Why Will SteemFest Be Better Because You Are There?

The Steemit community never ceases to amaze me. It's unlike any online community I've ever seen. There are so many different communities within the larger community and the level of engagement between users is deep and ongoing, almost like you know these people even though you may have never met.

We have a chance to meet many of them just around the corner at SteemFest2 in Lisbon, Portugal and I have to get there no matter what.

Steemit has become such a big part of my life this last year and I need to meet the geniuses who came up with this crazy social experiment called Steemit and the visionaries that are bringing their creativity to the table. I believe it's time for us to break bread.

Recently, I entered @blueorgy's contest for a free ticket to the event and although I didn't win I was so happy. (awesome thing you did there @blueorgy)

For starters, one of the winners is a friend of mine, @anomadsoul, who I met 6-months ago in a hostel in Mexico and introduced him to the platform. I'm stoked he is so stoked about Steemit. Congratulations my friend!

And secondly, the warm and generous comments many of you guys made nominating me for the ticket. It really warmed my heart to read those heart-felt comments.

The way you guys described your involvement in Steemit Open Mic, I felt the whole purpose of Open Mic was working as intended, to bring a community together around just playing or singing a song.

Music is so universal just like Steemit. It transcends language and is a really good way to connect with people and I really believe it weaves the seams of humanity into a fabric that can build lasting connections.

What would Steemit be without connecting with people?

So, recently, I stumbled across a post titled, This Is Your Chance Be A Part Of The Most Fantastic Fest On Planet Earth - I Am Giving Away A Ticket To Steemfest2 --- by @quinneaker

@quinneaker is also going to be speaking there along with many inspiring people. If you have not discovered @quinneaker and the group at @gardenofeden you should definitely go have a look at what they have going on there.

I got to go for this opportunity for this ticket just to meet everyone and connect with the real people I've been connecting with through Steemit.

The way he is running this contest is very interesting and he took a page out of @papa-pepper's play book and the only thing he asked was to make a post that answers this question.

"Why Will SteemFest Be Better Because You Are There?" Good question!

I'm sure I will be a better Steemian for being there more than the other way around but it got me thinking of what I can add to the event, and not to put too fine of a point on it, in a word, energy.

Energy is what makes any gathering special regardless of the setting or occasion. It's the energy of the people gathered together at any one point in time that make the moment into the future we envision.

I believe my energy is needed at SteemFest this year. That's a bold statement but I'll tell you why in a minute.

First, let me share a little bit of why I really want to go this year. I admit it would be a thrill to meet the people I've been connecting with online in person and get a glimpse into what the future plans of Steemit are while hearing about all the cool projects going on.

I completely and unapologetically confess to having an ulterior motive, albeit a benevolent one, and that is to grow support for Steemit Open Mic while I'm there so we can continue to grow the music community on Steemit.

Through sharing music we can on-board a lot more people to the Steemit platform and potentially the followers some of those musicians have as well. The foundation is there, meaning there is a very active and engaged group of musically talented people involved and they are an inclusive group who encourage people to contribute.

Besides all that it's a lot of fun.

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Right before my eyes I've had the pleasure to watch people improve their musical performances over the course of weeks of entering Open Mic and it's inspiring to witness. The community we have built encourage each other and is very supportive.

It is a good thing for Steemit to have the Open Mic thing growing like it is and more people should know about it and I am willing to be the ambassador to make that happen.

Why do I feel so strongly about this?

This is my way of giving back to this community that has given so much to me. To help people get involved in Steemit through the universal language of music is more powerful than I realized when I first started bringing this community together.

The more I can connect with the greater Steemit community the more I can help new Steemians connect through the community we are building here.

At first I was just trying to see how this whole thing worked and it became apparent that Steemit is a pay-it-forward, gift economy unlike anything we have seen before.

The more I connected with people the more I witnessed some beautiful things taking place. Shy people opened up like flowers by singing us a song that touched people in a real way. Closet musicians came out of their shells and shared some real gems. I could listen to musicians every day for the rest of my life and always love it so this is heaven to me.

Then people began to share how much they loved Open Mic and the things they say about it and what it has done for them inspires me to reach even more people so they can share their music too.

Let me share with you some of their most recent comments regarding this little thing of ours.

And here are some more comments from people.

As you can see, people are really inspired to contribute and stay on the platform by sharing their music. Music touches the community in a way that is deeper than just words.

Building a worldwide community of musical talent builds connections and weaves the community together in a very positive way that keeps them engaged with each other.

Reading comments like this almost everyday I feel an obligation to this wonderful community growing right before our eyes to bring it to SteemFest2 and share it with the most influential people on the platform.

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It's all about energy as I mentioned earlier. The energy growing around music on the platform is something we should continue to cultivate.

So getting back to the question of Why Will SteemFest Be Better Because You Are There?

I'll bring some fun to the table and share what we are doing with people who will see how supporting the music community on Steemit is good for the platform.

I'll bring a community building mindset to the event that is the whole reason why we exist to begin with and I'll bring a lot of positive energy.

I'll bring this thriving community to ride along with me as I post about the events at SteemFest2 and introduce them to the interesting new developments on the Steemit horizon.

SteenFest2 will benefit from the tips I can share with people on how to build a community on Steemit, but I'm sure I'll be learning a lot there too.

I can't wait to see what other creative ideas are developing on Steemit and meet the people behind them.

Networking with Steemit leaders I hope to bring awareness to the Open Mic community and garner more support so the contest is self sustaining. Right now it is not. Steemit is a big platform with a lot of worthy projects going on and it is easy go unnoticed.

So far, everyone that discovers Open Mic likes it so I believe it is important to go to SteemFest and network to grow this thing. I believe this is good for Steemit and for building real communities on the platform because I see it happening everyday.

By the way, I didn't do this alone. We have done this together.

Thankfully, I have help. @pfunk has been a supporter of the contest since almost the beginning and now we have a judging panel that includes @krystle, @verbal-d, @soundlegion, and @jessamynorchard and their help has made the contest more dynamic and engaging.

With them on-board the contest can be scaled and used as a template for other musical contests in different genres in the future bringing even more people to the platform.

The @curie project has also been a big help by picking posts from new authors to curate that have entered the contest. Thanks @curie! I love the work you do for the community.

Other music-related contests and communities have developed on Steemit that can trace their origins to or were inspired by Steemit Open Mic.

Some of my favorite ones are the Rap Challenge hosted by @rondonson and Karaoke Contest hosted by @killerwhale.

Building communities around music brings not only musicians together but the people that listen to music as well and then collaborations like this can happen.

Steemit Artists Music Compilation Volume 2 - Support Over 20 Music Artists Here On Steemit - Free Downloads --- by @soundlegion

There were a few other music-related contests that didn't last because it is a lot of work to keep all this together each week and I respect those guys for sticking with it. It shows commitment to the community and it's worthy of our support.

Another reason SteemFest2 will be better because I'm there is because I like to buy drinks for my friends and I know how to party. (I'm a professional partier) LOL

Good times have a way of following me around and that just makes thing, well, better. A little fun never hurt anyone.

Last year I couldn't make it to SteemFest in Amsterdam because I was growing my magic garden and my plants needed me, but I was there in a way. One of my posts titled, Hitchhiking Naked Down The Lost Coast Of California's Highway One won the best post in the Best Life Advice category and was announced on stage by none other than @ned himself!

You can watch that video here. I can't tell you how excited I was to see @ned talking about my post at SteemFest and I vowed to myself I would be at the next one no matter what.

I will find a way to meet and mingle with the forward-looking, visionary people that are Steemit and I will be there regardless of whether I win this ticket or not. But if I do win this ticket it just means I can buy more rounds of drinks for my new friends in Lisbon! LOL!

By the way @quinneaker, I think it is great that you are running this contest and generously offering a ticket to SteemFest2 and I'm sure there are many worthy people to choose from. Thank you for doing this and always putting out the good vibes.

I look forward to reading everyone's posts that enter this ticket giveaway and I will see you at SteemFest2.

To everyone that is part of Steemit Open Mic and added all of your energy and kind comments thank you for your enthusiastic and continued support. If you feel so inclined to chime it you can help me win this ticket by going to this post and sharing why you like Open Mic or you can enter yourself.