Category: Cryptocurrency

I’ve Been Writing a Lot…

 

 

mach writing Josef_Löwy_Handstudie_vor1872
Josef Löwy: “Handstudie” 1872.  Public domain

 

 

I’ve been writing quite a lot for several years now.  At first I wrote a book about personal experience.  Many people begin with the personal when they first write. After I finished that book, I cast my eyes out, and saw a universe of interesting subjects.

A blog followed–on Godaddy.  Then I opened a Twitter account. A few children’s books followed.  As the years passed, I wrote more books and found more mediums on which to feature my writing.

WordPress offered a convenient platform…and so here I am.  It may be my temperament that leads me down different paths.  Or it may be a symptom of the times. So many opportunities exist for people who want to write.  There’s no such thing as a closed door anymore.  We all have a key and an invitation to enter.

I’m blogging today about two lovely opportunities for writing, besides this one, that I explored this week.  Both of them are on Steemit and both are extraordinarily accessible to just about anyone.

The first I’ll mention is dedicated to haiku writing.  This has turned into a weekly exercise for me.  This is supposed to be a contest, but I don’t write to win.  I write because the community and the exercise are enjoyable.  Each week we are offered a picture and are asked to write a haiku in response.  This is a link to the contest.  My haiku is on the bottom, in the Comment section (under @agmoore).

Another exercise I’ve engaged in this week is a short story contest, Tell A Story to Me.  Contests abound on Steemit. I rarely win, but I do have fun writing for them.  Tell a Story to Me really captured my imagination in this round.  The prompt was the Golden Record.  My story is done, and I’ll post it on Monday.  The theme is so rich I can see this story developing into a book.  I’ll let you know how that works out 🙂

One thing you’ll notice, as you navigate around the creative writing blogs on Steemit, is that a lot of names reappear on different blogs.  There is a true creative writing community and after a while you get to recognize different writers and their styles.  You also appreciate how writers grow as they practice their craft.

And I don’t know much about cryptocurrency.  Steemit pays rewards in cryptocurrency.  But that is not the attraction for me or for a lot of people who blog there.  Maybe we’ll make money and maybe we won’t.  But in the meantime, we’re having a very rich experience.

I think I’ll try my hand at a haiku here.  This is in response to the picture featured in the contest.  Can’t show it…might be considered plagiarism.  When you read my haiku, you’ll see why I don’t win the contest 🙂

accent accent

Sunlight warms the pier

Wisp of a brown leaf withers

Atop its shadow

by Categories: A. G. Moore, Cryptocurrency, Poetry, Steemit, Writing, Writing expressivelyTags: , , , , 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