It is encouraging when old timers that had drifted away pop up again. Like meeting old friends unexpectedly in the street...
It would be great to get some more official, more reliable stats - Alexa and Hypestat are a little in the realm of second hand gossip.
I believe the Steemit Inc team are going to do some big reveals on Communities etc at SteemFest so I will be watching the livestreams as much as a I can.