Well Steemfest is over, but the sheer volume of happy posts about it will make sure we don't forget it in a hurry. I had to miss going to Amsterdam as I was denied a visa, which is an essential travel document for people who have lost out on the Genetic lottery.
But I do consider steemfest to be more than the party it was, and feel this is the start of something which could be the USP (Unique Selling Point) for steemit to overtake the competition in the future!
Let me explain how.
Social sites and steemit
FB, Redditt etc have been around for some time now. The reason of their success was the interaction, albeit online, which they facilitated between people from around the world, in an "easy to use" way. That was fantastic.
Till the inert nature of the contact, and impersonal relationships, started coming out through the woodwork.
You see, when FB started people were excited to find they could renew contacts with friends and family, including those from a long time ago whom you had almost forgotten. Everybody was in a frenzy to send friend requests and our friend lists grew rapidly.
Till the time people started realizing that privacy was being compromised to some extent, and the relation was mostly cosmetic, as you only knew about the others life according to what was being put up.
And there was a large number on your friends list with whom you did not want to share your antics of everyday life!
FB, at least, became more artificial when the focus for most seemed to be the consistent desire to show your "best face", rather than chronicle your real life and share wisdom's so that everybody benefits from each others experience.
And now it has morphed into a platform for commerce, where every post seems to try and use your contacts to further business interests, or lure you to buy a T-shirt, or something else you don't want!
The whole point of social inter-activity was lost when censorship started, and even the propagation of news got exploited, when it became difficult to ascertain what was genuine, and what was not.
IMO, the only way FB can go now is down. And like my young nephew recently reminded me, FB is for geriatric folks like me, and that their generation was onto "better" things!
That's what the newer generation seems to think of FB, and it can't be good for them!
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Then came steemit
Promoted as a social site, steemit was different. You were to be paid for your contribution to engage the community by writing meaningful posts, in a crypto-currency called steem, which most had no clue about.
The lure of earning a decent income was the primary motivation for me when I joined up, encouraged by the insane amounts some were earning on the platform. It seemed unrealistic, but I jumped upon it with abandon, as I was familiar with crypto's and did not have to go through a learning curve.
But this learning curve has been made simple by steemit! And that is among the biggest contributions of steemit. Even people completely alien to the concepts of crypto-currencies are now on steemit which is making the community vibrant!
Add to this the number of lovely ladies we have on-board, who were a rare sight in cryptos earlier, which is turning this community into a wholesome mix of reality and life involving both the sexes.
But all this would have remained in the realms of the internet if steemfest had not happened. For in the celebrations in Amsterdam, I saw a glimpse of what might come in the future, and why a festival like this would help promote the ideals of steemit to a larger audience.
[Photo Credit]
Human contact and building a community
I could be mistaken, but I believe I can say one thing of the people who were not at steemfest this year; we all felt the enthusiasm and were part of the celebrations never-the-less!
The vibe was felt over the net by everybody who is part of this community, and we must find a way share it with people yet to be initiated.
And steemfest seems to be that way!
Users from all over the globe are now familiar with online interactions, but a chance to meet-up with faceless nicks from around the world, and to share your love of freedom and a new way of thinking, I am sure, will excite anyone.
If the idea of steemfest is kept alive and repeated every year at different locations, we shall be the only social online community on the internet to do that, different from personal initiatives, and on a grander scale.
And it shall also be our unique USP which should give us an edge over other sites, as they have no clue as to what human contact and formation of friendship with like minded people can do, and could propel steemit to a place where others cannot catch up with, and can only dream!
Steemfest could literally make steemit the biggest online community ever, if we all realize this!
You may also click the down-arrow next to my name (before my reputation score below) to follow me. Or you may just re-steem to share the love! 😊