Calling all newbies and minnows who are interested in building a community around quality posts!

I have been here for a a few weeks and am fascinated by the platform, but like you, I wonder how sustainable it is, when there is so much to scan as I try to find interesting subjects and people. I really have a wide range of interests, and more important, I am very open to being interested to knew ones. I am also fairly open to the notion of quality -- I think it can be communicated in many ways.

So here is my thought -- if you think you might be of a like mind, feel free to post a link to a post your are proud of (your own that is)

Promoting your own posts on comment threads is considered taboo when it isn't solicited by the original poster. But I am stating clearly (from a mountain top :) that

You are welcome to post a link to your own post in my comments!

A little more about me (and the title I chose for this post).

Yesterday I heard a song with the chorus, "I'll come running to tie your shoes." It was a cover of a Brian Eno song from 1975, but I didn't catch the artist. Its an evocative line, especially as it is sung in the song. I take it to be an expression of selfless service, like if I see you struggling with something I am just going to stop what I am doing and see if I can help. The photo is my daughter helping my son with this exact thing, adding a bit of visual reality to the metaphor. I love the pic, because she is 2 1/2 years younger, and although he does some remarkable things with his hands, he just struggles with the shoe lace thing. The best thing, to me, about this pic, is that I know how much he appreciates his little sis.

Along with being a dad and husband, I am a teacher. I have been teaching courses in human communication for almost 30 years. I am fascinated by people and how we interact. Way back when I forced myself to join facebook out of a desire to stay current with how people, especially younger ones, communicate. Of course I ended up addicted like everyone else, bit I am also one of those people who respect what the platform has provided. I have cultivated some wonderful relationships through social networking, and It is hard to imagine what things I wouldn't have known about or learned about if I didn't have friends that I trust to curate interesting ideas.

So it is in that spirit that I joined Steemit. Yes, there is the potential money thing, but that has really just fueled my fascination with where this platform might go, and how it could be used to promote various approaches to communication. For example, as a teacher, I have struggled to encourage students to provide each other with meaningful feedback on their assignments. We use fairly sophisticated course management software, and I can create various incentives that really just force participation. But now I am imagining that my students could post their work on Steemit, and then be more genuinely motivated to read each others work closely and provide meaningful feedback. The monetary reward system, even when we are dealing in pennies, is compelling. I also believe that young students must begin thinking about self-promotion as early as possible in order to be able to take advantage of what they do learn in school, and I have found that posting my own writing influences my attempt to maintain quality.

That brings me back to the purpose of this post. I am trying my best to post quality writing about a variety of subjects. I like to write about sustainability, the environment, enjoying the outdoors, travel, fitness, making things, cooking, and human communication, to name a few. I am into the existential experiences life has to offer, so perhaps that is my general topic area.

Please join me in building a community of writers trying to post quality. You don't have to be a newbie, of course, but I am interested in adding people who are new to the platform because I think such communities might develop in waves. And lets face it, trying to get started here is daunting. Let's help each other out.