I've always been jealous of those Steem community groups that post their meet ups and hip hangouts. I look longingly at my feed, wishing I could be a cool kid too. I visualized a group of tech-savvy, digital freedom fighters with matching leather jackets and secret handshakes.
Invisible ink. Decoder rings. Maybe we'd learn to communicate in a home-brewed mix of Dothraki, Klingon, and Orcish. There would be blood oaths and maybe even a collective tattoo mural.
And then SteemFest comes along. Great. Now I get to watch everyone post about their international, globe-trotting adventures while I'm stuck staring at the pale glow of my computer monitor, it's flickering luminescence the only companionship in a cold and unforgiving world.
But wait! What's this?
There's a Steem Community Group in San Francisco?! That's not too far away. Maybe a 1.5 to 2 hour drive. Done deal, man. This is happening.
So a couple of days ago, I hopped in a car with my family, and we blasted the radio on our way to SF. They slowed the car down and pushed me out in front of a brick building. It was crisp and cool. I put on my sweater and shouldered my backpack. While the wife and kids sped away to their destiny in Chinatown, I entered the office complex known as Starfish Mission.
Yeah, you heard me right. This place is called Starfish Mission. Like aquatic aliens from outer space. Or a secret organization of telepathic hippies that mind-control society into leaving the baby seals alone. But in this case, the term apparently refers to a "...pioneering hub for the blockchain community".
I'll say this. These Starfish Mission folk have got a cool crib. It was hip, modern, and had all the trappings one normally associates with a trendy tech company in San Francisco. There was a sitting area, a kitchen, plenty of offices for shared blockchain ventures, and a large area in the middle for presentations and speaking engagements.
I quickly noticed that the Steem event was only one of many different events being hosted from this location. But even more importantly, there was free food. And drinks. And food. And it was free. To eat.
I casually power-walked my way to the food, and that's where I came face to face with the man of the hour, Mr. Sida Wang. What's special about Sida? He and his team have collectively produced a beautiful contribution to the Steem ecosystem: the Partiko mobile app.
I had started using the app on my iPhone the month before, and I found myself utilizing it more and more. I have no idea how Steemians lived without it. I'm sure there are those who now refer to their time on Earth as B.P. (Before Partiko) and A.P (After Partiko).
Posting, upvoting, and commenting with a clean, user-friendly app that just works. That's Partiko.
And they take zero from your author rewards. Nada. Nothing. You get all the benefits of their development, and there's no downside.
I was excited to hear that the Partiko team was investing their time and resources into growing the San Francisco Steem Community.
Sida gave a great presentation. Answered questions. He even talked about Steem Monsters! Gotta love that.
After the Q and A, most of the crowd dispersed. I stuck around to chat it up with the Partiko team. Great guys, all of them. We picked each other's brains, and I think we were all excited by the prospect of Partiko and Steem Monsters joining forces to increase Steem adoption on the west coast.
Afterwards, I touched base with 
So to sum it all up, the event was awesome. Met some great people, enjoyed the atmosphere, and had a good time. I'm really looking forward to future meet-ups. Speaking of which, I just received an email notification letting me know that these events will be held WEEKLY. Holy crap.
That's ambitious.
But hey, if you're gonna do something, go all the way, right?
So let's get this show on the road.
This is a group effort, people. Partiko is doing all the heavy lifting. The rest of us can pick up the slack. Hell, it really just boils down to showing up.
Here's a bunch of useful links for those who are interested in participating or learning more:
SF Steem Community Meetup Events -
https://www.meetup.com/San-Francisco-Steemit-Community/
SF Steem Community Telegram -
https://t.me/steemitsf
Starfish Mission -
https://www.starfish.network/
Partiko Website (download their app!) -
https://partiko.app/
Partiko on Steem (follow them) -
Steem Monsters Website (I'll bring Monster Fun to the meetings!) -
https://steemmonsters.com
Are you ready? California is about to be ground zero for a Steemplosion of epic scale. Don't miss out!
See you at the next meet-up!