Hi!! I'm still here, too. And, yes, notifications are another of those things Steemit could do better. I've come to think of this place as a pioneer village, cut off from the rest of civilization so much you have to invent what doesn't exist. In a way that's kind of fun. It sure makes you get creative. But I know ... it's also annoying.

I know Hive account@snowpea -- and I like her. I'm glad she pointed you at The Alliance. I'd also like to recommend you join The STEEM Engine. I'm the curator there -- and we're always looking for exceptional writers and artists. We have a pretty good group. Small. And we're not real chatty, but there are some nice benefits to belonging.

I saw quite a few months ago you looked into joining a group called The Unmentionables. The STEEM engine is the group that formed when that one came undone. (Terrible story. I'll write about that soon.)

To submit your post in post-promo, you have to upvote and comment on two other members' blogs. That kind of forces you to meet people -- and our writers post on a variety of topics, so finding something interesting isn't hard.

Every night I select the best-of-the-best from the previous day's submissions and put together a group post. You can find those here: https://steemit.com/@thesteemengine You also have upvote the group post if you want to submit articles, but even in these troubled times we're giving out $.30+ upvotes -- and in better times we regularly passed out $1 upvotes.

We can help your account grow. We can definitely help you meet people. You do have to fill out an application (please follow instructions) ... but my husband is the admissions officer. And, as I said, I'm the curator. So, let's just say you have friends in high places there if this idea appeals to you at all.

Give it some thought.

https://discord.gg/y8FpeX4