I tried to reach out to a few older steemians and was basically ignored.

Wow, this saddens me. They may have been too busy in general, but if they had time to respond to others, they should have had time to respond to you as well. A large part of Steemit has a heart problem, sure everyone's here for fortune and fame, so self interests are going to be at the forefront, but it's so blatant and ugly at times — to the point that I wonder if some of the large SP holders have a conscience or shred of empathy :(

I'd better reign myself in here, but I could go on (and on...)

I think it's easy to differentiate one's self here, simply by giving a care. Even in the things I do to promote my own success, I don't want to lose sight of others - I want to consistently give back...

And - on another note, we're glad YOU'RE here too! I'm looking forward to your posts. I may even learn a thing or two... Like... what a basketball looks like, how a hockey puck moves - or how a baseball diamond isn't an actual diamond... ☺