One of the things that I love most about Steemit is seeing many users' dedication to curating 'good' content, whether it be writing, art, or whatever else you find on here that tickles your fancy. However, I don't think anybody could define 'good' content, because we're all different. I might upvote music and art, while you would rather upvote memes. Some people like gaming, or sports, or whatever.
The fact is, everyone is going to use their upvote their own way. For themselves, or for whatever kind of crazy/awesome shit they like to read/look at. The effect of rewards on behavior here is still a bit confusing to me, in terms of how we make it sustainable, exciting, and worthwhile for the most Steemians possible. If, in order to make the most of my vote, I must vote constantly on my own posts, or posts that are likely to receive large rewards, then what room is there for the little guy? If everyone is using bidbots to promote their posts to Trending, why would my content ever get seen?
Full optimism mode: There is room for the little guy. People are looking out for new and ambitious Steemians. Projects like 
When I've watched 
So what can we do? As a red fish (I started here just over a month ago), I often support other deserving red fish and minnows with my comments and votes. From what I've seen, new users get quickly frustrated with the system here and leave without gaining any of the rewards they came for. I believe this has to do with the misconception that this is a rewards platform and not a social platform. If people don't find a community here, or any interactions at all, then of course they'll turn away within months! I think it's on all of us regardless of our personal Steemit status to support the best of the newer generations of Steemians - the new generation has no more or less intrinsic value than the last, right?
In my hometown, Bellingham, there was (and still is) an incredibly productive and collaborative arts and music sphere. Growing up, I was surrounded by inspiring artists. I know that my friends were surrounded by these people too - and contributed great art and community in return.
I engaged in several music communities in high school. Obviously, school was one of them. I had lots of fun collaborating with and recording my friends from BHS. Also, I became acquainted with the local open mic communities, and met lots of great poets and songwriters, a few of which I recorded at my home studio in my time there. I started hosting house shows in 2015, and had the pleasure of having local talent and touring bands breathe life into my living room once every couple of months. Although music is my focus, over the years I became aware of scores of awesome artistic individuals: visual artists, sculptors, animators, filmmakers, you name it - many of them quite young!
Footage from a show at my old house in Bellingham, WA
I got my first audio recording interface when I was 12 years old, in 2009. In high school, I started releasing the music I was recording in my room under the moniker To Pacify Maniacs. At first, I was just doing it by myself, but after awhile 
We played together on and off for about a year or a little more, and then we just stopped practicing regularly, if I remember correctly, until the practices slowed to a stop. That being said, we created some awesome cover music and had a lot of fun during this time.
So at some point near the end of the 'band' venture, I had a thought: There are a lot of talented, young, creative individuals in this area, but none of them are half as connected to each other as they could be. I might as well turn To Pacify Maniacs, this largely internet-based media project, into a community hub for art.
Logo by Logan Earle
To Pacify Maniacs already had a Facebook account, a Soundcloud, and a (very) small following. I made a blogger website to be the central site for the project, and began curating local art and talent online, in addition to:
- Using a 100GB Google Drive to host digital resources for artists, like sound effects, field recordings, sample packs, and miscellaneous photos and whatever else seemed useful/fun. Anyone could log in and upload/download to/from our community drive (I've changed the password from what's on the sidebar of the blogspot, email me at adamperkowskimusic@gmail.com if you want the new password to download sounds and stuff).
- Posting about shows and other events.
- Recording practically whoever I could in my home studio, generally for free.
This project was my little brainchild for a long time - and my best friends were always really supportive of TPM through spreading the concept via word of mouth. There was much talk of having some additional people curating and posting for the project, but that never really took off. I ran my free "service" in Bellingham for a good while - the idea was simple: Are you a local musician in need of album art? You could go to my website and find a local artist to collaborate with. Need music for a video? I've got a sidebar full of links to musicians that live right down the street. Need something to do on a weekend? I've probably posted some sort of event or something fun in the vicinity. Want music recorded? Come to my place! Want to spice up your mix? Download some fresh samples or plugins from the Google Drive!
Lord Leo in the home studio
It was the way I spent my time, hunting for local artists and offering them resources. Plenty of good recordings, collaborations, events, and connections came of it, and I learned a lot about how difficult and fun it is to network. I didn't feel like I had enough equipment or a big enough following or repertoire to really charge what I felt like my time was worth, so I just worked for free. But after awhile, it became stale - I didn't feel like people were reading, there was no monetary value, and I eventually puttered out.
So I quit updating the project soon after I started really focusing on my genrebending project K0WSK1, and left TPM as an unfinished idea, the website exactly the same today as it was in October 2015.
My point in saying all this is that what kept me excited about TPM wasn't rewards, it was the community building aspect of it. It was the thought that maybe I could help my friends prosper as artists and learn about their craft through collaboration and connection. Maybe I, a kid fresh out of high school with a viable amateur studio, could give people studio time for free that don't normally have access to recording. Building a prosperous community takes time but it is hugely rewarding.
And back to where we began: The drive to network and connect travels with me from TPM and my local hometown community to the world of Steemit. I see countless promising writers, thinkers, and content creators here at various places in the Steem hierarchy. I am loving networking with these people. From what I've seen, many communities are strong and growing rapidly here, regardless of what we see on the Trending pages. Although we all have our different interests and motives, I believe there is a common thread: We want to interact and be interacted with here. True community interaction and collaboration among the different tiers of influence is going to be the force that keeps new users on Steemit involved and excited to be here. Regardless of the individual influence of our interactions, we are stronger working together than we are working for ourselves.
Support each other and let's work together to find success and make something great!