May 5, 2018 I gave away 40 STEEM on Twitter using the new @steemtipper bot. It was an amazing experience.

![Steemtipathon Takeaways.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSAMwdyrjQDRodN5wtEi4LvEKzGc5a8NCpYV3Zwox6Ayr/the%20art%20of%20giving.jpg)

First, I want to thank @followbtcnews and @crimsonclad for my favorite bot. I love technology, AI, VR, and other tech-progressive applications. So I was super excited to give this service a try and I was so happy I did, because it was a blast doing this event.

For those unfamiliar with @steemtipper, you can go to https://steemtipper.com to read all about it. You'll need a Twitter account to use it. And I suggest you sign up for Twitter (and Reddit) because things are going to get a lot more fun this Summer!

Digressing to my point (I can't help but rant) — I learned a lot from the experience as well.

First to note: I made a bunch of big mistakes, blunders, and fails...lmao

<hr>

<h1>Technology</h1>

I bought a green screen, and I have soft boxes. What I didn't realize I forgot to buy was new light bulbs. Doh! At the last minute, I had no lighting. So I settled on using my smartphone as a camera and microphone. Whoa. So it was like the longest selfie ever. It was a bit confusing because it lacked the bells and whistles of streaming using software. I couldn't multicast. And so I settled on "sharing" to other platforms. That worked, until I had to restart the stream several times over. By the third time, I just gave up on sharing the stream. In addition, I realized through it all that to do what I initially envisioned, I really need a better webcam anyway.

<h3>The Goal</h3>

![Cecilia D'Anastasio Stream](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZdtabEwXikJzTSZXs8xSo3P5fZxYJibCxTYtmR7gt7Cx/lgovjaoucxkromwwnzu1.png)
<sub><em>Screenshot of Cecilia gaming</em></sub>

I'm working on setting up something like this. This screenshot is similar to what I originally planned. Except instead of gaming, it would be tipping, music videos, and other fun stuff going on. I also didn't want to be a in a cam-box. So it's a work in progress. I didn't give myself enough <em>time</em> to set this up properly. I want to go this direction because the same set up can also be use for:

* Witness interviews for the [Witness Communication Assembly](https://discord.gg/auQSxvY) project with @scottcbusiness
* Game streaming [The Darwin Project](https://store.steampowered.com/app/544920/Darwin_Project/) with @meno, @ausbitbank, @krystle, @pechichemena, and others
* My kids want to post their streams and so I set them up an account at @steemitkids

So there are many good reasons to get it together.

<hr>

<h1>Event Length</h1>

The event took TOO LONG (lol) — 4.5 hours vs the original 2 planned. It took @jerrybanfield 2 hours to give away 100 Steem. So I figured I gave myself ample time to give away 40. I was so wrong. Ha-ha. It took long in part because I had no format for the event really. I was hosting a Twitter Party at the same time. That's fine, and fun, but that too needs better planning. I've hosted Twitter Parties before. What I didn't anticipate was that many people have never participated in one before. So it all went to the wind after the first hour.

In addition, about half-way through, my son (age 8) decides he wants my tripod and other equipment for <em>his</em> game. So he decided to become a <em>surprise guest</em> on my stream. 😂

<h3>Changes:</h3>
* Keeping the program to 2 hours, no matter how much or how little Steem is distributed
* Scheduling the program while my kids are in school
* Having the music playlists set up in advance
* Pre-loading the Twitter Party prompts into Tweet-Deck
* Having a little website with Q&A for newbies
* Creating a specific onboarding flow

<hr>

♥️ <strong>I did manage to onboard several new users onto the platform, and several more part-way by having them claim their Steem.</strong> I will share a list soon.♥️

<hr>

<h1>Music</h1>

I played music by @dflo, @zipporah, @jazzresin, @meno, @paintingangels, @darrenclaxton, and @nathankaye. They're all amazing musicians and if you don't have them in your playlists, you're missing life.

That said, I would like to set up an official music and video submission process. I'd also like to be able to afford to pay musicians <em>something</em> for streaming them over the air like this. Even if it's 0.01 SBD per play, there has to be a way. I just don't feel aligned (even with their permission) streaming their music without compensating them. Perhaps it's a musicians ethic thing, idk. So maybe I need to set up an SMT to go along with this whole campaign as well. I'd love to hear any feedback others might have on this subject. Perhaps in the meantime I can set up an ERC20, Wave, or Bitshare type of token? What do you think? Or maybe I could pay from post rewards? Or maybe out of pocket? Leave a comment if you have any ideas on how to further monetize this campaign so it can be scaled.

<h1>Fundraising</h1>

Fundraising was not an issue at all. I received generous contributions from @kenistyles, @rcarter, @followbtcnews, @simplymike, and @abh12345. I also got tips from @jerrybanfield and his event. So that worked out wonderfully. What didn't work out so well was the refund script. So some of the Steem is trapped in limbo still unclaimed. @steemtipper has agreed to help sponsor the next event to buffer some of that. So my plan is just to continue to work with the accounts I sent Steem to in order to get that Steem claimed and get them onboarded. So far so good though. I think this campaign has resulted in in at least 6 new users already. But I'll do an official count once I've completed my audit.

What I'm thinking is, once I complete a formal reformatting of the program, I'll also take it over to a crowdfunding platform like @fundition. 

<h3>Accounting</h3>

I set up 2 accounts. While these accounts are not yet powerful enough to be useful at this point, the objective will be to use them to brand the event and also help keep project funds separate from my own until it's time to distribute it. I feel this is a lot more trustworthy and transparent a route — which will hopefully result in more funding to onboard with and develop / refine the campaign.

<hr>

<h1>Volunteers</h1>

I'm very grateful for @paintingangels, @gussiefinknottle, @jazzresin and others who hung out with me during the event. Unfortunately, I didn't check the MSPWaves and SteemStarNetwork calendars first, so I didn't know the event clashed with two popular shows on Discord. Still, they were kind enough to keep checking on me and assisting with various things from promotion to answering questions.

<h3>Documentation</h3>

Lots of people ask me questions about how they can donate, how they can help, what's steemtipathon about, what's steem, etc. It's clear that I've not been concise or clear enough about all of these questions and topics. So my next step is to get down and dirty — and start writing everything down in a clear format. 

<h1>Thank You</h1>

As always I want to thank @meno, @novacadian, and @gpalav for their support through their generous delegations. And to the members of @helpie, @asapers, and @smg for their camaraderie. 

I'm just going to post this as is and go from here.