It's Friday (kind of)!

I endeavor to highlight new members to Steemit who have caught my eye through the week in the hopes of giving them a little boost. With a hearty welcome, a link to Steemit's awesome WELCOME PAGE, and a spot in my browser bookmarks, I've selected 7 more people to highlight in the hopes of giving them further encouragement and support.

Curators DO care and we DO pay attention because by helping newbies along, we help them gain confidence and a sense of belonging so they become the next wave of Steemit Ambassadors and Community Advocates!

Being a newbie here is NOT easy, especially if you've never blogged before and don't have a following to speak of. Having been an active member of Steemit since July, I am blessed to have nearly 580 Steemit compatriots, while squeaking over 4500 posts/comments. I feel like it is my responsibility to do my part in helping this next wave of people.

Nothing is more disheartening than to say hello and be completely ignored.

So, without further ado, let's get to the new folks I've found while searching for quality content.

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@ken-and-jane

When I first saw the username I thought, oh, sweet, a husband and wife team! Boy, was I wrong! LOL
In his intro post, Ken is quite GQ while posing with the lovely Jane.

He is a musician and writer, having participated in Open Mic Challenges with original music and then sharing a bit of his fiction, he's also been busy interacting with the community and trying to find his people. Five days in and 85 posts/comments, I'd say he was off to a great start. So please take a moment to wish him well.

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@littlejiblet

Katie got on my radar after she posted her experience with **Cake Pops. She is an actress and total foodie - a self-proclaimed free spirit!

Her food presentations are divine! Seriously, I think they'd be too pretty to eat. Give me some meat and mashed potatoes and I'm a happy girl! LOL But I digress... Check out her Introduction post and visit some of her FOOD PORN blogs. She shares a photo journey of her recipes and they do look delicious!

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@gameywatchman

In his introduction post, I thought he said he killed his WIFE at 39. Sick bastard that I am, I was like well all right - thar be murder, mystery or click bait here!

Truth be told, it was neither click bait or a murder but a man who really shared a huge turn around point in his life. In my opinion, it takes strength to share one's vulnerabilities as he so eloquently did. And what really endears him to me is the fact that he was so surprised by how much support and kind comments he got!

You know, when you've been beat down by those around you, it's hard to wrap your head around the kindness of strangers, but the Steemit community kind of rallied behind him and I'm so proud of that!

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@simply1moore

She is an artist, photographer, jewelry designer and upcycler. Um... I don't know what an upcycler is but it sounds like exercise. LOL Anway, I love anyone who loves to learn new things. Additionally, she loves collaborating on projects! That is absolutely up my alley! This is her super quick intro post but she's gone on to share a few of her art projects. You have to see what she's done with toilet paper rolls. Seriously, it's kind of like quilling on a larger scale.

Like most of us, her interests are varied. She is quite enthusiastic about recipes, DIY, and poetry. I Simply need to see Moore of her energy and content.

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@pitterpatter

Only three days old on Steemit, her first post was an entry into the Steemit Photo Contest. It wasn't necessarily the photo that caught my attention but the byline that went with it.

Zombie Sunrise at the Beach

Okay, that just tickled my funny bone! And then I really took a good look at her photo and started laughing. YES! The woman's got a sense of humor.

Now... She's got a lot of resteemed stuff and normally I would make a frowny face about that, but the bulk of them have been from around the community with collaborative projects. You know what that tells me? She wants to join in and play too. So let's afford her plenty of opportunities to engage with us!

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@navihawk

The first post I saw from navihawk was [Semi NSFW] Anatomy Study: Female Torso. I saw the word "studio" and was compelled to take a peek.

I loved working with clay when I was in high school art class. It's a medium I hope to work with in the future and what better way to learn than from someone who plays with it? But he's not a one trick pony either. You should see some of his sketches for Inktoberfest. What's sad is only ONE person left a comment on his work. I am also guilty of missing the boat with interacting, but that will be remedied!

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@maxse

Have you ever heard the term "Bouncing Baby Boy"? Let me tell you, Max is young enough to be my kid. (No, he's not my kid). **But his introduction is crazy. Have you ever heard of parkour? I haven't until I saw his video. It is rather impressive!

Now - Max is not exactly new. He's been here for two months posting regularly but hasn't really gotten a lot of attention. I admit, I have not been doing right by him either but in my defense, I have my reasons.

Being a manual curator, there are certain things I look for before I click the upvote or visit a post. I do an extraordinary amount of reading and my time is very precious to me. So @maxse, I'm really not picking on you but I hope you will find some helpful tips here.

Using his post MaxPics #14: Urban night as a prime example. His photographs are truly amazing to me. He has a keen eye for lines, subject, and details. These are very good photographs.

You know what's not good? The first 100 characters of his post.

I will overlook posts like this every day -- and I admit to missing out on a lot of quality art, poetry, photography and music because of the first 100 characters - or lack thereof.

There isn't anything there that engages me as a reader. And let's face it, if we want pictures we can visit Pixabay or Pinterest. Yes, we are a platform with unlimited potential and artists and creatives of all kinds are finding a home here, but we are still essentially readers seeking engagement.

Here's another example of a post I'll scroll past because it doesn't even have any text.

I can watch movie trailers elsewhere. I can search for photographs, listen to music, get news, look at art at my leisure on any other site.

Why would I look at your content?

Can we think about that for a moment?

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I look at your content because I want an opportunity to get to know Y-O-U.
I want to like you and joke with you or have candid debates with YOU.

Give me a reason and I'll be an avid follower.

And maybe... Perhaps...
I very well might be a blog snob too.

I'm just putting that out there.

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Final Thoughts

Find a newbie who made an impression on you. Nurture them. Teach them. Be an advocate for them. Then kick them out of the nest and see if they can fly.

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	This is a 100% STEEM POWER post.

Your comments, upvotes and shares are always appreciated.

Thank you.

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