Some months back I think I mentioned that I am really not big on self congratulatory "Milestone posts." It's not that I'm against them, really-- it's just that we seem to reach new milestones almost every week, so it gets to be a bit much.

On the other hand, I was also inspired by something @lukestokes once wrote... namely that the permanence of the Steem blockchain makes this a nice place to simply commit milestones "to the record."

So with that in mind, this is as much a "progress report" for my own benefit as anything else. It will be something to look back on, from another year out in the future. But hopefully you'll get something out of it, too!

It's My First Anniversary on Steemit!

Sunset
Sun sets on my first year here

Today marks the anniversary of my first post made here. Funny thing is, I wasn't really looking for a place to blog, nor was I looking for an "income opportunity," but somehow I ended up with both.

Without a doubt, Steemit has been the most significant "upside surprise" in my life over the past 12 months.

If there's a single word I could use to summarize the experience of what I have seen in this community, it would be "resilience."

I have seen scores of "rewards for content" sites come and ago in the past 20 years and yet... every time something happens here (spammers, scammers, botnets, infighting, politicking) and I think to myself "this is precisely what takes down sites like this" this community seems to shake off the bad thing and move forward.

The majority of people on Steemit seem to have a vested interest in the site's survival and growth, and they seem to rally when obstacles and disruptions show up.

Apple blossoms

And that's pretty supreme praise, coming from an old cynic like me.

Milestone no. 1: 10,000+ Posts

A couple of days ago, I passed the 10,000 posts mark here!

Which (somewhat to my surprise) evidently makes me one of the 150 most prolific members of the community... at least once you remove all the bot accounts that post their automated messages everywhere.

Given that there are over 600,000 accounts here, I suppose that's quite a bit.

Milestone no. 2: 500+ Original Top Level Posts

I have also recently passed the 500 original posts mark. I'm a blogger, and a writer-- something I have been, for 20+ years.

Most of my posts have been "long form" article-posts here on the Steemit front end, but I have also published a couple of dozen "shorties" through @zappl and a few through chainbb and busy.org.

Blossoms
Hot pink spring flowers

This place reminds me a LOT of the old "social blogging" format and more than anything, that may be what keeps me going here. It was a lot of fun then, and it was a lot of fun now.

Milestone no. 3: 3000+ Followers

This actually happened back on January 23rd-- and it's a statistic that blows me away to some degree,

At its peak (after several years) my long defunct blog on Xanga got up to about 1200 followers, which is where it finished its days. Meanwhile, I have worked almost 10 years to get 1500 twitter followers. And I worked equally long to get a similar number of Facebook followers. And not by "sleeping," either-- I am fairly active with Social Media.

The only place with more support than here are a couple of Facebook groups I still manage, each of which has more than 15,000 members.

Thank you to each and every one of you who thought my ramblings and musings were worthwhile enough to click the follow button! I appreciate you all... even those of you who aren't here so much, anymore.

A Moment of Perspective: By the Numbers

Gazebo
Gazebo

I am a bit of a numbers geek and data collector... a bit in the style of the inimitable @paulag, except not nearly as skilled.

But here are a few numbers for you, representing what "A Year on Steemit" looked like, for me

515 "top level" posts, accounting for a total of 362,815 words (actual word count from saved copies).

9,585 comments, accounting for an estimated total of 615,350 words (estimate extrapolated from last 3 months actual word count).

That also means my average original post is about 704.5 words long.

That also means my average comment is 64.2 words long.

Altogether, that's 978,165 words in a year!

Chives
Blooming chives

What does that MEAN in plain English?

I means I completed the infamous "NaNoWriMo Writing Challenge" 19.5 times, or every 18.7 days.

Some really long books:

Length of the King James version of the Holy Bible: 783,137 words
Length of "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy: 587,287 words
Length of "Texas" by James Michener: 565,210 words
Length of "The Stand" by Stephen King: 472,376 words

Thanks, and stuff....

I know this is not an Oscar speech, but there are a few people who have made a great difference to to my Steemit experience... and without whom I might not have continued to do this with as much enthusiasm as I do.

Madrona
Madrona tree overhanging the water

To the curators at @curie who somehow chose my very first post to be included in one of their trails. That made me sit up and pay attention from the get-go!

@doitvoluntarily who was one of my very first regular supporters here.

@onceuponatime who reminded me that you can be both very private and reclusive... and still be "out there."

@tarazkp who joined Steemit the same day as I... and makes my writing look like Mickey Mouse playing in the sandbox!

@klye... because... penis art for every occasion! 'Nuff said...

@lukestokes from whom I learned that a non-aggressive and realistic approach to anarchism is possible.

Two of the greatest commenters/curators in the community @enjar and @eric-boucher.

Bird
A wee birdie on my lawn

@surfermarly, @teamsteem, @kus-knee and @stellabelle for each providing this community with their own brand of inspiration and help to others. If you're not following these four, you should be!

@papa-pepper for keeping it about as real as it gets. I don't think I could get that close to the wildlife!

@jaynie for being the intrepid bosslady behind Steemit Bloggers.

@cosmictriage, my lovely wife who puts up with my playing around in the world of "monopoly money."

If I didn't mention you here, it doesn't mean I don't care! Everybody in this great community of ours matters! Thanks to everyone, and hopefully next year will be great for all of us.

Animated banner created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180131 13:58 PST