I know you know what #followfriday is!
FollowFriday is when you promote some people and follow new people to help stimulate growth. This is my third week promoting seven new, fairly new, or been-here-a-while-but-just-starting-to-get-active-again people.
Developing good Steemit habits
One of my daily activities is to visit the NEW tab, scroll through the pictures, titles and descriptions and pause for anything that catches my eye. With an average of about 15 tabs open, I read and generally upvote and comment through that batch and begin a new one. By going through the NEW tab, I also get to see what my settings on SteemVoter did. This offers an opportunity to follow up with a comment instead of simply leaving a bot's sterile upvote.
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New or New-to-me discoveries this week
@dreemit
Someone get the fire extinguisher because this user is on FIRE! She started about 18 days ago and has been admirably active! 18 days and nearly 600 posts! WHAT!
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If you are looking for someone who is fully engaged and excited to be here, I suggest you put her on your list. She jumped in with some fiction writing in the Playground Series, has a great sense of humor, loves her brother, who, by the way, has a great bass voice, sings originals, plays guitar - and made her an aunt this week! One of the best things about @dreemit is her willingness to jump in, participate in the Steemit challenges, and learn the platform to optimize her experience here.
As she states in her intro post, her name is NOT Earl.
@throughtheglass
Another new member of our community, @throughtheglass appears to have a plethora of interests from photography to faith; psychology to original music. After reading through a few of his posts, I get a sense that he walks along the edge of depression and light. I can relate to that because I am often fighting back the dark place.
Read his lyrics and you'll connect with a romantic optimist. Even beyond this, his quote from post MeowMeowBeenz has convinced me he is a thinker with a good amount of common sense.
"I'm deeply intrigued to witness the evolution of a community built on a common currency. That's something every Steemer has in common: a shared responsibility to uphold and promote the value of the system. It is a common goal to unite and encourage us to create. That's a powerful thing."
I admit that I've probably skipped a bunch of his blogs because of titles like "MeowMeowBeenz" but creating this post helped me delve further and confirms that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Such is the case with @throughtheglass
@richq11
If you look at his profile description, this man is a seeker of truth. He follows tags like fakenews, politics, censorship, meme... all the stuff that I normally keep at arm's length because...well...because I live with hard truths every day so for my own peace of mind, I try to keep away from the anchors that will sink me into the dark abyss.
He actually got on my radar with his shout out to the late, great Gary Larson of The Far Side and the title, Nerds of the World Unite.
Have you read his series: The Kid That Became A Guy? That's the link to Part I.
In the prologue he states:
"This may be a true story, it may not. Maybe some of it is true and some isn't. It's a story I have to tell, I can't wait anymore."
It is not an easy read. There is ugly in there. But the difference between a good storyteller and a great one is: Great storytellers transport you into their world and their stories stick with you and make you think. I won't be shaking off his story any time soon and now I know I've got a lot more reading to do.
@ilovecatbatstew
I have to admit that it was his username that caught my attention. Chris has been a part of the Steemit community for about a week now. His introduction post Nerd and larper, inbound! briefly sheds light on what he does.
A programmer, former paramedic, archery enthusiast and LARPer, I can totally relate -- and I have a hard time resisting anyone in a Robin Hood-esque outfit. After reading Klien bottlesI am inclined to think Chris loves puzzles and likes to push the boundaries of logic for deeper thinking. He's quite an interesting fellow but he hasn't posted in three days. I really hope he hasn't given up on us!
@aprilangel
April is a Steemit week old. A mother, healer, teacher and dream analyst, she shares her journey of self-discovery in her introduction post
I love that she unlocked the boundaries of thinking to embrace the magical and divine. She speaks of rejecting judgement, perfectionism, and self-righteousness to find inner peace and happiness. She's discovered that her life purpose is also in helping others overcome the obstacles we create.
She takes us on her personal faith journey in Debunking Hell, which is not "preachy". She's not shoving religion down anyone's throat, but she does share a perspective that is very in line with my own.
To quote her:
"It's all good."
@dragon40
Ken basically kicks ageism in the nuts. In his introduction post, he says straight off that he's 76-years old, but I tell you: age is just a number. He is a self-proclaimed avid digital photographer and grumpy old man. It's no wonder that the younglings are calling him Grandpa.
The bits of family history he shares is fascinating! He had a relative that was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg, and his mother was one of the original Rosie the Riveters.
He had his hands on network technology pretty much at its inception so don't let his age fool you into thinking he's a newbie around tech stuff. Ken is also an advocate for Holocaust education as well as doing his best to "annoy liberals."
I'll admit that I do not usually click an outside link, but I can't resist "punny" things. So, if you enjoy a good twist on words and like groan-worthy things, definitely check out his Christmas puns and give him a warm welcome.
@arthuradamson
In his blog header his description is simple: Artist
But Arthur is anything but a simple man! I encourage you to read his blog post ART is a delicious PARADOX where he exposes the dichotomy of how meaningful and meaningless art may be. It's truly in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
What is even more fascinating is his willingness to share his thoughts and imperfections in the comments section. He had a huge personal loss at a young age and also battles dyslexia.
He hasn't posted in a few days and I sincerely hope he comes back to share more of his thoughts, and perhaps a bit of his art. We got a tiny taste of it in a photo he shared in his post "Artists are failing to affect the power elites"
"I predict we are heading for a period were people will want honesty and integrity back as part of the daily existence, a more truthful life..."
I couldn't agree more, Arthur.
Final Thoughts
Find someone new on Steemit and nurture their curiosity. Make yourself available to them. If you see that they're struggling, lend a hand, ask them questions, acknowledge that they exist.
I've posted 2 other #followfriday posts and hope to do a follow up to see how they're doing.
To read up on who I've highlighted, please visit:
Come frolic with me 'til the New Year!
This is a 50/50 post.
Author rewards not specifically earmarked for an individual or group will be transferred to savings and distributed through random acts of kindness or based on immediate need. If you know someone in need, kindly let me know in comments so I may dedicate a post to them.
Please note: I cannot guarantee earnings but I can help bring attention to their situation.
What can YOU do to HELP?
Be a good Steemian. Create, Comment, Curate. Blaze your own trail. Discover new people. And if it is within your means: GIVE.
Ideas:
- Give your time and attention
- Direct donation - send STEEM or SBD directly to the recipient.
- Donate proceeds from your post - Write a post and state your intention to donate to a person or cause.
- Upvote and/or resteem content
- Share their post on your other social media
- Advocate for your community because one day you may need them.
Public Service Announcement
Educate yourself on what Steemit Witnesses do.
- Read @pfunk's User Guide to Steem Witnesses
- Place your educated votes for Witnesses HERE
Have a Steemit day!
@merej99/the-genesis-of-the-barn-raising-payitforward-initiative-a-way-of-giving-thanks