July 2016.
One of my previous co-workers introduced me to Steem, or Steemit in that case. It wasn't until a few weeks later I actually started to post and tried to "dip my feet" into it. I had no prior cryptocurrency or blockchain experience and it was extremely difficult to learn about these things.
When I got some juicy rewards, I cashed out everything. It was nice to earn some extra money. So, one can easily say that I joined for the rewards and I stayed because I started to see some real potential. Real life changing potential...
What I miss the most though, is manual curation and engagement. And I truly believe that those two things are the most vital ingredients for Steem to ever reach mass adoption.