By This Time Next Week...
...Hardfork 21 will be a reality and at least half a day old.
While still early as to what will ultimately come of it, we will know a lot more about the initial effects of the Economic Improvement Proposal (EIP) then we can reasonably know now, outside of what will probably happen, human nature being what it is.
I don't know if the point of this post is to rally the troops, really, but I'm hoping that a majority of those of us who are still here after HF20, enduring the bear market, the ongoing inanity of some users, and the hundreds of calls of doom and gloom of STEEM's demise, on and off the blockchain, that we're at least willing to wait and see what happens, if it's just too early to commit to anything else.
While I consider myself here for the long haul, and willing to keep on posting with the time I have allotted, I know there are things that would make me stop posting, or cause me to heavily re-evaluate my time here.
I'm sure all of you have been making lists and considering the same things I have. I don't feel the need to rehash them, and really, I'm not so much into convincing anyone to do anything. I guess I'm more interested in stating what will make me continue on.
Is There Somewhere Truly Better?
I know there's plenty of Steemit/STEEM clones. I know there's threats from other chains. I know there's even fiat based sites. Are they truly better, or do they have their own set of problems and struggles, too? STEEM has been around for three years, it's traded on various exchanges, has a community that has been dwindling, yes, but those of us who are still remaining are fairly battle hardened. I'm sure if we had somewhere else to go, we'd at least have a foot in the door there.
After all, we came here from elsewhere, didn't we? I know I was trying to make things happen with Facebook, Twitter, a blog, a couple of promotional sites, Google Ads, affiliate links, selling stuff, etc. Essentially doing more marketing than any substantial creative writing. Here, I've posted over 500 times, and the vast majority of it has been something creative—short freewrites, serialized novels, comic books, project development, satire, and so on. And while there's been a lot of grinding, there's also been visits by whales, orcas, dolphins, many, many minnows and plankton, of their own accord or in curation trails.
In other words, I've been earning STEEM (over 3,000 now), in the time I've been here. I know. That doesn't equate to much given the value of STEEM, but considering I didn't make even $100 USD with Google Ads over the course of 10 years (which means I didn't make anything), I'm considering this an improvement.
STEEM Is A Great Blockchain
Certainly we can have issues with each other and the changes occurring, etc., but STEEM itself is a pretty amazing feat of technology. And it's only gotten better in the nearly 20 months since I've been here, especially the last eight months or so, since the Steemit Inc reorganization and a lot of the community devs started to pick up the slack with their own innovations.
Hopefully with the STEEM Proposal System (SPS) in place, we'll get even more innovation than what's been previously possible. Maybe we'll finally see some cutting edge development taking place. That's the intent, and I hope developers and community members actively participate in it.
I Like Creating
I've touched on this, but it's worth it's own section. I'm here to put my creations out there. I believe many of you are, too. Bringing them out of our minds and onto the blockchain for someone to see them is an exhilarating and nerve racking experience. It's a thrill we don't get much in other forms. I've discovered even with my time limited now, I don't want to give up on creating even more things, which is why I'm spending the few hours before and after work I have. It's cathartic. It's fun. It brings me joy and satisfaction, even if seems at times that all I'm doing is entertaining myself.
The Associations
There are people here that I really do enjoy engaging with. Many of those who came in with me have either moved to other aspects of the blockchain (Splinterlands, gambling, etc.), or had things happening in their lives which of a necessity has reduced their time here, but that's meant engaging with others, and while I miss the camaraderie of those I came in with, the rest of you all ain't half bad, either. That's meant to be a compliment and I hope you take it as such.
I've never had this much back and forth with people I don't know anywhere else online. Twitter would have been the only other place, because the people I've interacted with on Facebook I mostly know offline. Steemit has given me a chance to meet people from all over the U.S., as well as the rest of the world. While I don't know that I need a lot of it (I'm not a social creature by nature), I know I would miss it if I just stopped.
What Else Am I Going To Do?
Sleep more? Bah, who needs more than 7-8 hours of it? Not me.
Hang with my family more? Believe me, I get plenty of that, and my wife makes sure I do.
Get the trilogy finished, or continue development on my multiple comic book series waiting to happen? Yeah, I could do that, but I've kind of been doing that on STEEM, too. There's not enough people here yet, though, for it to really work, but the potential is here.
I do have to say, if there's one thing I would like to do more of, which would mean even less time on STEEM, it's bowling. I do like it. A lot. I should maybe get back into it. Get a new ball. One that actually fits my fingers and doesn't weigh 12 pounds.
Work more. Yeah. That would be fun.
As I Said Earlier...
I can't speak to everyone's experience here. Some folks seem to go out of their way to make it miserable for others. I've seen it happen. I know that the way things are set up favors larger stake, and so there's an ongoing issue with distribution that doesn't seem from less than a week away that it will get any better after HF21. I know there's a lot to be disenchanted about. I've been there, done that, more times than I care to count.
And maybe I'll be right back there come next week, or in the ensuing weeks that follow.
I'm not there now, though, and it's because of the reasons stated above. Even the kind of lame What else am I going to do?
I know I could find something else to do. Fact is, I'm doing what I want to do now. I wish I had the time I had before to do it. I think I'm doing something important for my future here. I think you are, too.
I hope you think the same way, but inevitably, you need to do what you think is best for you. I wish you the best, whatever you end up doing. Meanwhile, if you want, you know where to find me.
Images source—Pixabay