Excellent post! Like you, I came first to Steemit attracted by the curiosity and the factthatwe can make money with blogging. And then I have met people around. And now I stay for the fun I have with the people I met :)
And finally, I have met some of them in real life in some unexpected place. That' the funniest part of Steemit in my opinion.
I have yet to run into any one in real life, aside from the people I signed up. I have had a bunch of encounters through Facebook though so I can see it being a thing at some point.