What a long strange 8 year journey it's been, watching a platform as an early adopter bloom and evolve into the mainstream society it has become today! 

Now that I managed to make you open the post without being able to read it from the description, of course this isn't going to be about my Reddit cakeday, but about Steem's 3 year anniversary which just so happens to be on the same day as my Reddit cakeday! Coincidence? Of course, I'm not superstitious but it's a nice coincidence either way, another one is that exactly 2 months from today is when I created my own Steem account on the 24th May. Maybe 24 is my lucky number! :) 

(next ATH $24?)

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Comparing the two, even though Reddit has become very known all over the world I do have to admit it was quite small back when I started using it regularly and at the same time it wasn't as fun as it is today. There wasn't as many tags or subreddits back in the day and at the same time it was difficult to find the ones you as a newcomer were interested in. This made it really difficult for my friends to get used to it and give it a try, even though I tried many times to get them to switch from Facebook and Instagram. Over time things changed, though. Unfortunately with the mainstream attention it also sold out quickly and became this corporate being we know today which will do anything for advertisement revenue and censor anything they deem not to be appropriate for the advertisers.

Similarly Steem has also faced the same problems early on, I hate to admit I still spend a lot of time on Reddit because of the entertainment value, but Steem does remind me of its early days and that we are only a few steps behind on becoming something big and beautiful here as well. With many more advantages on our side while at the same time rewarding those that stuck to Steem when things were not as fun and users had to work a lot on building the future on our blockchain. 

I am really looking forward to the future of Steem. 3 years without any major issues or blockchain problems while constantly focusing on scalability and onboarding is going to be very important for its future. The entry into the blockchain space for Steem users is one of the best ones out there, if I had a Steem for every new Steemian I've seen being introduced to blockchain and its advantages, I'd have a lot more Steem now. I'm happy with the amount I've managed to earn here and compared to the same amount of worthless Reddit Karma it's even a much bigger deal. Lately I've compared Reddit Karma to our reputation here, which we all know by now is pretty worthless. Karma doesn't even give you any bigger influence when posting or curating on Reddit, kinda crazy how little they've cared about their userbase which has made them this big. I'm happy to say that Steem will be completely different and thus will have a much better longevity than Reddit ever will have.

I also want to take the time to thank everyone here that's helped with my journey, trusted me with their stake and everyone else I've had the pleasure to interact with on Steem and grow alongside them. I am hoping we will continue developing and making it easier and easier for the masses to come to Steem even if they are not aware they may be using our blockchain or currency to begin with. That's the power of Steem and over time this undervalued, misrepresented and underestimated currency will show the world what it's true potential is. 

Cheers and happy third anniversary everyone, see ya at the top. :)

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