which discourages users from trying to find content they specifically want to see without browsing through tons of posts. I’m sure the team has a long list of features to implement so hopefully we’ll see some significant enhancements focused on the user experience here in the future.

SteemMag:
You're also the lead Supporter of Project curie.. How does this differ from you previous Steemit-focused projects and how has been the experience so far?

@nextgencrypto:
It’s been a really great experience working with the whole @curie team. They all have such an amazing desire to see Steemit grow and encourage new users to continue to post their content on the platform.

For the most part I don’t get too involved with the day to day activities of the group as I like them to work independently and without any influence from me. @donkeypong does a great job keeping everything organized, bringing new languages on board, etc. so he really deserves a lot of credit for making @curie what it is today.

SteemMag:
Where do you see Steemit (a) by the end of the year (b) in the next 6 months?

@nextgencrypto:
Those are questions you’re going to need to ask Ned. I think a lot of us are curious about what they’ve got in their roadmap at this point. Providing some transparency would also benefit developers working on new projects and give people something to look forward to.

Although I believe the price will continue to decline in the short term due to the crazy inflation, I hope to see a turnaround as members of the community continue to build on the blockchain. It’s up to all of us to ensure Steem is successful. Steemit, inc. can’t do it alone.

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Thanks @nextgencrypto for taking the time to have a chat with SteemMag.. It was awesome finally having a chat with you. All the best ! :)

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Steemians Speak – My Favorite Post Of The Week

@lemouth
10 is easy, 1 is hard. this one
http://www.steemit.com/tag/@tfeldman/the-art-of-the-physical-examination

@lordemau
My favorite post is a SWIRLED RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES by gringalicious! (;
https://steemit.com/food/@gringalicious/swirled-raspberry-cheesecake-chocolate-chip-pancakes-recipe-and-photo-shoot

@contentjunkie
I really like what pjheinz is doing
https://steemit.com/biology/@pjheinz/video-version-biology-the-study-of-life-part-16-sex-and-variation

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Check out page 2 for more exclusive chats and Free SteemFest Tickets Giveaway Winners

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