To Witness or Not To Witness...
That is the question. At least, that's the question I've been getting from a lot of you guys lately. And I really love the excitement and encouragement you've given me to look into this further. In today's video I'll explain why I've really started to consider setting up my own witness server for the Steem blockchain.
I decided to go for it! And I would LOVE to get your vote..
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I think it is a good idea.
Good timing to be a witness now cause
SMT is going to be big and more witness
give more support to the blockchain.
I am thinking about it too.
Keep on steemin'
That's a great point and actually one I didn't consider. I imagine a lot of people aren't as interested right now because of the low price of Steem. But I think that will change soon. So best to get setup now. :)
Thanks for leaving your feedback. It's much appreciated!
I guess so. Aren't some of the witnesses missing some blocks?
You guess so? I thought you were one of the ones rooting me on, lol. ;)
And yes, it's common for witnesses to miss a block here and there. I've heard that the steem blockchain can be somewhat buggy so it's best to have a backup server if possible. I will be considering this as well.
lol I might know this platform better than anyone else in the world but it is still confusing. I'm not as good with the techy stuff though.
You really should probably go for it and hopefully you can provide some competition and do a better job than some of the others. If the current witnesses were active like you are on the platform our user retention might be higher and the Steem price would probably be higher. I think those are the 2 biggest problems with the Steem blockchain.
Do you still have limits on our bot? It looks like there was a big loss last round.
You also might want to sign up for @dustsweeper.
I think I know the round you're referring to.. and those users got refunds to increase their ROI. Unfortunately, when bids get pushed into the next round, the code doesn't always check the ROI calculations properly. Something that's being worked on though. But I keep an eye on the rounds pretty closely and always send refunds when the ROI gets out of whack :)
@mysearchisover, it's official. I'm now a Steem witness! I'll be submitting my Witness Application on my blog tomorrow but you can now vote and I would love your vote. Thanks for always being so supportive (and pushing me to do this)!!
Awesome! FYI you might want to sign up for @dustsweeper.
I voted for you.
LOL awesome response! Thanks for the encouragement, @emwalker!! :)
Absolutely. It'd be nice to get some marketing minds into the witness space. I love all the developers and the blockchain minded...But good ol' fashioned people skills are very important to promote the STEEM blockchain to the world.
Yes, go for it. You got my vote lol
You've got a great point. And that's one reason that I'm inclined to do it. From all the tutorials and posts I've read about running a witness and seed, the hardest part is getting votes. And that comes down to building trust and relationships with people in the community... which is something a developer or programmer might not be the best at. So I really don't think I would have any problem breaking into the top 50 which would at least pay for the server setup.
Anyways, still looking it over. But glad to hear I have your vote man! I know how I operate and there's a 99.99% change I go through with it LOL
Best thing to do is take that vacation and sit on it. Enjoy your time with your girlfriend and then when you get back....It's game on lol
Nah seriously dude, I'll support it anyway I can. Just let me know. I think a witness in the future is the perfect fit for you and STEEM.
I am with you.
Full support ✊🏻
Sure Brandon, I would give you a vote. Be nice too if you could give us an idea of what a witness actually does besides securing the block chain. I have heard around hard-fork time, there can be major shifts in witnesses. The powers-that-be here generally don't vote for witnesses, unless they want to make certain changes. I think you have to have a lot votes backing you before you become a significant part of the decision making process, but there can be money to be made to running witness server. If it is something you truly want, go for it ... I might wait until after the trip though. So you are around if any significant problems arise.
Thanks @prydefoltz, I'd appreciate that. And here's a video I did about Witnesses but I keep it pretty simple:
One thing is that people like to vote on people they know, like, trust, and someone they feels has the best intentions for the overall community and blockchain. With that said, you're absolutely right. I believe it's only the top 20 witnesses that make the tough calls. So it does require a lot of votes to get into that position... which I think is perfectly fair.
And yes, there can be some money to be made if you can get into the top 40 witnesses or so. In the beginning it will cost me roughly $150-200 a month out of pocket, depending on what server setup I go with and if I need to hire a programmer for assistance (in the beginning). So it's definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme for sure lol.
I will likely go ahead and get things setup. In the beginning I will have time to fumble a bit as my server won't be relied upon too heavily. Now.. if I was a top 20 witness.. yeah, I would need to be sure things were in perfect working condition as I would be producing a lot of blocks. I'm not even sure I'll be producing any blocks in the beginning until I get voted into the top 40 or 50.
I have a lot to learn and really look forward to it. It's challenges like this that really get me excited! :)
I think it is the next logical step in the evolution. You have been a long way so it could very well worth it. It would be interesting to see what you need in order to do it. I imagine you will share the process as you always have! Good Luck!
Thanks @newageinv, I've heard that a lot. And I'm starting to realize that it really is the logical next step here for me. :)
And yes, I will try my best to share everything I learn in the process of setting this up. Should be a lot of fun!
Becoming a witness will help you understand the Steem ecosystem from a new angle. You've obviously got the technical smarts to figure out what needs to be done, so I say "Go for it!". The best time is obviously after you get back from your trip.
I'm in Taiwan. If the timing is right, maybe we could share a meal? Just drop me a line.
Absolutely, I agree. I hope this will deepen my understanding of the Steem blockchain and even improve my Command Line skills (or lack thereof) :)
And we're actually not going to be in Taiwan unfortunately. Would've been cool to meetup!
Do it! Why not! You cote my upvote for this post and my vote! :) lol
Thanks @mrchef111 for the vote of confidence! I'm still looking into everything but it's very likely that I'll move forward with this and put my hat in the ring for witness. :)
No problem!! Definitely do it, I mean no harm in trying it out right? :)
Not sure what a witness really even does. I'm kind of new here
Hey @big.ock, no worries. I had no idea what a witness is either early on. I was too busy learning everything else, lol. Check out the video that I linked above where I explain what they are and why they're so important. That should help a lot!
I will later. I'm on my phone with 3g right now. Ran out of high speed. Videos take way to long.
Hello @brandonfrye
When I joined in steemit last month since then I followed you & your post and it's very helpful. So, that make me think about you. I think you're a helping hand for your followers and rest of the community. In my opinion, you should become a witness. Here I assure you that I'll vote you for witness. And I hope you can capable of taking the responsibility.
Well, good luck. And thanks for the post.
Hey @shahinkhanbd, I'm glad that my posts have helped you here on your Steem journey. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. It's likely that I'll move forward with it and I'm glad to know that I've got your vote. I appreciate you taking the time to write the comment.
Is there a return on your investment going into being a Witness? I wonder what equipment you may need?
There are no guarantees. Unlike BTC mining, you have to earn the confidence (votes) of other Steem stakeholders in order to process any blocks. And I’ll cover my server setup in a post should I go through with this. But it’s looking very likely.
I just came across you on Youtube. Sat there learning from your video. I made it a goal to research and learn more about steemit. Thank you so much for your great content.
Awesome, I'm so glad you followed me here and said hello. Welcome to Steemit, the most interactive blockchain on the planet! If you have any questions about Steem, Steemit, etc. please let me know and I'll gladly try to help. But we're all glad you're here! :)
As long as you feel you have the time and know-how I don't see a reason why not. Witnesses that also take the time to create their own content and interact and educate can't possibly be a bad thing.
I've not voted for witnesses yet but if you decide to set it up I'll give you my vote.
You're exactly right. In fact, we have many witnesses that don't produce any content at all so I think that's very important. Gotta stay in touch with the community. Btw, I am now officially a witness. I'll be announcing it and submitting my Witness Application tomorrow on my blog, but you can now vote for me. 😉
Alright, you have my vote for what it's worth
Absolutely! Go for it @brandonfrye! I already have the hashtags ready: #BrandonFrye4witness #BrandonFryeHasMyVote!
Your hashtags are going to be super useful... because I'm now officially a witness!! But don't tell anybody. I'll post about it tomorrow 😉 (You can vote for me now though)
Awesome! My vote is cast!
yesssssssssss!!!!!! you should...and i WILL VOTE FOR YOU!
Thanks @rawutah, I appreciate it brother! And although I haven't announced it yet, I am now officially a Steem Witness 😀 I will be announcing it and submitting my witness application on my blog tomorrow but you can go ahead and vote. I would LOVE the support!!
yeeeehawwww! just voted brother!!!!! it's just keeps getting better!!!!! :)
DO IT.
YOU HAVE MY VOTE TOO.
COURAGE BROTHER. ..
Hey Brandon! Just found this via Youtube (crazy enough :-)).
I think the question is not if we're able to imagine that you're able to set up a server. Being a Steem witness requires much more than that. So the question should rather be: What can you offer? Why should we vote you as a witness? What would make you stand out from other witnesses?
Looking forward and Steem on!
I'll be following you from now on.
Hey @surfermarly, so glad you found my video and stopped by! And you’re right. Although technical ability is important (for server updates, security patches, etc,), a witness should provide something to the community. I outline my offerings in this post which is my actual witness application: https://steemit.com/witness-category/@brandonfrye/brandon-frye-steem-witness-application
I’m really glad you stopped by. Will be checking out your page now. 😃
Yes u should become a witness as u have made so valueable &knowldge able posts where from like me newbbies learn how to work in steemit i will vote u
Hi @famigliacurione, I can definitely create my own tutorial or point people in the right direction because I setup my witness and seed servers this past weekend!! Woohoo!! 😀 I will be posting about it tomorrow and asking for votes, but you can vote for me now if you'd like. I would absolutely LOVE the support!