While steemit.chat is still going strong and the first place for many Steemit users to join, some prefer to voice chat versus text. There's nothing saying you can use multiple ways to communicate, so find what works best for you. Each has it's own benefits.
Personally, just not having to change windows to follow a discussion lets me get a lot more writing done. With this in mind, I wanted to let everyone know some various places they can join into the audio discussion to supplement with the official chat room.
SteemSpeak
SteemSpeak is graciously hosted for our community by @fyrstikken (and his witness account is @fyrst-witness.) Personally I've learned a ton about cryptocurrency, the history of various crypto projects, ideas about Steemit, had deep philosophical conversations or just listened to the 24/7 radio that plays in there.
Steemspeak has also hosted higher profile guests such as @ned and @charlieshrem which allowed us to directly ask them questions on whatever comes to mind which are put into the SteemSpeak Archive that anyone is free to make use of and post on their own. Steemspeak has even been around longer than Steemit, previously branded as Stakepool.
To listen to the live audio from SteemSpeak just goto www.steemspeak.com and you can join in the conversation by joining them in their Discord channel by creating a username at https://discordapp.com/ and then simply clicking this invite link.
There is also a more in depth post on SteemSpeak in Discord found here.
Beyond Bitcoin
Beyond Bitcoin is a voice chat through mumble and has been around longer then Steemit, being a hub of the cryptocurrency discussion and now also including Steemit topics too. @officialfuzzy puts in a ton of work to help support crypto and Steemit projects.
Every Friday at 10am EST you can join into the voice chat to participate in the Beyond Bitcoin Hangout where projects are showcased and discussed with an great audience that includes crypto-enthusiasts, whales, and other Steemit Users. Any project can sign up to be a part of this hangout simply by RSVP'ing on the latest signup post. This is a great way to get exposure of projects within and outside Steemit. Check out latest Beyond Bitcoin Hangout episode here.
The Steemprentice mentor group has even been provided with it's own channel there where be will be holding various group events, the first one being this coming Sunday, Nov 6.
The Steemit Pub (Formerly The Steemit Bar in steemit.chat)
Have you ever just wanted a place to just hangout and shoot the shit with other Steemit users? The Steemit Pub (now on Discord) offers a place without worries of being spammed by promotion links or other annoyances. It's a chill place without anything but good people and conversations. Just like your favorite Bar, this is somewhere to meetup with friends where everyone 'knows your name.' A HUGE thank you has to go out to @the-ego-is-you who created the chat room and now Discord server to have a virtual bar to hangout with friends.
You can find more information in the recent Announcement Post about the move from the chat room to Discord as well as a step by step tutorial of how to get in. If you already have a Discord user account setup you can simply click Here to Join.
The Steemit Venue
This was a branch off from the Steemit Pub and is run by @beanz. The Steemit Venue gives you the opportunity to create your own channel that YOU control. @beanz put out a great tutorial post on how to join and setup your channel with desired permissions Here.
Some channels users have created since launch include things like @richhersey’s “libertarian" channel, @joewantsfreedom’s “alt-coins" channel, @mikkolyytinen’s “the-black-hole” and “art” channels, @jessamynorchard’s “original-music” and “vape-lounge” as well as a “post-promotion” and "introduce-yourself" channel. Join in to make your own!
For more information check out this launch and instruction post
And if you already have a Discord User account you can click here to join.
Steemit Talk Podcast / Gamer Chat
Steemit Talk Podcast Discord server is where @sykochica, @winstonwolfe, @quantumanomaly and @giftedgaia record the weekly podcast and postcast (completely unscripted, behind the scenes session) interacting with those who join both through text and voice chats. We typically record on either Saturdays or Sundays depending and you'll see some of our 'Recording Live' posts inviting users to join us. We've also got our whole podcast and postcast archive available both in Discord and through Soundcloud.
This Discord channel has also been the host for Steemit-Gamenight each Friday which we stream and embed in our Steemit posts. So far we've played Overwatch, League of Legends, Paladins, Mitos.is with Cards Against Humanity being played this coming game night. @thegame has also started taking 'bets' on who you think will win each week and paying out post earning just like in other sports betting posts.
We do play games throughout the week as well just for fun, so feel free to hop in anytime to play some games or just talk in general.
Image Sources:
Microphone
Steemspeak
Beyond Bitcoin
Steemit Pub
Steemit Venue
Steemit Talk Podcast