This my first blog ever. And this is my very first post and I'm not really sure yet why I'm starting this. But something is intriguing me about Steemit.
Having been very interested about earning money online and generating a second income, I also have to make a confession that I actually have no experience with it at all. No blogs, no youtube channel, no websites, no nothing. I have a full time job that I really like, and although the idea of earning some extra bucks on the side sounds very appealing, I just never found the time or effort to actually pursue this idea. Or maybe even, I just didn't believe in it. It sounded too easy, too destined for others, or maybe just to much trouble or too boring and not what I want to spend my time on.
But the idea intrigues me, of course, as it does to many. And I kept reading about how the internet is the saviour of the working class, how everyone can become a millionaire by just following the listed steps, and how easy it is to become rich in a blink. But I don't know anyone in person that pursues it. I have never met someone who actually makes a living or even some sort of decent extra income from the internet.
So yesterday I stumbled upon a post on Medium.com about Steemit. The sceptic in me thought "great, another one of those posts", but my curious self kept reading. And the more I read about it, the better I understood and liked the philosophy behind it. I still don't understand everything. I have no idea what a "Whale" is and I just voted on my first post by accident. But I guess I can learn all these things along the way. And I believe this community is here to help me and I hope I can be of help to others eventually as well.
But one thing I know for sure; although potentially it could be my first 'extra income' that I have been wanting to built up since long, I am not starting this because of that. I'm starting this to see if the ideas and stories I have been collecting in my head, could actually grow into something I can share with others. Because if there's something I understood form the few hours I've spend exploring Steemit, it's that there is a genuineness about this platform that I do not at all wish to exploit. I want to contribute to it, and see what it would bring to me and to others.
So what am I going to write about here? It will be a journey of trials and errors, for sure. As of now I don't have plan and I will see it along the way. But I can start with sharing a bit of my background to give an impression of what the direction could be.
I am an architect and designer, currently living and working in India but originally from the Netherlands. I like making drawings and I like making things by hand. India has been an extremely inspiring place to live in so far. The absurdity of events that occur almost daily, have opened my eyes and thought me to look further than what I already know, or what I take for granted. Human interaction and daily life is of great influence in both my life and in my work as a designer. I like the simplicity of things, and I believe the best way to judge something is to follow your intuition.
I like sharing ideas and conversations, but the idea of a conversation in person feels much better to me than writing it online. However I would not be able to live abroad if I didn't have the possibilities to keep in touch with friends and family through the many forms of online communication. And I do read a lot online.
I like the touch and smell of wood, much more than the touch of the keys on my laptop. But I touch the latter significantly more than the former. I like to hear a stranger's story on the bus, much more than I like to read about one's story online, but the latter I do more. These are strange contradictions, and one's I'm constantly trying to balance out.
But what I do believe is that in today's world where so much is digital and virtual, in the end what it encourages is interaction between people. And that is what I hope to achieve here, by starting this very first post.