I can't believe I only just came across your post on the subject.
It's always neat reading about people's experiences especially when they are so different than mine.
You mentioned all the support you got. That's great to focus on the community aspect. I just said it's tough and be patient. There are definitely shortcuts and people out to help.
That brings me to something I didn't cover and maybe you just touched on. Steem is for everyone. You mentioned all the different types of people you met here. That can't be further from the truth!
I don't know if other decentralized social media platforms exist, but there are other blockchains where you can vote like EOS and TRON, however, I only see crypto nerds and techies enjoying that. On Steem, we appeal to the more regular users of social media and blogging. In other words, Steem is still quite unique.
I like how you included random cat pictures in your blog. Photos are always great even if they are irrelevant to the content because it allows us an intermission or appeals to people who just want to look at a cat.
Lastly, you mentioned contests and prompts aren't your things. I feel the same way. I only really participate in a few monthly or casual weekly posts which are more like topics or journals (garden and beer). Most relevant, I think they are diverse and a great way to meet new people or just to keep a schedule for the people who aren't writers.
Hahaha! Not to worry. I'm glad you stopped by, anyway!
The truth is that I didn't receive any support for the first few months I was on Steemit and disappeared until I was persuaded to come back and join a group on Discord. That made a HUGE difference. It provided me with the opportunity to meet people who'd been around a while and I learned the ropes from them. It wasn't an onboarding group like Steem Terminal, or set up to build minnows (they weren't around then), but for me it fulfilled that role. And the more experienced Steemians helped me to learn the ropes. Largely by osmosis.
I agree that Steemit is unique. It does provide a broader appeal to those who, like me, are largely defeated by the deep and detailed tech and crypto stuff. It's exactly that to me: cryptic. The other platform that appealed to me was Narrative. It struggled and was shut down and is in the process of being resuscitated in an new iteration. Time will tell.
Thank you: it's a hangover from when I wrote learning materials and knowing that dense bodies of text can often be off putting. And then the last few, I did try to integrate into the gumph.
You've hit it on the contest issue: it's about the topic that grabs my attention. I sometimes find I've written about something that would fit into a topic or theme but forget to tag or whatever, and which I should because, as you rightly say, they are a great way to meet new people and find new content.
Appreciate your stopping by!