Hi @smooth
Thanks for this great opportunity! It's really cool to see some of the major stakeholders putting out contests off their own back to help reduce the cost of Steemfest.
About me
I'm 39, from the UK, and currently live in Mallorca, Spain. I moved here a couple of years ago due to the urgent requirement for more sunshine in my life, SAD was hitting me harder each year - taking the doctors medicine and feeling like a zombie wasn't cutting it.
I left the world of IT to buy a jewelry shop with friends, got told I was crazy by other friends, and after that didn't work out, went back to IT working for the United Nations in Valencia.
I was introduced to Steem, Steemit, blockchain tech,and cryptocurrency via @stephenkendal and twitter in August 2016, and at the end of August last year, decided to focus on Steem full-time.
I would say i'm fairly shy - prefer listening over talking, a beer helps. I'm into sunshine, cycling, and I'm OK with holding doors open for people and being used as a mule when things need moving around.
And, I'm not at all comfortable with talking about myself, so i'm glad that part is over with!
Steem
I suppose the main items people on here know me for are my lists, pie charts, and the weekly Engagement league which I have been hosting since the beginning of the year.
Without a huge footprint on social media elsewhere, I decided, and mainly fell into this role as someone who pushes engagement on the platform. My content is mixed, but I do tend to produce posts which create a good level of responses - this is mainly down to offering personalized lists or pie charts, relating to ones engagement, voting activity, etc.
@arcange's scripted reply drops by quite often to let me know my content is well received and responded to:
This level of interaction requires a lot of time on my part, and looking at the busiest respondents of 2018 (ordered by comment summation and removing the auto-responding bot accounts) I've scraped into the top 10. (data pulled this morning).
| Account | Comments | Total comm. length (chars) |
|---|---|---|
| @glenalbrethsen | 6412 | 4208043 |
| @chireerocks | 13135 | 3427916 |
| @lynncoyle1 | 13400 | 3323251 |
| @davemccoy | 8897 | 3086250 |
| @bashadow | 6949 | 2920690 |
| @joeyarnoldvn | 32498 | 2891108 |
| @gillianpearce | 14629 | 2823089 |
| @janton | 12512 | 2583451 |
| @abh12345 | 11150 | 2513381 |
| @funbobby51 | 11503 | 2436634 |
All but one of these accounts currently takes part in the Engagement League, and there are another 30/40 members in the top 100 across the blockchain this year.
The engagement league has earned the support of @curie to allow me to reward the top placings with some STEEM each week. @carlgnash is an integral part of @curie and has this to say with regards to engagement and the Engagement League (33 seconds):
My witness partner @paulag, who is also a keen analyst, has produced content looking at engagement and account retention, here on Steem, and has this to say in that regard (25 seconds):
The goal of our witness is to be a supportive umbrella for the existing and new communities on Steem. We'd like to support, via delegations and votes, and be the connecting part between them, to try and provide opportunity for them to work together, and not become siloed. It's early days, and a big ask - we're working on it :)
Other things I'm proud of, and see as bringing value to the Steem community are:
I'm a @utopian-io Community Manager (analysis) and review contributions of this category and involve myself in weekly meetings for the project, which I believe has shown to be one of the best things to come out of Steem in the past year
I curate for @curie, when I find the time, and appreciate what they do with regards to finding new and undervalued content, with the goal of rewarding and retaining these solid content creators
The @adollaraday project, run by @pennsif, receives a weekly donation from myself, which is then passed forward to charities/projects chosen by @pennsif
As it stands I currently have a proxy vote worth 800+ MVESTs, thanks to @fulltimegeek. I wear this like a badge of honor and am not aware of an account as small as mine that has been entrusted with this.
My self-voting has been minimal over the past 6 months (2/3 votes), and although I don't necessarily see 'controlled' self-voting as a bad thing, it's just how I've chosen to act this year
I delegate over half my stake out to around 20 individual accounts (due to their Engagement scores) without charge, and also delegate to the following communities: @actifit, @adollaraday, @asapers, @comedyopenmic, @friendsofgondor, @helpie, @ivoted, @curie, @dustsweeper, @c-squared, @youarehope, @spaminator, @utopian-io, @openmic
I've also been supporting this @burnpost initiative, you may have heard of it? :) - 181 votes thus far
Why I'd like a free ticket
Last year I had fiat in the bank to cover the costs for myself and my ex-girlfriend to get to Portugal. I was aware of the @t-r-f, but opted out of that as I felt others needed it more.
I was sick and missed a day of conferences, but what I did see and learn has made me determined to make it this year, and try to remain well!
The number of projects and initiatives on the Steem blockchain, even back then, was growing rapidly, and Steemfest provided a really good opportunity to catch up on and listen to first-hand, on what I'd not seen here.
I expect to their be even more happening this year as we progress closer to SMT testing and release, something that I view as the potential driver to push Steem into the mainstream.
It is for this reason, and the fact i'm a lot more strapped for cash this year, that I would love to win a ticket to the event. Thank you once again for providing this opportunity, and for taking the time to read my reply.
Cheers
Asher
There are many reasons why I feel that Asher deserves to win this opportunity, some have already covered here in this comment thread. But the one that has always stuck out to me, and what made me a fan of his, is his passion for this platform.
While many know that being a yes man here is the best way to line your pockets, Asher chooses to stick to his principles and say what needs to be said... for the good of the platform. You can’t help but respect him for that, even if you don’t fully agree with him.
He spends hours upon hours not only encouraging engagement, but living and breathing it ...all while fighting for the future success of this place, no matter the cost.
When given the opportunity to throw his weight around (with the fulltimegeek proxy), he still stayed true to those principles. Making sure every decision he makes with that given honor truly does impact the platform in a positive way. His actions speak volumes, and I think he is an important part of the future success of this place.. and that future starts at SF3.
Thank you for this lovely comment @llfarms!
Sending Asher to Steemfest goes far beyond a ticket for a single individual. Asher heads up a large community. We meet each week to compare engagment and curation scores but it does not end there. Many of us interact all through the week. We often meet up in Ashers comment threads, where he shares with us the stats we can use to grow and thrive.
He has created a far reaching network as well. More often than not the message from his post is shared as the league members use his information in the creation of their own content.
The enthusiasm and love of the platform has created a core of members extremely loyal to Steemit and dedicated to it's survival and growth.
To send Asher to Steemfest is to send a representative of this growing community.
Thank you very much for this awesome supportive comment @headchange!
Thanks still rooting for you to make it. Good luck.
Hope you succeed. We need an Irish voice over there :) lol. Joking aside, You are involved in positive projects in the Steemit community. You have a positive outlook to the future of Steemit and its ability to fill future needs. That positivity is needed at the Steemfest.
Plus we need an Irish rep there.
Thanks very much @thehive, I agree we do need Irish representation, but I'm not Irish :D @paulag, @eroche, @demotruk could be who we need.......
You can be Honorary Irish for the trip
I don't think they'd consider an Englishman to honor them for a second! :D
I'm Irish. I will. We can break down borders. Let's step over the invisible lines we never see and walk forward together.
If ANYbody deserves to win a ticket, it's Asher!
Not only is he "Mr. Engagement" and one of the hardest working people in the community, he co-runs a witness, he delegates, he encourages newcomers... and all the stuff you've already read about him.
But here's a thing that's important for Steemit, as a whole: The participants in the weekly Curation and Engagement Leagues NOT ONLY create a significant percentage of all quality content on the platform; it's member retention rate is multiple times higher than the platform as a whole... and I know retention (or the lack of) is an issue here.
Now you might think "Yeah, that's Steemit, not STEEM. What about the overall STEEM blockchain?"
Like it or not, Steemit may just be "an experiment," but it remains the de-facto "front window" onto the Steem Blockchain. And that impression will not separate anytime soon. If Steemit isn't thriving, it reflects on Steem. And Asher is probably doing more to help Steemit thrive than any other person I can think of. And that's good for Steem, and the blockchain.
Smooth is going to think I'm paying some of you guys.
Thank you for this reply @denmarkguy, it is appreciated very much.
awesome reply/entry. I really hope you win a ticket. you put a tonne of effort and time into steemit and as a fulltime steemian while the prices are so low well this shows massive dedication . I for one hope you win a ticket. But it looks like I am not the only one that want to make sure you get to steemfest....the support here goes to show
I wish you all the best here mate, I know how many others think the same as me too.
Thank you, and thanks for the message on the post before I even arrived.
Quite overwhelmed with the support here!
Better bring @paulag along too!!
I think she is working on it :D
I hope you do win and are able to go. @ned should provide you a ticket and have you as a featured speaker talking about retention, and how best to increase engagement on steemit, to make steem a more palatable cryptocurrency to investors.
ha! Love it :D
Pity I'm a terrible speaker and the vast majority of people don't care so much about retention as long as the $$$ is arriving right now.
Thank you!
Good luck Asher!!! You totally deserve to win this and you could represent all us wee folk who you work tirelessly to help all of the time :) My fingers are crossed for you buddy!
Hey Lynn, thank you very much for dropping in to show support. Tired, I am, (of pie especially right now) but I'll do my best to stay awake at the festival if I get there :D
You're welcome Ash; I sure hope all this work pays off for you :)
This is one dude who deserves the ticket!
Thanks buddy!
Yes please @smooth, my voice joins the chorus of "One ticket for Asher", and the rest sez it all.
Mr Barge 🙏🏼 Thank you kindly.
Who if not you, Asher? You are @misterengagement himself, and I can't even imagine a Steemfest without you :-) Best of luck for the competition!!!
ha :) Ooo, that name isn't taken....
Thanks for your support Marly! See you there, win or lose, I hope :D
Haha, you may want to make sure that the account is yours though :-)
I didn't take it, maybe if it's there tomorrow 😊
Honestly if it wasn't because of Ashers Engagement League I would have given up on this platform months ago, it was there where I met @techslut, my first ever supporter and the major reason why I was motivated to stick with the platform. So yeah his Engagement League really is something and have helped some planktons and minnows. Good Luck Asher! :)
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Hey @jlorc, really happy to read that the EL played a part in keeping you here on Steem.
Thanks for the support!
@abh12345 is a superhero and chart wizard; he deserves all the support we can send him!
🙏🏼 thank you kindly for your positiveness here!
@abh12345 for what it's worth, we hope our vote can help you! Saw your call on #general Blessings!
Thank you very much @papilloncharity, I'm grateful for your support 😊
Asher for free Steemfest Ticket!! All around great Steemian and he goes above and beyond to bolster the community here. His EL totally inspires & enables me to interact. Lots of love and respect for @abh12345 and it seems i am far from alone in this thinking! Best of luck to you Asher ❤✔👍🙏🌅🐱 🤞
Thank you for the kind message of support @yogajill!
You're welcome @abh12345! It's well deserved 🍻✌
With all the hard work you've put into the Leagues and the tables and all the other stuff you do that I don't know about, you most certainly deserve to be at Steemfest 3. It just wouldn't be complete without you.
Good luck with the contest! 💙
Thank you very much Gill!
Hey @smooth, Can you see me? Yes ... I'm a "redfish". Even though I am a "redfish", I will become a "minnow" through the league program @abh12345 and @paulag. I be support @abh12345. He got this ticket and he really got this ticket. 😎
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Thank you for your support @simata 😊
Your welcome, asher 😊
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I can't think of anyone more deserving than you, Asher. The encouragement you give and the effort you put in every day is simply awesome!
Thank you for the kind words of support @melinda010100 😊
You deserve for this ticket @abh12345, yes you are, l believe you are capable for this one, because of your league many steemian survival here in this crazy one, l wish you got that buddy😎
Thank you @mrday!
smooth should buy everyone a ticket to Spain to meet you.
ha!
Glorious weather right now, I think it will be winter coats all-round for Poland in November!
Best of luck, Asher!
Thank you very much!
15 micro votes
Are they all your accounts?!
I think a comment would be just as, if not more, beneficial. Thanks!
Upvoted! Best of luck to you @abh12345
Thank you very much @beverlyjoe!
you really mean to this platform @abh12345. what you have done really awesome. best of luck
Thank you @tfq86, much appreciated :D
Best of luck
Thank you @ziapase!
You should definitely go to steemfest :).
Good luck.
I'm planning to, would just be a real bonus to have a huge chunk paid for. Cheers!
Good luck Asher. It seems you have been quite busy yourself as well :-)
Thank you kindly @raj808, this year has been pretty active for me. Good luck to you :D
@abh12345, a free ticket for you to attend Steemfest is surely deserved. You give sooo much and it is now time to receive.
I really get the SAD thing!
Best of luck
Thank you @anmeitheal, very kind of you to say so.
SAD is pretty hard going, seemingly harder as the years pass and winters arrive. I'm SO much better for making this huge change. Thank you!
I hope all these votes mean that you shall go to the ball <3
Can't think of anyone more deserving to win a ticket.
That is very kind of you to say so, I have been working my butt off but didn't expect this turnout! :D
I once felt that as a beginner I was greatly appreciated when the "great master" paid little attention to our existence. One of the things that made me comment on this place was because I felt the benefits of mutual help and mutual development. I initially tried the @paulag program and there was an @abh12345! I believe that its role and concern are real and I wish you success in this contest. thank you and God bless you Asher.
Thank you for the kind words of support @khaimi.
Good luck with your quest @abh12345!!!
Thank you @livinguktaiwan :D
I truly hope you win!!! You are more than deserving. You have set the bar extremely high for all the entrants. Best of luck.
Thank you @momogrow 😊
Awesome, @abh12345 ! You do a lot for Steemit. Apparently, I'm not a competitor to you))) Good luck!
Thank you very much!
@ asher is my steem.chat username (the account @ asher on Steem is not mine)
Thank you so much for putting this contest out and selecting me as one of the winners!!!