We released some news yesterday our node was down shortly; it wasn't a performance issue... we're already upgrading it to the max!

If you're a dev who's been using our new full public RPC node, you might have noticed the downtime. We're happy to announce that it was shorter than expected, and the adjustments make the performance of the minnowsupport RPC node even better for Steem developers.

You may have seen that @aggroed and @gandalf did an interview on node performance last week.

https://steemit.com/steemit/@aggroed/aggroed-interviews-steemit-s-hightech-wizard-gtg-aka-gandalf-about-the-future-and-stability-of-the-steemit-blockchain

In that post, @gandalf gave some great tips and suggestions for running a better, faster, stronger RPC node. Now... we know brilliance when we hear it, and we're committed to having some of the best support and services on Steemit. We listened.

So, in case you missed it: we made this Full Public RPC node for all Steem developers to use, and then we upgraded the snot out of it.

Devs have already been running tests and have found our original performance to be above the usual suspects. Since we're now taking some cues from the node wizard himself, things are only going to get better. So if you're starting up a project or need better response times and service, help us get testing the new settings and please make full use of it.

steemd.minnowsupportproject.org

Here are more details about the original node if you need them:
https://steemit.com/witness-category/@followbtcnews/heard-you-needed-a-node-witness-followbtcnews-launches-a-new-public-full-rpc-node

I also want to make sure that @someguy123 gets a huge shout out for his tremendous help getting this done!

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In other cool news you may have missed: we released a new Steemit Mentions Tool last week.

Just go to http://steemistry.com/steemit-mentions-tool/ and you'll get a handy, easy-to-read list of all posts and comments that mention your username.

Don't forget, we have other tools being developed now and are always looking for new suggestions. One should be ready by next week. I cant wait till you guys can use it... the suspense of it all!👻

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Finally, our witness @followbtcnews is currently #51. We are thisclose to reaching the Top 50.

Please make sure to show our witness some support and help us make that push by voting for us at https://steemit.com/~witnesses. Search for followbtcnews and hit vote just once! Keep us accountable, as you should with all your witness votes. Look for us active in the community and constantly working with other witnesses to keep Steemit growing positively for all. To all of you who already vote for us, thank you. We take your confidence seriously- it drives us.