Hi,

There is a lot of different action happening here on Steemit. I decided to compile what I read through the week. This is not to say that this a comprehensive collection. It's just what I read and found it important to report in this post.

1. A new demo app was released that lets you publish videos on the Steem blockchain.

This demo app lets you publish videos on Steem

Today we are releasing our prototype app, that lets anyone upload raw videos, as well as cross upload from YouTube.If you don't feel like uploading anything, here a video by @rerez.

How it works

Videos are being distributed to our small cluster (just 2 nodes in Europe at the moment). We are using IPFS to sync the underlying files between the nodes, and the Steem blockchain for immutable storage of root hashes and video metadata. Read more

2. A loan agreement was facilitated via Steem blockchain.

Steem(it) Blockchain Loan Agreement between @mrwang, @quinneaker, & @virtualgrowth

$1,500 to be loaned to @mrwangfrom @quinneaker while @mrwang's account is held for collateral by @virtualgrowth who shall manage payments from @mrwang's account to his partners and loan payments to @quinneaker during the time of the loan. $1,575 shall be paid back from @mrwang's account to @quinneakerat least weekly. During which time @mrwang shall continue to make posts. If there is a week when there are no rewards from @mrwang's account to go towards this loan then @virtualgrowth reserves the right to activate power down to use @mrwang's account STEEM POWER supplied as collateral to continue making payments as long his absence of not making posts that provide rewards of STEEM towards this loan. Read more

3. A Steem park is born in Brooklyn NY.

When I woke up on Sunday, July 16th I couldn't wait to get over to Herbert Von King Park for the Steem Park Dedication celebration!What made it even more amazing is that the dedication fell on my Steemit first year birthday! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the enormous change that's happened in my life over the last year through Steemit than to be with other Steemians who are changing their lives and the lives of the communities around them.One of the most fun aspects of the entire day was learning about the different ways many of us Steemians are connected!

Also, I really really really needed a reason to wear my Steemfest Tee made by @razvanlulmarin

What's a Steem Park, You Ask?

If you aren't yet aware, Steem Park is an effort to revitalize a corner of the Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn. The project is led by @voronoi and @hansikhouse who work collectively under the @hitheryon handle. Read more

More Links

https://steemit.com/steemit/@andrarchy/a-steemit-short-film-the-unveiling-of-steem-park

https://steemit.com/steempark/@hitheryon/steem-park-the-first-public-design-project-funded-by-cryptocurrency-press-release

4. @bellyrub a new upvoting bot with a $0.01 minimum bid.

Bellyrub Here with another update I have gotten another 1811.94 SP! Makes my total voting Power 7523.732 wow I feel bloated! That is $1.24 Per vote!
Because of this rules have changed for the better! I now vote at 100% which makes it now 1 hour extra so instead of 1.5 it is now 2.4 Hours between rounds this is to ensure I give out 100% bellyrubs! Read more

5. How @fraenk accidently found a Minnow support abuser & the abusers public apology

Blockchain Sherlock Eats Copy Pasta for Breakfast!

How I accidentally found and eventually exposed a cheater abusing the @minnowsupport voting service for several hundred dollars a week.
This will be the story of how I stumbled over, and then unmasked, a kid who tried to game the system for quick profit.But before we go there, let's talk a bit about copy-pasta on steemit and my personal motivation to spend a few hours investigating this situation. Read more

The abusers apology

I Abused Minnow Support Out of Desperation, I Regret It

Two to three weeks ago, I joined Minnow Support in the hope of earning some good bucks. For some minnows such as myself, earning additional income with little to no effort at all is a huge blessing, especially when you needed it the most. Read more

6. @chicosonico introduces SteemBnB - The Airbnb for Steemians & @mrs.steemit was the first guest.

Welcome to SteemBnB! · Homes for Steemians ·

Dear friends,

I have only been on Steemit for about a month and I already had the pleasure to meet Steemians from around the world and witness first-hand that the Steemit community goes beyond digital. Steemians are traveling the world and wherever you go, you can be almost sure to find at least one Steemian. The best part, Steemians are not some weird strangers, but because the community is so well established online, it is easy to connect and befriend Steemians offline. Imagine traveling to a country, knowing you can stay at a Steemian’s house and feel home wherever you go. People like @budgetbucketlist have been given shelter by Steemians before and there are many more Steemians traveling. It would only make sense to have a space where travelers can find other Steemians renting or sharing their space. Read more

And here is a post written by @mrs.steemit the first guest

Being The First SteemBnB Guest // BCN Review

Yes I am still in Barcelona! and once again at a new location, that is rather different from my previous ones! For the last couple days and weeks my Steemians friends and I have been traveling from one hotel to the next. I've shared with you the beautiful Hotel "La Florida" on the Tibidabo Mountain, the Hotel Catalonia in the city and there were a few others. Hotels like this are nice and I enjoy it, but especially if you are by yourself (which I am right now) it's a lot more fun to get an Airbnb and meet some locals. I hadn't yet figured out where to go next before my travel buddies left, what hotel or Airbnb I wanted to try, especially because it's season in Barcelona and almost everything is booked out, as you might already know from @soldier 's post. Also I simply love to get the full travel experience and after while of staying in fancy hotels I needed a switch, living like a local.... Ask ... Believe ...Receive As you know, I organized a Steemit Meetup in Barcelona and among those who showed up at the meetup was @chicosonico ! Read more

7. @OriginalWorks (Version Alpha) a new bot that upvotes original work was released

Hi Steemit! I am the OriginalWorks bot!

This is the OriginalWorks bot. It is designed to find, upvote, and promote original works here on Steemit.

This is the alpha version and does not yet have all of it's functionalities.

Future Plans! Read more

8. @blueorgy introduces @helpbot - a bot that will answer your Steem related questions.

Introducing @helpbot : Get Answers to Questions Quickly : Phase 1 - Data Collection

By simply calling on @helpbot (by mentioning it within any comment) and asking it a question, it will respond with its best known answer or direct you in the right direction via links to other Steemit posts. It will respond based off keywords and learned AI on previous (approved upon) answers via regular uses during the beginning stages. Those beginning stages I speak of are right now! So for now lets focus on data collection...
And yes, I did say WE 😉 Read more

9. New Steemit Chrome Extension Toolbar by @arcange

Introducing the Steemit Toolbar Chrome Extension

The Steemit Toolbar is a Google Chrome extension that will help you keep an eye on key indicators like Voting Power, STEEM price and SBD price.It will allows you to permanently monitor these values while browsing the Steemit.com website. Read more

Dividers by @kristyglas

If you have any other news related to Steemit please reply in the comments.

Please upvote follow and resteem @emble. Thank you.