In response to 
About a week ago
What was the impact of Steem in your life ever since you became part of the Steem family and why you would recommend it over a similar project?
I answered this a few times but I will repeat it here, I believe (I am kind of foggy on this) I found Steem from a friend who suggested it on a mining Discord server. I initially made an account on July 1st, 2017 and lurked around until July 22nd, 2017 when I made my first comment.
Since I joined Steem, my daily life has changed drastically. Initially I made a few posts about productivity & efficiency and found no one read them or engaged with them. I felt I was posting into a black hole which I believe many people felt when they first got here and I am sure many still do.
I made a promise to myself I would post every day for a year and see how it goes. Almost 2.5 years later I am still posting every day, although the last few months I have been finding it difficult and it has been every 2-3 days.
Fighting spam and abuse has been my primary focus on Steem and takes up a majority of my time. I truly believe milking and spam is a big hindrance to Steem's success. Recent hard forks that introduced resource credits, rewards curve, and free downvotes drastically reduced amount of abuse that actually pays out. They don't alone solve the problem though, and still require constant vigilance.
I have been downvoting before it was cool (and free) which has resulted in a lot of harassment and drama. As you can see even on this post anyone who responds to me gets flooded with spam by users I have flagged for abuse. While it is annoying and disappointing, it hasn't impacted my passion or drive. I have extremely thick skin and able to shrug off most harassment and retaliation but it still drains a lot of my drive.
I try to make time daily to write a post, this is typically focused on technology, crypto, programming, productivity, movies, or comedy. I am not a good blogger by any means, but I made my promise early on to write every day, I also made a promise to respecting my readers time and attention. I believe it is important to always give value when taking someone's time and attention. I try to avoid posts and content that screams me me me me and write something that is interesting, engaging, and offers value.
If you follow me on Steem, Discord, or my show, you know I am very vocal and respond to almost everyone and I am very active, present, and passionate about Steem.
To directly answer the real question, Steem has massacred my free time. I spend a considerable time on Steem and related Discord/Slack servers every day. I spend a lot of time helping others behind the scenes and goofing off in SteemChat Discord.
I don't think I have had a single day since July 22nd, 2017 that I didn't login to Steem.
Unfortunately, this means I had to make time sacrifices with my wife and son on almost a daily basis. Fortunately I am self employed and automated 99% of my business when my son was born so I am able to do a lot of this while they are at work or school. That being said, there are many times I have to give up time to participate on Steem either as a witness, publisher, MSP Waves Show DJ, abuse fighter, or just helping someone out.
If I wasn't self employed and automated my business to the point I only am required to spend 20-30 hours a year on it, I don't think I could have put the time into Steem that I did.
I don't know where Steem is going to go, I think we are at a crossroads where what comes next will be a major factor in the future success of Steem and if it is around in 10 to 20 years. We have gone through a lot, and we still have a lot to get through going forward, I don't think it will be an easy road. I do believe we can be so much more than we are now. I believe we can make a difference in the lives of millions of people and I am willing to help do that.
Are you?
