Snook's Blockchain Journey Challenge

The other day Hive account@snook wrote a post with some questions she answered about her time on the blockchain and wanted some others, like me, to answer. These are my responses.

How long have you been on the Blockchain?

I joined Steem on August 5, 2016. So just over five years ago.

What was your background in Cryptocurrency when you first came to the blockchain?

I had read some where about Mt Gox being hacked and millions of dollars in bitcoin being lost. Had no idea what bitcoin was or why it had value. Or even why anyone would exchange it and for what.

What was your background in writing when you first came to the blockchain?

Now writing I knew something about when I came to the blockchain. I had over the years done some writing. Even had some articles published in some magazines and a national newspaper.

I don’t remember what I was searching for when I saw someone mention Steemit and I clicked a link that brought me to steemit.com. It was a point in my life some changes had taken place and I was starting to form the idea what writing was going to define my future.

I’d spent a few years doing things that other people defined I’d be good at. In part because some thought that the idea of me writing for a living was ‘pie in the sky’. I’d decided that what I did with my life was going to be my choice going forward. It wouldn’t matter if my choices made me money or not, they were mine to make.

When I landed on Steem and started looking around I had no idea if the value being shown on posts was real or not. What got my attention was I could write and post whatever I wanted. It became my first step at making my own choices.

How many people did you know when you first came to the Blockchain?

On the blockchain? Absolutely no one. I had no idea where anyone was even from.

How did you meet people when you first came to the Blockchain?

You might say I did a lot of ‘lurking’, when I first arrived. (OH wait, I still do). I tend to read posts and when someone gets my attention I’ll go and read through some of their posts to get a sense of what they write about.

I think I’m a bit better about commenting on posts than I was. Back then, I hardly ever commented on a post. I don’t comment a lot now and have a tendency to be brief when I do, but I have found I’ll hit reply more than I would have back then.

What really started to expand my connections was when I found Hive account@frystikken’s chatroom. It wasn’t on Discord. He had a chat server setup on another platform. He was one of the first to shift to Discord though. I met Hive account@whatsup when she joined the first room. There were other regulars in that room as well. Not sure how many of them are still active.

Who did you look up to when you first came to the blockchain?

Can’t say that I really looked up to anyone. Over time I became aware of people who seemed to be having some success building a following like Hive account@papa-pepper. Like now it was easy to find the people who were doing the tech stuff on the chain, just look at Trending.

The first person I really became aware of on the chain was Hive account@berniesanders when he upvoted my first post substantially. That was when I first went, oh, maybe in time this is something that could build. If this stuff actually is worth what it says.

I did a lot of reading and moving from post to post as other people got mentioned. I really was mostly in the wilderness until I found the chat rooms. Then I started to get to know people and learn more about the platform I’d stumbled onto.

How would you describe your first three months on the blockchain?

I think wandering the wilderness covers that rather aptly. I was doing some writing and posting but really didn’t have a sense of what else to do.

When I decided to put all that reading to work by writing about my favourite posts each day and started the Steemit Ramble series, that is when I developed a direction. I wasn’t able to give much of an upvote but I could at least get some more eyes on some of the writers. I had commented on Hive account@dreemsteem in one of my early Rambles.

Has being a part of the blockchain changed you in any way for the good?

I’ve grown a lot more confident with my writing. I’ve also been more willing to try new things like, well, doing voice chats, using OBS, doing some livestream. If you’d told me I’d be doing live shows of any kind before I came here, I’d have laughed and laughed and laughed.

I think that learning as much as I have in the last five years has made me more willing to grow my skills doing the book publishing and creating the colouring books.

What is your favorite memory from your time on the blockchain?

Damn.. So many of them. I have to say the online parties, like the one Hive account@snook put together for my birthday and another we did for New Years Eve .. Those were a lot fun. I really love that so many people are able to come together from around the world and be a community together on the blockchain and on Discord.

If you could give advice to a new person signing up to Hive what would it be?

Add Discord to your system immediately. There are so many ways of getting help and guidance. DON’T ever consider buying a course that promises to help you make money on Hive. That will only make the seller money.

I will gladly give anyone a hand getting started. I know a lot of others will as well. It’s a lot easier to get started and established now than it was 5 years ago. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Don’t spam, scam or plagiarize. I can move from helping to ticked if you do that and keep on doing it even after being advised on it. There are lots of way to earn on Hive, do it legitimately.

I'd love to hear Hive account@whatsup's response to these questions.

NOTE: header image from Pixabay.com / all others are mine

Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.

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