I found Steem accidentally back in January 2017, and what made me excited about it was (A) that it seemed like a return to the format of "social blogging" I so enjoyed during my earliest days on the web, and (B) this whole idea of a decentralized blockchain meaning that when I publish something here, there's actually a real chance that it won't just be gone next week, or next year... because "some company" has decided to put up a paywall or — worse still — simply decided to close down.

When I started, it was after having lost a substantial body of work multiple times at other venues.

Maybe I'm a bit of a dinosaur in that I still live in the world where what you have to offer should at least have a bit of an effort towards being "evergreen" not just something to laugh at this week, and irrelevant next week.

I suppose my "Inner circle" on Hive is pretty small, too... and occasionally I find a new creator to add, and occasionally somebody I've been following for a long time suddenly disappears permanently off the radar. What they mostly have in common, though, seems to be that they care about the social aspects of being part of this community, not just the latest gimmick to make a few more cents.

I liked Asher's Engagement Leagues because they served — in a sense — almost like "a village inside a town," in which the villagers mostly had a common interest in the social aspects, and truly interesting publications. Ironically, it was a form of "gamification," but also a system you really couldn't game.

Wishing you a great 2025, as well!