Well, heck, if that drool-eyed maniac @slobberchops can do it, then so can I. Esteemed Steemian @callmedan issued a call to keyboards a couple days ago, inviting people to write about who they follow on Steemit and why they do so. Obviously I follow @slobberchops, otherwise I wouldn't even know about this, so I feel it only fair to give him an honorable mention, but my guess is the idea behind the challenge is to introduce lesser-known Steemians and perhaps produce a wider audience for them. Presented in no particular order, these are three folks I follow here, and why I follow them.

Quick note to Dan and the other judges: since literally no one in the world cares what I have to say in 280-character chunks, I don't have a Twitter account. Thus, I am not eligible for upvotes according to the rules. I don't care--I'm doing it anyway and will happily disqualify myself from any sort of prize if it means more people meet and follow these prized blockchain hooligans. :)

<center>![10947385_721485187966362_588643324660309585_o.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQyhdpwQubCiazv6GY6JVyGU3rbqEUguE6dEpBwFVz8bp/10947385_721485187966362_588643324660309585_o.jpg)</center>
<center>*Pic unrelated, but amusing.*</center>

## 1) @northwestnomad
___
Lots of people use Steemit to post their web comics and artwork, but @northwestnomad is the only one whose output consistently and regularly makes me laugh. If you enjoy your humor in the vein of *Knights of the Dinner Table*, where geeky stuff happens to geeky people and you can identify every part of your gaming group in the characters depicted, then the nomadic one is someone you *have* to follow.

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmW59q9BpW6fauZCdeiRcH4oyKVFXCmhQaqBkaPULHpTNe/NBNW0003.jpg
Source: [@northwestnomad](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmW59q9BpW6fauZCdeiRcH4oyKVFXCmhQaqBkaPULHpTNe/NBNW0003.jpg)

Just for the record, I'm Dan (the guy serving as Dungeon Master in this particular comic), right down to the glasses and hairdo.

<center>![192417_156823194374709_5232143_o.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmd9u2JtAbA2GyxynnnBvfJA8b2ZtxvRDMfd86q9ttN1Yg/192417_156823194374709_5232143_o.jpg)</center>

<center>*Pictured: Proof.*</center>

## 2) @mrobinsonwrites
___
Monica "Nico" Robinson is one of the very few Steemians I know in real life, and one of the very few people I've managed to on-board who has stuck with the platform longer than a month or so. While she posts infrequently, she's a whirling dervish of creativity who has done more for herself in the world of the written word and art at age 20 than I have at more than double that: she's published a book of poetry, sold her own artwork, and is a voracious consumer and creator of literary criticism, poems, photography, film, and assorted fiction and non-fiction. In fact, her highest-performing blog post thusfar was a spoiler-filled [review of the New French Extremity horror film *Haute Tension*](https://steemit.com/moviereview/@mrobinsonwrites/first-horror-movie-review-and-it-s-french-spoiler-filled-review-of-haute-tension).

Here's an example of [her artwork](https://steemit.com/art/@mrobinsonwrites/lady-of-the-lake-new-original-mixed-media-portrait-painting).

And here she is dissecting pre-Internet culture and urban legends [as a response to a book I lent her](https://steemit.com/writing/@mrobinsonwrites/the-scientifically-unexplained-pre-internet-culture-and-the-preservation-of-human-creativity).

In short: she's a hard-working badass who deserves to have the success of the world heaped upon her in large, Steeming   (see what I did there?) piles of crypto.

## 3) @richardfyates
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I'm not sure how or exactly when I started following the Holy Fool, but I'm guessing @bryan-imhoff had something to do with it.

Mr. Yates is exactly the type of person for which the Steemit platform was made: he's a guy with a lot of talent and a ton of hobbies who never feels like he has enough time to accomplish all the goals he's set out for himself. And yet, despite all of that, he still finds the time to post his artwork, review a book or two, blog about his life in general, and just be an [awesome human being](https://steemit.com/writing/@richardfyates/unpublished-writers-day-some-self-promotion-by-richard-f-yates), father, grandfather, [artist](https://steemit.com/drawing/@richardfyates/not-the-best-day-yesterday-by-richard-f-yates-le4c6vc2), [poet](https://steemit.com/poetry/@richardfyates/danger-poetry-by-richard-f-yates), [writer](https://steemit.com/comics/@richardfyates/read-a-damn-book-171-miracleman-book-one), humorist, [gamer](https://steemit.com/partiko/@richardfyates/dd-nerd-night-by-richard-f-yates-n4qao2j0), [Minecrafter](https://steemit.com/gaming/@richardfyates/a-new-minecraft-video-finally-and-an-update-on-the-new-book-by-richard-f-yates), and composer of music.

This badass has more raw talent in one nail clipping than I have in the two hands, one head, and several dozen hearts and brains I keep stored out in my garage. How the hell do I compete with that? Answer: it's the blockchain, so I don't have to, because here, we can all be winners. And the best way to be a winner in this post-HF, New Steem world is to curate other winners like @richardfyates.

But also, take his advice and just "Read A Damn Book!".

<center>![10897892_848471068543248_6696180363244473501_n.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmY6SVAnU5UEBC9eTr3moW7KC15BeVjG5WSie4KavkVYcu/10897892_848471068543248_6696180363244473501_n.jpg)</center>
<center>*@modernzorker, daddy to Uno (R.I.P.), reading a damn book.*</center>
___
There you go. That's it. That's my entry for "Who Do I Follow On Steem and Why".

If you want to join in the madness yourself, compile a similar posting, use the tag #steemimpact so @callmedan can find you, and then share the article on Twitter! You too could earn a massive number of upvotes just for talking about other people.

Go on. What are you waiting for?

<center>https://media.giphy.com/media/EZvGpyehqfxAY/giphy.gif</center>
<center>Source: [Giphy.com](https://giphy.com/gifs/shia-labeouf-shialabeoufedit-i-am-still-laughing-at-this-EZvGpyehqfxAY/)</center>