This is a TWO part article. The other one can be found here. This one is a little long, but covers a lot.
We stayed at the INX Design Hotel, and very nice it was. I liked the little touches of free coffee and tea as well as munchies while we waited for the taxi on Monday.
Many Steemians signed this guestbook. Just look at the names, I'm sure you know some of these!
The Breakfast Room
We had 4 breakfasts in total and every day we met somebody, be it a person we had already connected with or someone completely new. It seemed the majority of the guests were SF3 people.
For me, the breakfast room was a great place to bond with people and have a proper conversation of substance as there was no loud talking, no music and tables can only house four people at once.
We had several conversations with @gillianpearce, @shanibeer and @steevc, though still there never seemed enough time to discuss everything that needed to be said.
@meno was leaving on Monday and we managed a decent chat with him. He was looking worse for wear and had an enormous journey ahead of him, but told me it was worth coming.
@sorin.cristescu was telling us some interesting information about Luxembourg and his heritage on one of the previous days.
@felixxx sat next to @bingbabe one morning and we had no idea who he was.
People generally don’t wear the SF3 badges at breakfast so you really don’t know who people are. I am fascinated by the ‘old days’ of STEEM and he gave us some information about what it was like then.
@bingbabe and I really took to the friendliness of @felixxx and I got a photograph of them both, promising not to post it anywhere. You must respect people's requests for privacy if they ask for it not to be shown.
I do keep pestering @steevc for an article on ‘What it was like when STEEM was $0.07’. I’m sure a lot more of us would like to hear what it was like in those days.
- Was it a generally gloomy situation?
- Could you count the number of posts on one hand in 24 hours?
- How could a minnow make an impression in that situation?
- What happened when it all started going up again in leaps and bounds?
- What kind of rewards could you expect from a post when it was this price?
I think it would make for interesting reading for those who joined Steemit in 2018 or late 2017.
The Steemfest Application
I found this an interesting experiment in human behavior. As well as providing live updates of the event with noises that made you jump sometimes, you could tag people by scanning their badges. I think the application was developed by @arcange though I may be wrong about this.
Some were scanning as many as they could as I was told that there was a pot of STEEM to be handed out for the ones that scanned the most people.
To qualify for a valid scan, you needed to wait 2 minutes for it to register correctly and count toward your total after your initial scan with that person. They could then scan you back.
I tagged 39 in total, much less than the leaders on the board. I haven’t seen any indication of the rewards yet, but if I get anything it’s a bonus.
Like many, I found the tagging feature useful to keep track of everyone I met. I still need to go through the list and look everyone up. I know some of these people are now following me so it would be rude to not look them up too. The final results are here: https://steemitboard.com/sf3msc.html
I didn't do too badly but wasn't really trying.
The Salt Mines
Anyone staying for the ‘Closing Dinner’ had to visit the Salt Mines. The dinner was hosted 135M underground in a lit cavern. I took a few snaps of the place but figured everyone else was too so didn’t go overboard.
The journey down was long and wreaked havoc on my upper thighs. I am still suffering from the DOMS now as I write this several days later. I find this surprising as all the walking was down, and we had lifts to go back to the surface.
Don't let these steps fool you. They went on, and on, and on, and on....!
We saw only 1% of the total mine, so it must be enormous. The caverns went on and on just like the steps, with many ornamental objects made from salt to view on the way.
When I saw this, I thought. ‘Menzoberranzan’. Anyone familiar with R.A.Salvatore's, Drizzt series will know what I mean. Deep underground, it reminded me of the city of the dark elves!
Even further down was the cavern that we would be feasting in. Another image came to mind when I saw this. Harry Potter and the opening banquet! Long tables with silverware; that’s two fantasies in one place.
Alas, there was no sorting hat or plates that were suddenly filled with food.
Another thing I noticed was that there was a 3G strong signal in this area. I found that strange but made good use of it.
I spotted @kevinwong in the chamber and had a quick conversation with him about how to attract and retain new people to the platform, as well as @chops.support and what it stands for.
I’m not sure if he understood everything I was saying, but he gave @bingbabe some votes the day before and I wanted to thank him for that.
The People
So many there, and so little time. Here’s a dump of my memory of what I can remember. If I talked to you and don’t mention you here, then sorry, my memory is not what it once was. I’m using the SF3 application to jig my brain.
@suesa – I can see you write fiction stories. I’m trying to get my daughter @dismayedworld to post some of her work. She’s only 15 but has some talent in this area. If and when I can get her interested, I will point her to your writing.
@reggaemuffin – A fellow Magic the Gathering player is always good to talk too. I did tell you that I have a half-written article about Dominaria. I mean to finish to sometime, and will let you know when it’s done.
@steevc – What can I say? A friend and a mentor to me on STEEM and Steemit. I owe a lot you about the ethics and morals involved. Having a few things in common helps too. See you at @steemcampuk if it happens.
@gillianpearce - Great to meet you. We shared several breakfasts and had a decent conversation on the walk to the ‘ICE’ on day 2.
@jaki01 and @kobold-djawa, I came back to the conference hall to find @bingbabe chatting to both of you. We met a few other times during some of the trips too. Lovely meeting you both and the sleeping little one.
@gmuxx – We didn’t speak at length, but as you are from the UK (I think), we can have a better conversation next time.
@arcange – Not what I expected at all! You name is a little wizardy so I was looking for a pointed hat and broomstick, but found a friendly outgoing person who likes photographs.
@katrina-ariel – We didn’t go to the ‘Music night’ so missed your performance, sorry.. but we did meet and say hello at the ‘ICE’.
@detlev – The crazy beer man, you made me laugh all the time and thanks for the extra beer tickets. I didn’t know at the time that there was an endless supply but that’s OK.
@guchtere and @for91days – A already mentioned you two in the other article, but as your on my scanning list here’s another mention! Please keep @travelfeed going. I wish there were more incentives likes yours. It makes it all worthwhile.
@crimsonclad – I remember meeting you in the corridor with @tarazkp. As you said, looking a little worse for wear, we all were after the late bowling. Nice meeting you.
@tarazkp – Your shorter than I exp.. OK, I’ll shut up about that 😊
@blocktrades – A very friendly person and not what I expected. Not sure I would have the balls to talk to you if @steevc wasn’t next to me.
@steemmatt and @twinner – I remember both of you were together when we met. I will check both of your blogs out, like most others I’m mentioning.
@revisesociology - Somebody I almost met last March at @steemcampuk, but due to unfortunate circumstances, he didn’t arrive. I took to him very quickly and feel we established a good rapport.
@blewitt – I had one of my bigger chats with you even though you didn’t recognize me initially. @dismayedworld loved the comics, but now wants a load more for Xmas. Doh!
@hilarski – You were right down in the corner when @steevc introduced me. I will have a look to see what you are doing later.
@surfyogi – Another very popular person, but I did get to say hello eventually!
@hashcash – The video interview, /facepalm, why did I agree to this? I’m going to visibly wince when you eventually get around to posting it.
@shanibeer - We talked at length in the Harry Potter chamber. I will make a post soon about what you were asking me about in terms of ROI.
@good-karma – Just wanted to say thanks for the support you have given me via eSteem Surfer.
This list is getting far too long, so I’ll mention the others I met in one fell swoop, @grampo, @apshamilton, @abh12345, @yann0975, @lizanomadsoul, @felix.herrmann, @azes, @joannewong, @rivalzzz, @louis88, good to meet all of you.
Some I missed and would have liked to say hello to were @travelgirl, @joythewanderer and @shortcut. Next time will have to do.
There were several witnesses that I didn’t talk too, but what do you say to someone who in not on your witness vote list? I have since added @gtg but saying, ‘Hi, I’m @slobberchops and I haven’t voted for you as a witness didn’t seem right’. We only have 30 and I can’t choose all of you.
Departing
Just one more photograph of @gillianpearce and me at the airport before we departed. I think I will be back for SF4, but that depends where it is. Three European destinations means more pressure to host it on another continent next year.
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, resteem, engage me or all of these things.