Getting Back to Blogging Basics: Remembering Why I Joined Steemit in the First Place

The ticker on my steemd.com profile page says I have been here for 317 days.

It has been an interesting experience.

Somehow, I feel mildly self-congratulatory because 317 days would make this the longest I have blogged "pretty much daily" since about 2004... and that says a lot about the "stickiness" of the Steemit community. I usually tend to flit around a lot and lose interest quickly. 

Or web sites shut down. That seems to happen a lot.

Cutting Through the Clutter

One of the things I have really come to love about Steemit is the incredible variety of people, types of content and approaches folks bring to being here.

I also really appreciate the way many in this community seem to truly care about what's going on here... and even though viewpoints differ vastly, they generally work towards their version of "what's best for Steemit."

Except, of course, for those who don't. And who just see this as a giant cash harvesting operation and "damn the future."

Living here in the Pacific Northwest, that part reminds me a bit of the various forestry management controversies we have faced here. 

My "Steemit Forest" analogy is this: If all you care about is "the money NOW" then you are just the same as the people who want to clear-cut old growth forests "because you can make more money that way" and then next summer end up whining and complaining because there are "no forests" to take your kids camping in. 

Well... DUH!

Short-sighted moronic hypocrisy.

But... Getting back OFF the Soapbox

Looking back at my posts from the last several months, I realize I have sort of gotten sidetracked by internal Steemit politics and site stewardship and spam fighting and perhaps lost track of why I signed up to be part of this gig, in the first place.

I just thoroughly enjoy blogging and writing, and I love the way Steemit reminds me of the "social blogging" platforms of old. We used to write a lot of "personal journey" content and musings on the human condition and interactive stories and so forth. Bit of nostalgia there, I suppose...

I really didn't come here to "write about Steemit" and I really didn't come here to write about "the many facets of cryptocurrency trading." I realize and recognize that these are an integral part of the fabric of Steemit, but just how many "Why are my rewards so low?" posts do we really need?

Whereas I'll be the first to admit that the rewards are really super cool (There! I said it!), they are not the be all, end all in life. Therefore....

Why Are You HERE?

I realize more and more people are going to simply answer "for the money" and alarmingly many would also have to admit that they signed up "for the money" without having even the slightest inkling of what they might need to DO in order to get that money.

It's one of the things about humanity and human behavior that has often baffled-- and even scared-- me a little. How can you distill your life, what you are doing in it and what gives you meaning down to just the phrase "making money?"

Then I feel slight pangs of guilt over the fact that "happiness" and "enjoyment" (in work, in life) are relatively modern concepts. And if you live in a developing nation, they may not even be concepts, as of yet. I know that people of my grandparents' generation tended to put "practicality" ahead of most other things. 

And maybe I am out in "left field" because I come to Steemit for entertainment and enjoyment... not because it's "work." The rewards are merely a delightfully unexpected bonus.

So why are you HERE?

I'm here to "create stuff" and "share experiences" and "interact with others."

Same reason-- ironically-- that most of us got Facebook accounts, a long time ago.

Return to "Free Form" Blogging

This morning, I came to the realization that I had been tossing around randomly for long enough... and it was time for me to get back to basics. Blogging. Often Personal Blogging. Not "writing articles" and not "trying to create a 'popular' post." Just plain old free-form blogging. 

It's not "useful" in the sense that you can make money with it, nor can you cook dinner with it or rebuild a car engine with it... but it is remarkably "useful" in the sense that people often feel a little more connected to the greater whole when they read something and think... "you know what? I RELATE to that!"

That has its own kind of value.

To that end, I decided to become part of Hive account@jaynie's "Steemit Bloggers" community. Because that's ultimately my niche around here... and pretty much where I started out, back in February when I first arrived here.

This place is all about creating unique content (whatever that means to YOU!), sharing, interacting, engaging, curating and highlighting the best of the best. 

There's that old saying "Do what you love, the money will follow..." 

I think that applies here, too. 

The Funny Thing About "Communities:" They are Already HERE!

As an afterthought... I have spent a lot of time here pinning my hopes on "something" to progress with Steemit as a result of the "Communities" feature-- promised in the White Paper-- being implemented. 

I thought this feature would make the site more usable and more interactive.

As I browsed through the different Discord channels I have become member of, I realized that "Communities" have already formed themselves, regardless of STINC's intentions. 

I think that's one of the beautiful things about people who think independently-- they don't sit around and wait for "someone" to "do something." They take it upon themselves to BE that "someone." 

And so... the "Steemit Bloggers" Community is already here... no need to wait around for it to be coded into the interface. Which isn't to say that's I'm going to stop creating "misc. content," just that I found myself an umbrella to put it under.

As a result of which, you will be seeing that new footer, below, on my posts from now on.

How about YOU? Why did you join Steemit in the first place? Are you you using the site in the way you thought you were going to? Are you part of any of the many communities on Steemit that seem to have spontaneously created themselves? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE STEEMIT BLOGGERS ON DISCORD

created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 171213 15:20 PDT