Esteem Malaysia Contest: Mobile Apps Taking Over

This is my entry to @alvinauh's esteem Malaysia contest. I discovered it rather late but I guess I should still try to participate for the fun and to be a support to @esteem who has been a great support to me.

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Getting to Know Mobile Apps

I remember back in the year 2010-2011, smartphone usages suddenly grew like mushrooms after the rain. Back then, I was not using a smartphone yet but everyone was talking about this app which can be used to chat for free whenever there is a Wi-Fi connection. I was a bit left out because my boyfriend had it and we were still using text messages because I didn't have a smartphone. It is the Whatsapp.

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It sounded so fun and me didn't want to be left out anymore and spending money on paying for my texts, I chose to pay for a smartphone instead to get on board. Whatsapp was like the trendy app back then, when we chatted on and on. That's the start of my life being taken over by the phone. Since then, it was never the same because my dependency on the phone grew so much.

Relying on Mobile Apps More and More

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Fast forward to the present, there are so many mobile apps I am using on my phone that my desktop or main screen of my phone is extremely messy. Mobile apps that I frequently use are Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, for the regular social media. There are some games that I play or installed for my son too like Pokemon Go which is quite a hit among my friends, still. I have apps to keep tracks of my exercises which is minimal in my lifestyle and app to convert timezone which is crucial for me in knowing my deadlines. After I got on Steemit, there are some fantastic mobile apps I installed in my phone too that are powered by cryptocurrency such as Esteem, Lit, Coinomi and Steepshot. In order to beautify my blog, I installed apps like Canva, Aviary, Spark shots and Meitu to try tomake my posts look more attractive or presentable. I also keep a Colour Note to let me pen down thoughts for some upcoming posts. I started off installing Esteem when I first joined Steemit because I was only writing through my phone so instinctively, I just went to my Googly Play Store to find a Mobile App for it. I stopped using it for a while when I felt typing on the phone has caused my wrist and fingers some stiffness and pain until recentlywhen they are much better.

Mobile apps has birthed forth a convenience that we can post and write anywhere. It helps me in recording my thoughts before I lose them the time I get to my laptop. Moreover, my current laptop is kind of bulky and old, thus I am not carrying it around all the time unless I know I need to work on a very long post. Hence, I am so grateful for Esteem now actually. It is easy to be used and much less buggy, which I absolutely adore. Thank you!

One Mobile App I think I Can't Live Without

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It was very difficult for me to choose one Mobile App to write about because I LOVE my mobile apps.

I think the Mobile App I use the most and cannot not have for now has to be Discord. Discord is a chatting software designed for the gaming community initially, I think. It allows text chats as well as voice chats which is really convenient and made for those who need to communicate while they are on their gaming mode. When I first got into Steemit, my husband told me to install Discord. However when I first got in, I felt it was so complicated because it looked so different from the usual chats I used. Pardon you, I have survived the era of mIRC and ICQ too and now incorporated with Facebook Messenger as well as Whatsapp, still To me, Discord is on a totally new level. Maybe it is because I don't play online games.

Upon receiving invites, we can join different communities and get to know the different channels in the specific server. Through Discord, I have got to make some really good friends from all over the world and we can stay in active engagement. Some communities I'm in recently are the teamamalaysia (@myach), @steemitbloggers, @steemitmamas where I am in the moderator team with awesome mamas, the New York Coin (NYC), Perfect City of Neoxian, @steemiteducation, @qurator, @asapers, @greetersguild and yes there are many others. I have to really apologize for not being to be active constantly in all of them due to my other REAL-LIFE commitments but I appreciate the engagement and learning through these wonderful communities, as and when I can. I am so grateful for all of you!

Signing up Discord is something really easy to do. The registration for the account is just like how we register for an email account. I would encourage us to use a username or a handle that is the same to our Steemit handle to help the others to check our profiles out easily. In order to join a community, you can go to the Steemit profile to search for the invite to the discord server or you have to search through their introductory posts. Most of the time, you can link yourself to the discord through some footer banners the bloggers include in their posts, such as what is done for my @steemitmamas banner below. You just need to click on the banner and join the server. Upon joining, be nice and read the welcome rules as most servers would have imposed. Sometimes, they may require you to drop a short introduction of yourself before the other channels are opened for access. Through Discord, it is made possible for all the mamas to connect and support each other across the globe, transcending distances and timezone. I still remember when we first started, we discovered the settings for Discord on different phones such as Android and IOS work so differently. We were trying the Discord settings so much on our devices through trials and errors to reach where we are now. We were blessed to have @littlenewthings to come over to help us, thank you so very much! That was all the way until now, we manage to pull some initiatives together to show love and support, how precious is that! Now, we even have a little game to show love called Catch and Kiss, where we communicate using Steemit and Discord together.

There are some really cool things about Discord that I love. They have cool bots and one of them is the Dabbot which can play music. We have it on our @teammalaysia and @steemitmamas discord server.

There are also various channels where we can drop our links to share with different communities. Some would require us to upvote and comment on a number of posts before we can do so. My advice is always play by the rules, engage with the people and enjoy the community.

I have learnt to much through Discord and one of them is definitely approaching strangers to ask questions when I am not sure. One of my frequently visit FAQ or walking encyclopedia is @zord189, thank you so much man! He is so helpful and nice, not forget to mention, he is VERY resourceful! That's why @iamjadeline and the @steemitbloggers refer him as the "Always-there Bear"!

Recently, some of us are having fun being "rained" with coins in the New York Coin server. It is like a party in there everyday until my dear friends @mumma-monza and @philippekiene were staying awake so much, and their beautiful children got on board too to participate the fun! That's or happy channel right there!

Discord has really widened my horizons to know what more is out there besides me just being at where I am. It's where I seek for help too, when @khimgoh jumped to my rescue, recommending some knowledge and solutions for my allergy reaction a while ago. Everyone has just been so generous with knowledge and tips.

I remember when I told my student I have a Discord account and we can send information through it, he looked at me in amazement, thinking I have become a gamer, Hahahaha! Of course, that was an opportunity for me to introduce Steemit to him too.

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Honestly, I don't think I know how to live without mobile apps anymore though guilty as charged, it definitely has taken up a lot of my time. My son would come to me and say, "Mummy, put down phone. Put down keyboard (referring to the laptop)." That's like a warning sign for me to not let my phone usage take over my family and bonding time. So, pardon me if sometimes I am missing in action from Discord, will you? I am learning to strike a better balance.

After all, Steemit has become part of my lifestyle now. I joined Steemit when 1 Steem was 7-8 USD. If I were to be discouraged by the value of Steem now, I may have left like many of the users. However, because of Discord, I have learnt tat the communities here are priceless. Like many have said:

Came for the rewards, stay for the community.

I find this to be so true. Of course I want the money and rewards, but if I only come for that, I know there is no sustaining power at all. The motivation could be too shallow to even persevere on. Right now, I'm staying on because I want to belong and grow this platform together. I'm determined to be in this for the long run and ain't going anywhere.

Thank you for reading through my post. Do you have a favorite Mobile App too?

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