Hello Steemians, this is my poor introduction attempt.

I have no particular knack for writing, and doubt very much that I’ll be able to contribute engaging content so I will start with why I am here! For the last number of years I have been absolutely fascinated with blockchain technology. When I was first introduced to it, like many others, I only considered the financial possibilities, the possibility to break away from traditional finance and include those whom traditional finance has long excluded. Then, when doing my masters, I was introduced to the idea of a decentralised social media for blogging and news, one where we regulate ourselves as a voting community rather than have our content censored for us. I became obsessed with yet another blockchain application, found steemit and here I am!

I’ve read through several posts so far and can see there is already a huge number of gifted writers and content creators and it’s wonderful to see so many engage with it, particularly those who don’t necessarily have a ‘tech’ background. I suppose one of the many reasons I’m here is to try to encourage others I know, who use traditional social media and don’t necessarily have a tech background, to join. One of the pros of steemit is certainly that it rewards gifted content creators, but the main pro for me is that it also adds a level of accountability by allowing the community to down-vote posts, but more importantly, it doesn't censor on our behalf. The immutability of the blockchain is a marvelous thing.

Now that the whys are out of the way, some things about me as a human -

• I own more than 1 lightsaber (but less than 4).
• My resilience in life stems from completing the PlayStation game Abe's Oddysee when I was 10.
• I think about the Lord of the Rings once a day, and think about how working class people get screwed by the upper classes at least three.
• I watch alot of conspiracy theory documentaries on YouTube. Current favorites are missing 411, is Prince Charles a Vampire and Finland - does it exist?
• I’m obsessed with all things FinTech and blockchain and truly believe that by increasing our levels of digital literacy we can claim more autonomy over our own privacy, our own media, our own financial situation, and how we live.
• 35% of the time I believe in ghosts.

If you made it this far, I truly appreciate you sitting through the ramblings of an excited tech enthusiast from the island of Ireland. I hope to be able to form more coherent sentences in the future!

thank you for coming to my ted talk