In recent weeks, Steemit has been growing at a brisk pace, with Steem and SBD prices surprising us all. Even signups have increased as new members continue to join us from all parts of the world. There are several new applications on the blockchain powering new websites and our community is thriving.
These are generally some indications of rising popularity of our platform on the web. There are of course many things that needs to be improved, but development is also moving at a good pace. 2018 is lined up with several updates which we expect will propel Steemit towards mainstream adoption in the future.
As a stakeholder and user of the platform, I find it intriguing to find out what brings everyone back to Steemit. Today, we will discuss these aspects of our platform, to find out what aspects of this website and/or the blockchain creates the most user interest and increased engagement.
1. Social Interaction
Steemit has been good for blogging and sharing content from it's early days. However as the community of users grew, the need and potential for real world networking and friendships became apparent and also possible.
Over the past year and half I was able to forge real world friendships with people from different pars of the world thanks to Steemit and Steemit.Chat. Many of us came together twice during Steemfest and stay connected on a regular basis. After 1.5 years of work, many of my friends have signed up as well. It's great to be able to watch their participation and growth on this platform.
2. Financial Freedom
If we scale properly and get things right, there is a possibility that Steemit could be named amongst one of the top social media websites that helped shape the internet as we know it. If we scale to a level where we can support millions of people across the globe, we may also be able to provide some kind of basic monthly income purely by way of user participation in the millions!
The idea that this could happen, and we could create this reality, motivates me to come back everyday and give this place my best! I strongly believe that we're all contributing to changing 'business as usual.'
As a cryptocurrency enthusiast, just as many of you here, I have profited by investing into different crypto projects. However, Steemit and Steem blockchain captures my imagination beyond it's monetary benefits. But monetary benefits cannot be ignored. Our time is limited. In my opinion it is incredible that we can earn a little extra from our time spent using a social media site. More people should be doing this.
I'm sure in the past year and half, many here have earned a decent bit of crypto money on Steemit. I know for a fact that some of you are able to manage your monthly living expenses completely just by using the platform. In our materialistic world, financial freedom provides real freedom to many of us. Maybe holding Steem might just help secure your future while the little curation rewards that we receive adds to our passive income.
3. Steem Ecosystem
Many developers across this space continue to build some amazing apps. Sometimes when I visit Steemtools.com, there seems to be a new project listed there or trending has a new announcement for an application built on the blockchain. Apps such as 
I have immense respect for developers and engineers who are building new useful applications on the Steem blockchain. The fact that so many people are working together to create a solid foundation to what could be a game changer in the market is quite frankly inspiring to observe.
These are some of the things that draws me to Steemit everyday. I'd like to know what brings you to the platform. If you've been around for over a year, what is it that made you stick around?
Please share your experience in the comments below.
If you like my work kindly resteem it to your friends. You may also continue reading my recent posts which might interest you:
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