Oh, yes - Steemit... It's just the nature of this beast hehehehe When steem goes down - the audience thins out... and there are fewer comments, upvotes, etc.
But it really is a GREAT time to meet new people that are still HERE in the trough, and DEDICATED to making Steemit what WE want it to be :) ( had some thoughts here on a post... and I have to say - meeting you, getting to read your story, and following you makes the case that I laid out in the post!)
There is still an audience here - but I've found that it's best to create the community (your own personal community) by supporting others that you find interesting. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you dont' already know - since your rep is 67! hahaha
But sometimes we can still pass around tips - right? :)
I loved the story - and I hope that others will find their way to it too!