My Steemit Journey.

I admit that the only reason I joined was because I saw a few of my peers do very well on the platform. @AnaHilarski and I already had a successful online business, blogs and we were already active in the crypto currency community. I had a considerable investment in another crypto currency based social media platform that was performing very well at the time so I was reluctant to invest in Steem.

I set up my first account in late June but quickly lost my keys and was locked out of my account. So I decided to not use the platform, as a social media power user I was pissed that the Devs would make something so difficult to use. So I went about my life until one day a few friends made great money on their posts. I needed get in on the action.

I better learn how to use this platform or forever be the Crypto Currency Social Media guy who passed over something that could change the internet as we know it. My First Post

Greed, FOMO and Steem Fever Took Over.

I Asked Ned to Bring Us On to Help with Social Media.

I saw a post about the team wanting to hire a social media manager. Even though that is not what we do I decided to send Ned an email saying that I would like to help. The email was rather raw, I frankly never thought they would hire 200 Social. I shared with them a few of our clients results and we were underway within a week.

Anyone can see that the results of the content syndication across the web has had a great impact on the views. A social media manager can post content but getting eyeballs on the content is a totally different game entirely.

LaBitConf, SteemFest and the Community.

Going into October Steem had fallen back to earth. The Steemit community was going through massive changes as the initial rush and sense of greed had subsided. The community needed something to bring us together and give us a sense of belonging.

So @AnaHilarski and I packed our bags and began two weeks of travelling. First up was LaBitConf (Latin American Bitcoin Conference) which was located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We had a tremendous time and had the chance to hang out with some of the pioneers in Bitcoin. We also met a few of our fellow Steemit users at the conference and fended off a few of the naysayers. Here is a picture of @AnaHilarski at our 200 Social booth. You can see the Steemit logo on our banner. At the time Arcade City was a client also, that only lasted a month thank goodness!

We arrived home for less than 16 hours giving us just enough time to pack some warmer clothing to head to SteemFest in Amsterdam. We were exhausted by the time we arrived at the hotel! Almost 48 hours of continuous travel. We said hi to @Ned and a few of our fellow Steemians before hitting the rack.

The next day SteemFest officially kicked off. We were really in for a treat. SteemFest was so different compared to the Bitcoin focused LaBitConf. There were actually women at SteemFest! It dawned on me that we could be onto something big here. Typically Crypto Currency was a sausage fest but Steem had done something incredible. It was attracting women.

We spent three days enjoying the company of the Steemit community, exploring Amsterdam, enjoying the goodies and fabulous food. We were hooked, Steemit was something special and we would do all we could to help make the platform something special.

Our Youtube Live Steemit Special.

It was time to celebrate Christmas and we decided that we would give something back. Many people could not make it to SteemFest but the internet is amazing and Youtube Live gave us the ability to connect with everyone in their homes. We talked about Steemit and Social Media. We had a great time and bonded with some Steemit users that we have never met in person.

The Hard Fork and the Change in Powerdown Time Frames.

When we were at SteemFest there many discussions about the future of Steemit and especially the Powerdown timeframe changing to 13 weeks. To me that seemed like a very short amount of time and a few other users thought it would cause a drop in the value of Steem as initial users would cash out. Well, it seems that is exactly what happened.

We are coming to the end of that initial burst of Powerdowns. The people who wanted their money out have almost completed the process. What does this mean for the future of Steem? I believe we will see a nice steady rise in the price of Steem starting towards the end of April and the beginning of May. The amount of Steem coming to market will slow and the Steemians who believe in the platform will stay the course. I personally have not cashed out any Steem I have earned on Steemit.com since late August. My first weeks on the platform earned me a great deal of Steem and I sold it for Bitcoin.

Where Does Steemit Go From Here?

We have another big Hard Fork coming up that will shake up the platform. If history repeats itself we should have a seamless transition. I personally don't worry myself too much with the direction the team takes. I trust their decisions and follow their lead. Even though we are part of the team, in a limited capacity, I do not feel the need to force my opinion. This is their vision and I am here to make sure the communities voice is heard.

I now have a considerable amount of time invested in Steemit and I want this platform to blow the socks off of the internet in 2017. This can only happen if we trust each other and build something that is attractive to new users. So lets make this platform a haven on the interwebs for people to freely express themselves and share their passions. I for one sense that the winds of change are in the air and Steemit is a great community that we can all help build.