There be dragons outside Steemit - trying out different apps

or the longest time now, I've been graciously ignoring any app on this platform, any alternate posting method, and just sticking to good ole Steemit. It wasn't because I had a bad opinion of them or anything like that, I simply didn't see the point. I kept hearing (well, reading, whatever) other users say that Busy has a much nicer interface and I couldn't help but wonder – does it really matter?
Seems a tad superficial to me. Not to mention that I like how Steemit looks, I really do. I've gotten used to it now and it seems so odd to try something new. And then I thought how true to life this is. I know, weird to think there is life outside Steemit, but there are sometimes, glimpses of life out there which I try to keep an eye on. And in those glimpses, I've noticed we like to be comfortable.
We like what we know, that's where we're comfortable and the idea of trying something new becomes more remote and alien to us each day that we're here. Not just here, on Steemit, but here wherever that means in out life. A job, a relationship, a city. Every day we spend on this side of the door, it becomes harder to leave because each day is proof that the world did not crash.
We were here, safely locked away in our little world and we survived and everything is just fine – now what more proof could you need or want that this is the place to be?
Except it's not. The simple fact that you are comfortable somewhere does not make it the right place for you and that is something you need to remind yourself constantly. Don't get too comfortable in your seat, because who knows what could be gained by leaving it and going on an adventure?

Adventures, by their very nature, are scary. There be dragons here and what not.

Well, there be dragons outside Steemit too.

Or be there?

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The phrase 'there be dragons' was used on on old maps to signify danger, but was that danger real or just in the map-makers' heads? Although the phrase seems quite clear, the idea that there were actual dragons or sea-monsters (as they are often depicted on maps) is a bit far-fetched. Far be it from me to question the existence of monsters and dragons, but often enough, the phrase itself – there be dragons here – was simply used to signify the end of the known world.
There weren't actual dragons beyond that point, but at the time the map was made, people didn't exactly know what was on that side of the earth, and in that uncertainty, there could indeed be dragons. So these words were just a way of telling the budding explorer that we don't know what's out there and you should be careful.

And just like in those maps from long ago, there are no dragons on our lovely dapps. Well, maybe some. I've come across quite a few Steemians reluctant to use any of them, myself included, for fear that either the app itself was faulty or that starting to use it would mean leaving Steemit itself behind. And people don't want to do that (well, some don't) because it has a sort of special place – this is where it all started and all that.
But going out there and checking out the dragons doesn't have to mean leaving Steemit behind.

Over the past few days, I've been using Partiko and Busy a lot. I know, there are loads of other dapps out there, but I figure one at a time. I plan on checking them out, as many of them as I can and then settling on one or two. Because really, if we don't keep ourselves in check, we'd have ten different apps on our phone, all notifying us when we got a comment and that would be crazy.

I don't know what to make of them so far. Sure, they look nice, but I like the way Steemit looks too. They're also really fast, particularly Partiko, I have to say I am rapidly becoming a big Partiko fan. It's very neatly arranged and easy to use and for me, who had been using Steemit in the browser up until last week, I have to say it's a big improvement.

Curing Steemit addiction through Partiko?

One of the benefits of working at home (beside you know, sleeping in late and going of coffee breaks whenever you feel like it and not wearing pants and...) is that I am mostly never on the run, that I can drift back to Steemit constantly. So, I can have a page open on my feed or on replies or on my blog, which I can then refresh like a maniac to check for new comments and votes. I know, not healthy in the slightest and rapidly spiraling from healthy interaction to a time-waster. But you know, it's fun, you're having a cool conversation with someone in real time and you want them to reply, obviously. Well, Partiko took care of all that.
I haven't been refreshing my Steemit over the last few days or constantly checking back, because I have their handy notifications now. They'll tell me when something new comes up, so I can stop obsessing and focus on doing productive things (dammit.)

I know that this post might sound like a cavegirl discovering fire, particularly since a lot of you have been using these for quite a while now, so nothing new here. But hey, it's what I wanted to write today and I made a cute dragon analogy, okay? So spare me.

Thank you for reading,