Category: Blogging

Haiku



I’ve been neglecting my blog here, because of all the writing I’m doing elsewhere, but WordPress will see more of me in the future. One way I can do this is to share my posts from other sites. This one, for example, was written for a contest on Steemit. The prize was insignificant, but the fun of writing the haiku was immeasurable. Only one haiku was asked of me. You can see how I got carried away. The theme: vehicles. I only stopped writing because it seemed unreasonable to continue. Feel free to write your own haiku about vehicles in a comment. You’ll see, it’s addictive.


Haiku About Vehicles

Open the windows
No air conditioning here!
We need a new car!!

I love my wagon
It takes me around the yard
When Mommy pulls me 🙂

wagon-148237_640.png


A plane overhead
Makes me think of travel
Where is it going?

A train zooms along
Faces in passing windows
What are they thinking?

train-303705_640.png

Trucks pound the highways
Carrying stuff here and there
The thread of commerce

That red bicycle
It’s the first I ever owned
I’m proud to ride it

bicycle-311656_640.png

My black SUV
Has clones all over the road
A bit boring, no?

The bus spews thick smoke
The people inside look tired
Even the driver

I’m in a balloon!
Scary to float free up here
But so exciting

hot-air-balloon-306007_640.png

Gliding off the cliff
I soar over rocky shores
This is really fun

My scooter goes fast
Much faster than my brother’s
He’s always behind!

My canoe, so sleek
Cuts easily through water
Watch out for rapids!

canoes-294561_640.png

Gigantic cruise ships
Travel the Caribbean
I’ve never tried one

Spiffy snowmobile
Speeds on past skis and snowshoes
Power is not green

snowmobile-34990_640.png

by Categories: A G Moore, Blogging, Creative Writing, Poetry Leave a comment

Blogging on Steemit

Paul Gauguin blog revuew 080 public
This picture accompanied a story I wrote on Steemit, Anhelo: Ode to Color

 

It has been so long since I posted here, on WordPress.  My attentions have been elsewhere, on Steemit.  This is a platform I highly recommend, but with a few caveats.  Don’t expect to get rich quickly, or get rich at all.  You may make money.  Maybe a lot of money, but if that is your prime motivation, disappointment is likely to be the outcome.

I’ve been posting on Steemit for ten months.  It is a rather absorbing enterprise.  One of the chief advantages, for a writer, is that there is no boundary.  Whatever catches your interest may be material for a blog.

Over the last months I have written stories.  I’ve written on Chinese art, ants, land use in India, the Guinea worm, cryptocurrency…whatever subject caught my interest.  All these blogs had one thing in common–I worked hard on them.  I didn’t cheat the reader.  Sometimes the ‘payout’ was paltry.  That has not been my standard for success.  My standard, every writer’s standard has to be, I think, did I give my all?  Did I shortchange the reader?

If you do join Steemit, I recommend checking out some of the communities that may coincide with your interests.  There are a few science-oriented communities, creative writing communities, communities dedicated to blogs in different languages.  Take your time looking around.  Dip your toe in one place or another.  Soon you’ll find several that match your inclinations.

So, I’m recommending to everyone who likes to write: check out Steemit.  After a few months, if you produce good material, you’ll start to attract attention.  You’ll get feedback.  You’ll have an audience.

And, there is always the chance that you will actually make some money.

by Categories: A G Moore, Art, Blogging, Steemit, WritingTags: , , , Leave a comment

Steemit

EBitcoin Ecosystem by eBitcoin Foundation public
Graphic by eBitcoin Foundation, released into the public domain, 2018

 

A couple of weeks ago my son persuaded me to open an account on Steemit. The environment on this site is completely different from traditional blogging, or any social media platform I’ve sampled. Steemit has an economic component, although that aspect of the forum seems a bit remote to me, at the moment. There is a system of rewards, upvotes and downvotes (rarely used). The idea is that the more good content a blogger provides the more “Steem” power they will accrue.  Eventually, Steem dollars can be earned.

Steemit is not an egalitarian platform, but then, what is? It seems there are whales and minnows. Whales have an enormous amount of influence and minnows have virtually none. However, there’s a sort of nurturing that is encouraged, in which minnows are rewarded simply for trying and being part of the system.

As I explain Steemit, I don’t really understand too much about how it works. The essence of “Steem Power” is steem dollars. The platform is based on blockchain technology, which is also the basis of Bitcoin. I don’t understand blockchain, Bitcoin or Steem dollars. It doesn’t matter to me. This is a new frontier and I want to understand. I think I want to be a part of it, but since I don’t know exactly what it is, I’m treading lightly.

I’ve “met” a few nice, encouraging people on the forum. And there is a kind of excitement that is not present on other social media sites.  Certainly, the financial incentive adds to the energy. And then, I think, there’s the idea that blockchain technology pushes back against traditional currencies.

We are in a climate of rebellion. People sense the reins of financial and political control have been appropriated by powerful forces, forces that ordinary people cannot touch. Blockchain is a way to fight back.

I just finished a post for Steemit, which, after a few refinements, will go up later today. I can’t show the post here, because blogs on Steemit are supposed to be unique. And so will mine be. However, I will continue to post here, with the WordPress community.

Where will the new adventure take me? Will blockchain endure? Will Steemit endure? It’s hard to say. The train has left the station and I’ve reserved a seat. I’ll keep you posted.

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Bitcoin, Blogging, Cryptocurrency, Social Media, Steemit, WritingTags: , , , Leave a comment