The importance of community is something I've been learning the importance of recently, so I'm looking forward to contributing to the flood of comments here =)

So... Community is a word we often hear thrown around as essential to the Steemit platform but what does it mean, exactly? At first, a village comes to mind... Or a small, friendly neighbourhood. So how does one build a community online, with everyone so far apart, behind their screens, and so often focused on numero uno ...?

Engagement is usually what people will answer that with... "Go out, be interested in others, take the initiative, find commonalities, join in on the discussion." ... Basically, it means discovering what is important to you, and finding others who are of like mind and joining up with them - be it through comments, discord, or steemit chat.

And by doing this, friendships slowly start forming, and around those friendships, communities!

But the catch is... Quite often, the kinds of people who'll go that far, and be pro-active, are far and few between. And they'll find each other fast enough, but then what? Especially in these early days of Steemit, something more is needed to rope in the majority who often aren't even aware that there are groups out there with whom they might enjoy interacting with...

Enter... Games, competitions and contests!

When I first discovered Steem Monsters, I thought "Yes! This is exactly what Steemit needs! Talk about adoption potential!" ... And of course, history shows us that a community grew fast around it. It's something fun and unique, and yet another practical use case for Steemit.

Contests within the SM community, just like in any other community, serve as incentive for pulling in more and more people. Winners show off their prizes to their friends and family, many of whom are not necessarily on Steemit yet, and those who don't win look on at the winners with just a bit of envy and try again the next time ^^

Hosting contests are also a way of simply being generous to the community that has helped you get to where you are. I've only just discovered you guys but going through your feed, it's obvious that you're doing exactly that... Being generous and building the community along the way.

Thanks, guys!