As I close in on my first anniversary of becoming part of Steemit, I have been reflecting on some of the things that *"make or break"* a community.

Why do we go to certain places, and keep coming back? Why do we enjoy the content created by certain people, and keep going back to see *what they are up to?*

![CC0189Stairs.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/curatorcat/EOfLYxa3-CC0189-Stairs.jpg)
*Guarding the top of the stairs*

As often as not, it's because we start *relating* to these people, and we start *interacting* with them. In a sense, they become our *friends* or — at the very least — *friendly acquaintances* we start caring about.

It happens *even* for those who claim they are *only in it for the money.* We still end up with our beaten paths... there's no "magic number" of shiny logos per page or other features we can logically ascribe our behavior to. 

Even in business, people are more likely to become friends with their most regular and rewarding contacts... even if those contacts aren't necessarily the ones who spend the most money with us. The sense of kinship and *belonging* draws us in. 

What's more, something merely being *"interesting"* or *"useful"* to us only goes so far. There's a difference between merely *reading* content... and actually *interacting and engaging* with it. And therein we find the heart of what community building is about!

![CC0189DaisyShadow.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/curatorcat/9mN5Jka1-CC0189-DaisyShadow.jpg)
*Daisy and myself... NOT seeing "eye-to-eye! But we're still friends."*

## New Initiatives!

Because I am very oriented to interaction and building connections, I am very excited about several new initiatives currently in their developing stages here in our community.

We often hear complaints about the *"lack of equality"* on Steemit, and how the early "Whales" control everything... of course, it's one thing to *complain,* and quite another to take steps to create change. And so, it started with long time Steemian **@steevc** developing the idea of the **"[10,000 Minnows Project](https://steemit.com/steem/@steevc/the-10k-minnows-project),"** an idea to create a much larger "middle class" in our community. 

Subsequently working, we have the the initiative by the **@steemcommunity** witness team of **@abh12345** and **@paulag** to mint **[250 new minnows](https://steemit.com/steem/@steemcommunity/announing-steems-biggest-push-yet-to-grow-a-middle-class-let-make-250-new-minnows-in-a-month)** by the end of March! 

It's a pretty ambitious thing to attempt to do, and even though I am *not* part of the "target group," I still wanted to give their efforts a plug! We need more initiatives like these to help grow our community!

Thanks for reading, and hope you've all had a marvelous day!

# =^..^=