I wish there were a way to find "the good stuff" quicker, too. I'm convinced Steemit itself could do a better job to make the search easier. The fact that they don't tells me something about the leadership here -- and their commitment to the whole project -- the whole vision -- now that they've made their bundle.

Of course, that bundle retains its value only as long as people like you and me keep creating things that sustain that value. An 8% retention rate on new accounts is dismal ... and would scare the bejesus out of me if I were running the show.

Whenever I find a great article I just want to shout and wave it and make people read. But sharing on the other social media sites is different (and a lot easier) than sharing on Steemit. Here, many people treat resteems like some kind of toxic waste. (Yet that's where I find a lot of good new people to follow.)

The curation projects are kind of a compromise on that. They let me (us) say "Here's something we enjoyed reading." If your taste is like mine, you may enjoy it, too. We don't have anything remotely like the clout and voting power of curie, but sometimes someone else saying right out in public, "Hey, you did a great job here" is a morale boost all its own.

You know from experience when I find a good writer I practically shanghai them into The STEEM Engine. I'm really thrilled to help them succeed in ways my little account can't touch. Lately though most of the good pieces I've found are from people with 60 / 70+ rep. And they clearly don't need my help to get their stuff shown.

Thank you so much for the compliments. I read them all -- even when I don't have time to respond. And I do appreciate them all -- every one.