I was inspired to join Steemit last October by Hive account@quantumanomaly, after he'd been talking with me for a couple of months about the awesomeness here. Hive account@tltran helped, too. :)

Once I joined, I found local friends in Hive account@giftedgaia, Hive account@winstonwolfe, and Hive account@sykochica through Hive account@steemittalk, then branched out further when I had the opportunity to meet Hive account@papa-pepper, Hive account@stellabelle, and others at our Springfield Meetup a few months ago.

Since I joined Steemit, I've been trying to get other creative friends on board, and I've been using the devil that is Facebook to do it...and it's finally actually working.

Hive account@starrkravenmaf joined up and started posting her photographs...very cool. She actually just posted an amazing album of photos she took of a concert I played a couple of weeks ago that you can check out here..

Then Hive account@d-ro and Hive account@robbied joined the fold contributing music-related content and other awesomeness. Hopefully they'll both be posting a lot more in the upcoming weeks and months, as I know they're busy making great music. I'll be bragging on them both in a post really soon.

Lately, however, I've been pushing a little harder on Facebook. Especially with Steem and BTC prices up, people can literally see that there is money to be made here.

Hive account@jasonrussell joined in January, his wife Hive account@melodyrussell joined soon after, and since then Jason has become very involved in the photographic community here, and is even guest-judging the Steemit Photo Challenge this week!!! He has seen real money come into his account little by little, and is saving up for better photo equipment so he can further his art.

Hive account@hethur240, who I've known most of my life, posts of Missouri homesteading life, as well as the brilliance of Ozarks mycology, foraging and wildflowers. Her Missouri Wildflowers series has been most enjoyable. She loves nature, loves animals, is one of the most intelligent people I know, and has some really great posts that need more love. If you're not following her, you're missing out.

Hive account@rockchickjen is a new user and one of my best friends. She has great taste in music, a wide variety of creative interests, and she and I have made music together in various capacities for over 10 years at this point, and I'm really excited to see what she brings to the platform. She and her husband contributed a great cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" to the Steemit Open Mic this week, and you can listen to that by clicking here.

Hive account@innerverse is an amazing podcast and just general resource for all things vibrations and spirituality and creativity. Chance is doing great things over there. Check him out and follow...art, music, intelligence, wisdom.

Hive account@bubbajones has met/seen/supported more rock music than anyone else I know, and has awesome stories to tell. In addition to being a huge lover and general supporter of ALL MUSIC, he also has a podcast with his friend Ed Tucker called Bubba Loves Ed, and I'm really stoked for Bubba to be among us sharing his stories, humor, wit, and general awesomeness in content. Follow him.

Hive account@devlinpierce is a singer-songwriter and talent manager with years of experience and some amazing music. He plays solo as well as with his band Devlin Pierce and The Song, as well as being a very active member of the Springfield-local music scene. I'm not sure if he's posted anything yet--but look out for when he does.

Hive account@chrisgoans is a singer-songwriter who fuses together acoustic music with hip-hop and is doing some really interesting things these days. He performs an array of music, and you can actually check out his original song for his Steemit Open Mic submission for this week here.

Hive account@stacyloveswilco is a writer with a diverse array of interests and a passion for helping others. She hasn't posted anything yet, but she's another you will want to follow. She's a great writer with a great mind, and I'm sure is going to bring great content to the platform.

Hive account@johnbutler is another incredibly talented singer-songwriter who is fresh to the platform. He plays a wide variety of music--everything from acoustic singer-songwriter stuff to metal and punk rock. His sensibilities are diverse, he's incredibly intelligent, and I look forward to seeing what he brings to us here.

Hive account@elderberrydepot is a startup that I'm really excited to see in our Steemit platform both from an educational standpoint, as well as hopefully an economic standpoint as well. Elderberries have amazing immune-boosting properties of which I have directly seen the benefits, and the folks behind this project are passionate about bringing Missouri elderberries to the masses, as well as helping farmers learn about sustainable elderberry farming practices. They haven't posted yet, but be on the lookout.