Witness Update - 3 years on the Steem blockchain!

Time is going so fast and it is already 3 years since I started enjoying the Steem blockchain, it’s ecosystem and the many friends I've made all this time.

Being involved in such an amazing community has changed my life. I have learned a lot, created new applications, made new friendships.

I have been to Amsterdam, Lisbon and Krakov to attend the 3 editions of SteemFest. I went to Moscow with @roelandp for GolosFest. I attended several Steem meetups in Europe to be able to extend this great experience of meeting in person people with whom you regularly interact on the blockchain. Thank you @yann0975, @french.fyde, @detlev, @soyrosa for organizing and inviting me to their Steem meetups in Clermont-Ferrand (France), Aachen (Germany) and Rotterdam (Netherlands).

I am now looking forward to going to Bangkok for SteemFest 4 to see all my Steemians friends again. I will not mention you all here (TLDR;) but you are all in my heart.

A quick summary of the work done

3 years is quite a long time which allowed me the opportunity to do a few thing for the Steem community:

First steps on the Steem blockchain

My first contribution to the Steem community was to create the .NET library to make the Steem API accessible to the widest audience.

Few days later I initiated the SteemSQL project, a public SQL Server database with all the blockchain data.This has enabled people like @paulag, @abh12345, @blockchainstudio do crazy statistical analysis.

The next logical step was to become a Steem witness, running several public and private nodes. Since then, my witness ranked has steadily raised.

When we went under spam and phishing attacks, I did my best to protect users by regularly reporting those malicious attempts. This scam fight was a collective effort done with the @steemcleaner team (@anyx, @fubar-bdhr, @guiltyparties, @logic, @patrice, @pfunk, @pjau) and other users working behind the scenes to protect the platform and its users.

Bringing gamification to Steem

Another project I initiated and which is now running for several years after SteemSQL is SteemitBoard and its Chrome Extension. With the SteemitBoard project, came samll events or contests like Valentine’s day, Easter, Halloween, Saint Nicholas’ day or Christmas ... to name a few.

But there were also some more important funny contests like the 2018 World Cup Contest with a prize pool of 1766 SBD distributed to thousands participants thanks to @good-karma, @lukestokes, @roelandp, @drakos, @stoodkev, @yabapmatt, the @steemitboard team and myself who were sponsoring the contest.

For the last SteemFest edition in Kraków, I created the SteemitBoard Meet The Stemians Contest with 2333 STEEM shared among all participants thanks to the fabulous @ausbitbank, @blocktrades, @reggaemuffin, @cervantes, @lukestokes, @roelandp and @teamsteem). I’m already working on a similar contest for the coming SteemFest 4 in Bangkok (no spoiling - I won’t tell you more now).

I also developed several apps and tools for the Steem users:

• the SteemToolbar (Google Chrome Extension) to monitor key indicators.
• a Witness work real-time visualization tool that helps witnesses know when they will sign a block.
• a new Detailled Witness Page full of usefull information about witnesses.
• the SteemitBoard Ranking in order to allow people to compare each others and view how they perform on the blockchain.
• the SteemReply wich allows you to easily stay in touch with your Steem network.
• the Steem Auto Claim Account tool to avoid wasting your unused RC.

Looking forward

There were ups and downs, but I’m still here 100% committed to Steem, while trying to balance my passion for this platform and my family life.

As a human, I do my best to support all users (especially newcomers) and try to interact as many as I can.
I truly believe that the best ways for each of us all to grow together!
That why I have spread more than 235 thousand upvotes to around 30 thousand authors, which put me to ranks #28 among upvoters, even if I’m not a whale.

The same assertion is valid for all of you who voted me as your trusted witness. I try to reward and support as much as I can those who support me and those who provide added value to the blockchain and its ecosystem.

Despite my work and commitment, I’m not yet a top 20 witness... but slowly and steadily, my witness ranked has raised. My dream is to get there before my 4th Steem Birthday 😅!
If you think my work for the Steem community is valuable and deserve a higher rank, feel free to vote for me as a witness!

Thank you all for your support!