When I saw @anomadsoul post a psychology, philosophy, or sociology challenge all I could think was sweet, my favorite things to write about!
Blogging has always been something I've thought about doing but it always seemed so inaccessible. Either you had to start a WordPress site, or get started on Medium or Vox or one of the myriad of other platforms that exist. And then you had to worry about would anyone read it? Am I going to be any good? Will I get any feedback on it? Can I make any money off of this? Is this going to be worth my time at all?
It wasn't until I discovered Steemit that I felt I found a platform that was worth attempting to use. I used to spend a lot of time on Gizmodo Media and related sites. The articles are sometimes ok, but the best part of it is often the comments where people share opinions, thoughts, expand the facts in the article and generally continue the discussion. Or sometimes just be funny (love Deadspin comments). Wouldn't it be great the people adding that extra value to the platform could be rewarded? How great would it be if my upvote on an article really meant something and supported the authors that I think put out the best content? Now that I'm pretty invested in the community here my dream is one day to see GMG adopt an SMT and merge the two ideas.
When I think about what I want to write about, I always come back to topics related to these. I've always had an interest in psychology. I thought about being a therapist when I was in high school. I try to apply concepts from it in both poker and business. I am actually going back to school in the fall for an MBA with a concentration in I/O Psychology. How the mind and people work has always been fascinating to me. I also minored in political science in college and think that sociology is essential in how we make choices with regard to how we structure the government. Beyond, that I think we should ALL be philosophers. If you aren't taking the time to think in-depth about morals, ethics, justice, etc. you are failing in your duty as a member of human society to tackle the difficult issues we all face and move all of us forward together.
I want to write because I think I have something to contribute. I am really good at analyzing situations and thinking critically about solutions both to immediate and long-term issues. There are a lot of topics that I have a pretty solid understanding of that I think I can teach others about. I also think that by presenting ideas and having a dialogue about them we can make them even stronger. If we build a community that openly shares ideas and invites authentic and considerate discussion, all of us will be improved by participating. Hopefully from there those ideas will continue to spread and make it out into larger society and help humanity grow.
But of course I am an amateur at this as well and relatively new. I'm still working on developing my voice and improving my writing. I think I write fairly well but it's pretty clear there's a difference between me and a professional writer when compared. My formatting is also pretty simplistic at this point as well. I'm well aware that while the underlying ideas and content are important, it has to be well packaged to get serious attention and reach. I think working with @Sndbox can help develop the skills I need to engage more users and generate more discussion. Beyond that I saw that they are based in Brooklyn (I also live in NYC) and I would love to be involved with a local community of innovative thinkers who are heavily involved in Steem and crypto in general. Hopefully even if not selected for the summer camp I'll get the chance to attend one of your meet-ups and find other ways to get involved.