20 questions with @surpassinggoogle (The Steemian Series)
When I launched "20 Questions: The Steemian Series," my goal was to shine a light on some of the influential Steemians on the platform.
But it was important that I wasn't the only person choosing who would be included in the Steemian Series. At the end of each interview, I ask for suggestions regarding who I should interview next.
Today's interview with @surpassinggoogle is thanks to a request from @blessedman939, who commented under my interview with @lukestokes.
If you take the time to scroll through the last 500 posts that appear on @surpassinggoogle's Steemit blog, you'll notice something incredibly unique: only 12 were written by him. The other 488 posts were written by other Steemians. Terry read all of these posts and chose to share them with his 12,000 followers. Ninety-eight per cent of the time, he chose to share others' voices rather than his own.
That is one example of how Terry is investing his time, his heart and his soul into the blockchain he cares so much about. But it isn't all sunshine and roses for @surpassinggoogle. As Terry explains, he suffers a lot... but he tries to stay positive and give back to a community that has given a lot to him.
20 questions with @surpassinggoogle
1 - How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
@surpassinggoogle - I am Terry: an extremely loving human and I carry two hefty noble dreams – mine and my dad's – and each of these dreams are "the dreams of many nations."
2 - How did you first hear about Steemit?
@surpassinggoogle - I found it organically by means of the search engines. I didn't sign up the first time I read of "Steemit," but I signed up the second time, organically, upon finding the post of a Steemian with whom I had a connection. I was doing incessant research for years, looking for ways to surpass Google, and I ended up finding Steemit, during one of my many searches.
3 - What was your initial impression?
@surpassinggoogle - Nothing came close to it on the entire web, in terms of the beauty it offered. I simply was looking for a place that made "location" negligible, where I could at least have a voice without worrying much about Google ranking or IP addresses. "Decentralization" was the word, but I didn't know of it during earlier searches. I was mostly using search phrases that involved "building your own communities, etc."
I was the internet's mad man at the time and in my opinion the internet was boring and I felt the 22nd century was coming, so I wanted to adjust matters. I was looking for a place to keep my dreams alive as dream-bits, until I could play them out into fruition. And Steemit was the perfect sandbox.
I saw this from the moment I set foot on Steem as is evident from my intro-post, which carries exactly the same theme. There were other blockchain-based platforms that I found during the same time as I found Steemit, but even among these, Steemit was a standout. I knew how to spot this instantly because I had been on the internet for more than a decade and I was unshakingly defined and not easy to be impressed. Other such platforms had so many barriers to entry. On Akasha, you may have to download the entire blockchain. There was yours and I had to video calls with the CEO and CTO of it, but I saw barriers to entry to mainstreamers and there was Synereo etc.
Nothing came close to Steem as on the surface, I was also looking for ways to surpass Google in terms of ranking on its first page at will. I did like that Mark would throw Bergs at me to try Zuck me out of my struggling will to dream. I didn't have beefs though. I was simply looking for change as the 22nd century was coming and I wanted to "do something," which has been the case all my life.
4 - For those who aren't aware, what is SteemGigs all about?
@surpassinggoogle - SteemGigs is a revolution that aims to use the power of the Steem blockchain, its community and decentralization, to bring every noble dream to life. You can find it on https://steemgigs.org (It is open-source both front and back-end).
If "going to the moon" happened; each noble dream is attainable.
To accomplish this, SteemGigs will play out an entire curriculum that incessantly "mines the human" (adding new paradigms to "mind mining model" executed by Steemit), until we can make sure that "everyone has something to offer."
The perfect mainstream way to play this out and grow Steem in new ways at the same time, is to create a revolutionary decentralized freelance marketplace that a mainstream audience can relate with, but "removes all barriers to entry" by allowing room for "everyone" to participate, which is accomplished by "adding a community & un(dis)talented paradigm" to SteemGigs along with an ever-growing knowledge-bank called "surpassinggoogle", where everyone can deposit and withdrawing specialized knowledge: all that is required for everyone to become a SteemGigger (Dream-builder)".
Read detailed FAQ & Answers (SteemGigs)
To support the movement you can vote on "steemgigs" witness here
To join in the development of https://steemgigs.org join the Slack
5 - How does SteemGigs compare to Fiverr?
@surpassinggoogle - Well, it only slightly compares to Fiverr, which is UI-wise. The grand picture for SteemGigs is bigger things than a freelancing marketplace and very much involves world-adjustment.
It is still evolving and is indeed revolutionary. Apart from the advantages that the Steem blockchain (decentralization) brings (such as zero-fees, privacy, no-financial-institutions, transparency etc.) SteemGigs is a home: a community of reputable great minds that will incentivize proof of deed.
Basically, apart from GIG-payments, you can get paid for creating a gig, for attempting to build your dreams by availing of gigs, for documenting your experience, for contributing to a knowledge-bank that teaches others to become SteemGiggers (Dream-builders) etc.
There is also an entire category dedicated to Steem & Steemit and a category called "Un(dis)talented-SteemGigs" that allows even non-expert offer GIGs at lower prices or free.
6 - How about @teardrops? For those who haven't heard of it, what is that initiative all about?
@surpassinggoogle - My aim is to create three Steem-based interfaces. Each one of these three is part of a curriculum that will turn each human on Mama Earth into "a celebrity."
Teardrops is the concluding part of the curriculum, but it will never truly conclude. It will constitute of a Steem-based interface that celebrates breakthrough in "human" and the entire path to it.
It will reward "proof of tears," as we see "tears" as an emblem of human. I am looking at an SMT @teardrops token, that will span across these three interfaces. I am also looking at the @teardrops token as a reward token on https://steemgigs.org as well i.e 3 interfaces; one token.
We want to leave outer-space and come back down-to-earth, celebrating this success with an emblem called "teardrops." We will have a colorless whitepaper and reach the world more drastically with cryptocurrency, by appealing to each human's soft spot, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status etc providing a Smart Media Token that every person, even government sees a loving need to hold.
@teardrops SMT is still in an imaginary state but is already being exchanged.
Without a contest #teardrops has already create thousands of heartfelt "human" blogs and is continuing to do so daily.
Here are some of the images describing @teardrops:
Here are additional resources to read:
https://steemit.com/smt/@surpassinggoogle/the-teardrops-smart-media-tokens-won-t-have-a-whitepaper-it-will-have-a-drafty-simplest-to-understand-colorlesspaper
https://steemit.com/smt/@surpassinggoogle/teardrops-token-will-be-among-the-coming-generation-of-smart-media-tokens-and-it-will-reward-proof-of-tears
7 - With all of these projects you've taken on, what is your ultimate goal in terms of helping the Steemit ecosystem?
@surpassinggoogle - To grow Steem and Steemit in historical new ways.
To remove "all barriers to entry" and present Steem as an ecosystem that celebrates every "human."
8 - What is the best thing about Steemit?
@surpassinggoogle - Its loving community of reputable great minds.
The Steemit effect: Steemit integrates a "school of life" paradigm that is so missing in the world and in the world of secular education and obliviously, people become the most awesome version of a human.
It provides a CCTV into the world, further highlighting humans as mere dust and very much equals.
It reveals the true state of the world as well as provides unadulterated feedback, necessary for bringing about positive world adjustment.
9 - What is the worst thing about Steemit?
@surpassinggoogle - I like to sift "sense" from the nonsense.
"Dirt is good; ask the soap master."
I sift even the not-so-good, to find good therein. I am not fast when it comes to reacting to stimuli; thus, even if the world finds bad in something, I may not hurry into doing the same.
I have seen so much beauty on Steemit, that I can't forget all that beauty because of one or two flaws.
In my world, flaws are allowed. I will forgive a hundred times. I have seen too much "life," that many things are forgivable.
Overall, Steem has proven itself to "evolve" positively by virtue of the power of its community. I was here when it was very rough on Steemit. I have seen the reaction. I am reacting. Others are reacting. And these reactions are good for enhancement.
A lot of positive change can happen on Steemit by means of our actions. I focus on making sure Steem succeeds; thus, I don't see how it will fail.
10 - I did some research, and within the last 500 posts that were featured on your blog, only 12 were written by you (the rest were Re-Steemed). Why do you feel it's important to share other bloggers' content?
@surpassinggoogle - Well, I am grateful that you did that much research. It pleases me to know the numbers as I didn't know it and this inspires me.
I post mostly out of responsibilities to tend to matters in the community for the most part. I am in a ton of communities and even when I don't converse, I pay attention and know their state.
I am mostly about others because in places I am from. "free air is two gulps for one gasp." I don't do leisure, I don't relax, I don't eat to make sure others can do so; but this is me.
I love each human and I say this without any ounce of exaggeration. In truth, my entire being can't afford to create exaggeration. I do 24/7 excruciating pains for years now, plus, mum just died and I take care of my dad who has dementia, glaucoma, psychosis and I have to watch to him suffer everyday as he constantly talks to himself of his "unmet dreams." There are dreams that I now carry. But I am still here deeply-rooted, ready to cater to others lovingly.
Re-Steems don't favor me much as it can cause me to lose important followers, but each one is whale to me and I truly care. Similarly, my witness is called "steemgigs" to represent more of community than me.
Many times, it isn't just monetary rewards that excite people. It can be inspiration. It can be a comment. It can be the timeliness of the deed.
I pay attention and at times when someone is down etc, a timely Re-Steem can serve more testimonial essence than a 100 per cent upvote.
I want people to join Steemit because also of my presence here. Let the word in town be: "Oh join Steemit, there is one @surpassinggoogle there, who will show you love like crazy."
This is already happening and it is testimonial and fulfilling.
11 - On average, how much time per week do you spend reading other bloggers' Steemit content?
@surpassinggoogle - In truth, I am on Steemit 24/7. In a week, I may go through hundreds of posts. I look for the underlying message, context, the undertone etc., so I can go through many posts fast.
12 - I saw that your sister, @cathey, briefly joined Steemit and posted a couple of times about 7 months ago. Are you trying to convince her to keep on blogging?
@surpassinggoogle - Yes but not at this moment. A lot of ongoing trauma has happened in the past months. We haven't recovered yet.
Even my mum was asking to join Steemit before she passed. I only saw her for 16 days before she passed after not seeing her for 5 years. She practically used her last energy to arrive here to the Philippines, like she knew she was leaving and had to see her son.
During her last months, she would visit Steemit to be with me by means of it; to get more proud of me as she would visit Steemit to read of my love toward others. She always knew this was my path and she allowed it. She allowed many other mothers to share me with her. She is a most-loving mumsy. My dad still cries her name every minute. I hear him wailing and the undertone is "Maria Wilma Ajayi." I do the agony in silence.
I have two other sisters on Steemit.
13 - I was sorry to hear about your mother's passing a few months ago. How has that experience affected your journey on Steemit?
@surpassinggoogle - I am lost, I would say. I am in a world away from the world. I have done trauma and gone ahead of it, but I am still here on Steemit and Steemit is with me. I simply draw more drive and keep my mum alive by dedicating all my efforts on Steemit, including steemgigs.org and my "SteemGigs" witness to her. Teardrops token and all have her story and legacies in them.
Suffering must now have essence and tears, value. We are done doing generations in valueless very-avoidable suffering; "suffering for fun" or half-humanism.
"Donkeylife" for others must end! For this, I will not rest. I will break-down to make sure others live life. This is my path.
14 - At the time, you received a lot of encouraging words from the Steemit community. What does that kind of support mean to you?
@surpassinggoogle - Remarkable. Unforgettable. Special.
Steemians, oh how i love them. They were at my mum's burial too. They sent me donations. They left me speechless and they know it.
They pray for me constantly, and because of these many prayers, my "amen" is on default.
15 - Who are your top 3 favorite bloggers to follow on Steemit?
@surpassinggoogle - That is a tough one.
Deep down, I hardly look at the blogger. I look at the substance of the human behind the blogger.
"Rare knowledge," according to me, is in the hand of the illiterates. I am illiterate now; I used to be very knowledgeable school-wise but in all I have written here today, "no books" involved.
On that note, you can follow @stellabelle @ankarlie @edith4angelseu
Don't be shocked: "they are all women."
Ankarlie is 19, but we are working on her path to CEO-ism in her early 20s and it will happen. Edith is an older woman but she follows my ways on Steemit and understudies them. She gives me that luxury privilege (honor).
Stellabelle is my precious Leah, she seeks the elves in her mind and it interests me to direct her from outer-space back down-to-earth. Well, she is very down-to-earth.
16 - Why is it important for you to support Filipino Steemit bloggers?
@surpassinggoogle - For one thing, I am located here in the Philippines. My reach covers every nation because it is an ecosystem and each one plays a role.
Overall though, the Philippines is posed to adopt Steem very readily. Cryptocurrency and knowledge of it is drastically growing here as a reputable remittance. There is an online outlet called coins.ph used by the mainstream Filipino audience that has cryptocurrency integration with banks also involved. The Philippines also has everything it takes in terms of gift and talent, but they do need loads of drive, fire, inspiration, self-belief: much of which I can impart, especially as I am more of a neutral party in my upbringing. I am very capable in tending especially to nations that the world tends to call "developing."
I also have a hub for developers here in the Philippines about to commence where we will code for Steem with swag, adjusting the world positively from the nooks and crannies of these lowly-looking nations. The hub is called "Macrohard." It is also a fashion enterprise.
17 - What is your favorite quote?
@surpassinggoogle - Hahaha all my favorite quotes are mine. I have created hundreds of them and more pop out every time I talk.
For Steemit, though, the one I give out the most, is an answer to a frequently asked question in many of my DM(s):
"How do i become like you, Terry?" And I would say: "To become like me, you will need to stubbornly be the awesomest version of you".
To the minnows, I will say, "You are whale to me!"
18 - Who inspires you?
@surpassinggoogle - Inspiration is very scarce where I am at. I draw most of it on my own and to maintain it and use it to the full, I usually have to sacrifice meals or sleep. Gradually, I lost the ability to sleep or eat.
My general inspiration, however, is "humans" and "suffering," which must now subside especially by means of the power blockchain offers.
I suffer a lot. Until suffering subsides for others, I will keep on being inspired because my being has no choice.
Even in the rubble, my hand is outstretched because I am ready to lend it still.
19 - You get to have dinner with three people, living or dead. Who are you eating with?
@surpassinggoogle - Gosh, I prefer starvation. I don't eat or enjoy meals, but of course, I love people.
On Steemit, however, I will so like to have a meal with Ned but that won't be a meal because questions will take over.
Therefore for three mealtimes with 3 people, I would say @aderonkemi: she loves me from afar and keeps on in amazement of me and I have not been able to give her time but her love is undying
@samic because she hasn't met me and she is far away but she has come to know me so well to the tiniest details by loving and understudying my ways on Steemit, with her love ever-constant and undying.
Last meal will be with @purepinay @gerel @sunnylife, because that is one person and they never tire out from loving me.
20 -
@surpassinggoogle - I suffer a lot. I don't have anything that normal young boys or men have.
My toughest FAQ is: "How are you?"
Thank you to @surpassinggoogle for taking time out of his schedule to take on these questions.
As always, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read.
Who would you like to see me throw 20 questions at? Drop me a comment below and I'll work on setting up the interview.
If you like what you read, be sure to follow my blog!
Previous "20 questions" interviews:
20 questions with @heiditravels
20 questions with @katecloud
20 questions with @manthostsakirid
20 questions with @blockchaingirl
20 questions with @piedpiper
20 questions with @stellabelle
20 questions with @budgetbucketlist
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20 questions with @the-alien
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20 questions with @mrs.steemit
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Really inspiring. @surpassinggoogle is a real great guy. Ever since I joined Steemit, acquaitance with other steemians always include good comments about him. Until I personally meet him in one of our meetup. I wasn't able to have a conversation with him but a shake hands. But looking at him entertaining every questions, I see in his eyes the heartfelt and sincere answer to each and everyone. And the warmth shakehands like telling me "Welcome brother, you have something to offer here, bring it on!". trully amazing man. He has my full support, I felt how he struggles for life, being a bread winner for my own family, I too don't have an experience like a normal man.
I admire his support for every Filipino, having a foreign blood, his BIG heart still belongs to us.
Thanks for bringing this up @wadepaterson, and great, precise questions you had there.
Your absolutely right, I agree you @davinsh, sir @surpassinggoogle is a very kind and a great person, he really loves to help the Steemians members specially the Filipino and Nigerian community.
You're welcome! Thanks for reading :)
Kuya Terry please take care of yourself for all of us. I dont want to lose our galing brother, father, friend @surpassinggoogle.
Please take care of yourself if you really love us. We need you for the long run not just for a moment. #proofoftears
I wish.
Thank you alot though.
Please join in on my last post and the one before
I am a big of @surpassiggoogle coz he is a very honest and kind-hearted man. I am very pleased to read an interview with Terry, really inspiring story very heart touching. SteemGigs is really best opportunity for all of us.I hope surpassing also support my country peoples here on steemit. I wish he lives life happily and always alive in dreams. God bless on you always.
I resteemed!
@surpassinggoogle is this stage, as it were. He speaks to superior to anybody, as I would like to think, all the potential Steem has as an idea. All the great it can accomplish for such huge numbers of individuals. All Steemit can be on the off chance that it progresses toward becoming all that it could be.So much love and care for family.
wow cool n logical reply of 20 questions by sir @surpassinggoogle sir. This worth to share. thanks
So much to learn from here. I haven't read them all but I will certainly read between the lines.
Good job @wadepaterson
@surpassinggoogle is such a great person with an awesome personality.
Keep up the good works.
Nice interview and steemit T-Shirts ! I resteemed this post.
I was SO waiting for this one.
@surpassinggoogle IS this platform, in a way. He represents better than anyone, in my opinion, all the potential Steem has as a concept. All the good it can achieve for so many people. All Steemit can be if it becomes everything it could be.
Thank you, @wadepaterson, for this amazing posts. They are beyond cool. They are necessary.
Cheers for the kind words, @flashfiction!
Well said!
He's a great man who doesn't believe a man has nothing to offer. His words that "a minnow is a whale " is a driving force
@steemgigs always best platform for us & @surpassinggoogle is a great man.
nice bro, Upvoted