Yes the price of Steem has contributed, I believe. And the increased participation then feedbacks to increased Steem price, so they reinforce each other. And yes HF19 has added fuel to the minnows, so thats a bonus.
Still have the other account (you may have noticed :) ), but don't know how to curate as well as I used to, and that was part of my experimentation.
With all of the changes, different strategies need to be enacted. It's not the same playing field as before, and that's exciting in a way :) I used to think a surge in new members would be detrimental, but now I'm not so sure. STEEM going up is definitely a win for everyone, I just hope those new members make more of an effort to thoughtfully interact and not just leave drab one-liners haha!