For me was pretty much the same. From reddit I read about it. At the time I was reading mostly /r/ethtrader. The funny thing is that I read about Steemit about a year ago, lurking Reddit also. But since there is lots of fanaticism and hating every other coin or project except the one you like in Reddit, I let all that influence what I thought about Steemit at the time. That and ignorance too. I briefly explored Steemit back then but I just dont know why I didnt gave it much importance. I kept reading Reddit and learning about crypto there.
Then months later (June 2017) I finally digged more about Steemit and Steem and realized that what seemed too good to be true was actually true.
Been an active user since then. :)
Yeah this is a bit sad. :/ That's why I like r/cryptocurrency the most cause people there at least don't spread FUD about others but try to talk about every coin in a reasonable fashion.