First ever SteemFest Event Paves Way for Weekly Meet-Ups Around the World

Steemit, the world’s leading decentralized social media platform, has wrapped up its first-ever public event in Europe, SteemFest. The community-organized event was so successful that weekly meet-ups are planned in new cities around the world every weekend. SteemFest Amsterdam was attended by over 200 enthusiasts from every corner of the globe, many of which funded their travel from posts made on Steemit, as well as CEO Ned Scott and author of The Game, Neil Strauss. It was held at the Volkshotel in Amsterdam from November 11 – 13, where participants discussed Steemit’s growth, the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain, and the hottest topic; the impending mainstream adoption of decentralized social media.

“SteemFest was hugely successful, with more than 200 active Steem users in attendance representing more than 30 countries around the world.  In my estimation, there has ever been a blockchain or social network community event like this with so much energy and so early in the platform’s history. In fact, if we are just looking at cryptocurrency users, I believe this is one of the biggest events to ever occur that has gathered actual platform users.”

The most discussed topic at SteemFest was the current shift in social media consumption, whereby a growing number of millennials and Generation Z users are opting for decentralized, uncensored, rewards-based social media platforms, and moving away from current giants like Facebook and Reddit. A recent survey by whurk asked 350 college students from around the United States what social media trends they are seeing at school. 62.9% of participants indicated the decentralized social media platforms will soon become the norm, with 52% agreeing that people should be paid for their contributions when it adds value to an online community.

As reported by Business Insider, Facebook recently came under hot water for hiding certain advertising material from certain ethnic groups, while such censorship is impossible on a blockchain-powered platform like Steemit. 69% of students said that Facebook should remove such tools, and 79% indicated large social media sites are prejudiced in what trending news they publish.

“The current privatised giants like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit are taking our time, our work, our creativity and our energy, and leveraging that along with our data to create value for their shareholders. But with the point system embedded in Steemit – we have created a boundless social economy where users are receiving the value for their contributions and time, ” Scott said.

Only six months since launch, Steemit has over 110,000 users and almost a million monthly uniques. Neil Strauss, who made a public address at SteemFest, has begun posting articles and blogs on Steemit, contributed to the site’s community book club, and also wrote about his lucrative experiences in Rolling Stone.

“It has been amazing to meet fellow Steemians and Steemit Book Club members here. It’s such a great community of people, with so many diverse interests yet so much in common too. Big respect and awe to @roelandp for organizing this with such professionalism and excellence. Everyone’s expectations were far surpassed,” Strauss said.