This series is about applying the ideas I try to express in my "Optimism at the End of the World" series to steemit and the way we interact with each other here. The goal is to promote behavior that helps us to realize our true potential as a rich, positive, and capable community.
It's very easy to get caught up in the money making aspect of steemit. I don't pretend that I have no aspirations for big payouts. But even more exciting to me is the potential for strong communities to blossom on the platform and the potential for communities to serve to ensure that quality and valuable contributions are rewarded despite what kind of unsavory activity goes on elsewhere on the platform.
What makes steemit a better catalyst for community growth?
It's not the money itself, but money DOES play a factor. In adding money to the mix, we now have more tangible incentive to go out and read the thoughts and ideas of others. We also have more incentive to be civil towards each other and to avoid making a fool of ourselves. By having more meaningful interactions with others, we increase our chances at succeeding on the platform. The more users we show an interest in and the more we show a willingness to help others, the more we set ourselves up for success while at the same time, contributing to the collective and building a healthy environment. This combined with a high percentage of forward-thinking, creative individuals makes steemit very different from other social media.
Money as a motivating factor does not necessarily mean that we are acting purely out of selfish intent. For more on this, read my last post "Optimism at the End of the World #10 : Selfishness and Selflessness" . From a position of abundance, you have much more to share with other so no need to feel guilty, just keep yourself in check about how you achieve abundance and how you make use of it.
Finding a tribe
We need to consciously seek out others, otherwise we are talking to ourselves. Sure you could seek out anyone, try to be polite enough and fake interest to get followers, some people are doing it. But is it fun? Does it really work?
Many people are sharing their passions on here, not just where they went last night and what they ate for dinner (the ones who do share this are quite passionate about it. That is cool). Why not go and find some people that you are truly interested in, people that share the same passions and beliefs as you. I know I am.
By building communities based on deeper connections, we make our lives easier and more fun, we make others lives easier and more fun and we create a vibrant ecosystem and communities capable of anything.
Tribes are slowly forming on steemit. They come in many varieties from yunk to whaleshares to PAL to certain tags to all the different trails to the regulars in steemit.chat to our "Be Awesome" community. The tribes can easily coexist peacefully and you can even be a member of more than one tribe. Some tribes will be formal where membership is clear, many will be quite informal and fluid.
Finding my own tribe
I see very clearly the potential that the connections made on steemit have, even beyond the platform itself. I have been out searching for people who share similar ideas so that we can create something together, or at the very least enjoy each other's company.
I'm not huge on shout outs but I want to make a point here and show you what I mean.
I've made friends with people who under other circumstances I never would have known I had so much in common with. Helping people really excites me and there are many who help me and many are willing to let me help them.
Be awesome
There are those who have been helping me to the Be Awesome community like 
Other potential tribe members of mine
There is 
There's 
There's 
There are those who I've gotten to know with in whaleshares and steemit.chat. They have their own tribes that I see as allies. 
There's 
There are those who help me discover new topics of interest. 
There are others whose content and comments I really connect with and who I hope to know better. 
"Synchronicity runs wild on steemit" - 
Last week I randomly bumped into 
This synchronicity inspired me to write this post. What if these people are tribe mates that until a few days ago I didn't know existed?
ok enough name dropping that was gross. I'm very sorry if I didn't mention you, there are many many who I am interested in and respect who were not mentioned here
I'm not just name dropping here, I'm trying to make a point. We are all helping each other. We are open to helping others as well. Many of us will collaborate in the future. Some of these collaborations may do a lot of good on steemit or in the 3D. We are constantly inspiring one another. I'm aware of the BS here as well but it's important to focus on the good too. Truly beautiful things are happening here.
Go find your fucking tribe!
Use the search function, ask around, figure out exactly what you are looking for. If you enjoy my posts, maybe our discord channel is the place for you. Please share what kind of tribe you are looking for or how you found your tribe in the comments.
Join the "Be Awesome" community
The Be Awesome discord chat, was created with the intention of making deeper connections with fellow steemians.