The Steemtopia Network of Learning is happy to provide another update for Steemians that want to share their knowledge and skills in different areas of life to help other Steemians. SNL is also proud to partner with the #newbieresteemday initiative, @steemgigs, @steemfreelancers, @thesteemhouse, @steemfreepress and individuals who wish to share their knowledge and skills with the rest of the Steemit community.

The passing away of Stephen Hawking on the 14th of March coincided with Einstein's birthday and also pi day, something that I had to pause and reflect on yesterday.
http://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/

And it came just after @steemstem announced that they were going on a break, which is a shame for many of the followers but necessary as they look at how to move forward and continue their Steemit journey:
https://steemit.com/steemstem/@steemstem/steemstem-on-a-break

Now onto other things I have been hearing and learning about this week...

News

The Creative Crypto - a magazine for makers and blockchain creativity!

After seeing a number of ideas for publications on Steemit, @sndbox made an announcement before the full launch which sounds very exciting:
https://steemit.com/creativecrypto/@sndbox/announcing-the-creative-crypto-a-journal-for-makers-innovators-and-blockchain-creativity

And the original post about the initiative is here:
https://steemit.com/creativecrypto/@sndbox/announcing-the-creative-crypto-a-journal-for-makers-innovators-and-blockchain-creativity

Some Steem posts cost more than others... not all posts are for FREE

Two posts that show Steemit related apps that cost you part of your payout for posting, in case you were not aware of it:

• https://steemit.com/steemit/@fabiyamada/is-it-posting-free-analyzing-the-steem-platforms
• https://steemit.com/steemit/@brandonfrye/top-6-steem-apps-stealing-your-rewards-and-3-that-aren-t

More fun and games

Round 17 of the Information Finding Championship hosted by @apolymask has just kicked off! If you haven't heard of it then you are missing out on something that is quite special and unique to Steemit - a game that is shaped by the contestants and is on a scale unlike any others that you will find...
https://steemit.com/contest/@apolymask/information-finding-championship-season-1-round-17

Lots of games and over at @newbiegames as usual, including a great initiative by @themanwithnoname to highlight and encourage newcomers in our community: https://steemit.com/newbiegamesnoname/@themanwithnoname/nominate-your-friends-to-win

A much anticipated collaboration - WATER ART project

I was very excited by the news that two artists I respect very much on Steemit.com (@marty-arts and @jungwatercolor) has formed a trio (with @jnart) that is going to share with us not just their fantastic artworks but also teach us a thing or two about watercolors! I can't speak highly enough about their skills in this area (among many others) and if you don't already like watercolors you'll fall in love with it like I did:
https://steemit.com/art/@marty-arts/water-art-project-learn-watercolor-painting-with-us

Tried Cryptokitties and Tron dogs? PXLPETS and Pixel.Flower are something you can actually own without spending a fortune!

Things have been a little bit quiet at the PXLPET forest:
https://steemit.com/art/@shoumi/pxlpet-hello-my-deer-we-have-a-winner

And something is also brewing in the pixel.flower gardens, see the post for more details:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@aoart/pixel-flowers-update-register-your-interest-to-be-in-the-running-for-free-pixel-collectables-exclusive-to-steem

Support your talented Steemit artists by displaying their work! Free art resources

The @ccommons.art inititative has created and compiled so much free art resources for you to use on your Steemit posts. It is a fantastic way to support all the talented artists that are giving back directly to the community:
https://steemit.com/ccommonsart/@ccommons.art/free-art-resources-from-ccommons-art-cc-steemit-and-public-domain

I also saw many wonderful resources provided by @fabiyamada to help brighten up your posts, I am using one of her delightful footers at the bottom of this post:
https://steemit.com/slothicorn/@fabiyamada/steem-003-blockchain-crypto-art
https://steemit.com/steem/@fabiyamada/another-footer-for-your-posts-static-and-animated

Some interesting/talented Steemians!

Check out the new @steemgigs website at www.steemgigs.org for more!

Need a costume designers? Here's someone who can do that for you:
https://steemit.com/steemgigs/@ivanusaur/design-fantasy-costume-ideas

Need some ideas or suggestions for your game? There's someone who is an expert at that too:
https://steemit.com/steemgigs/@yekrats/steemgig-game-dev-services-editing-session-1-sbd-25-discount-for-sfg-members

Want to know what it is like to train as a competitor on Ninja Warrior? Here's someone who takes you on his journey:
https://steemit.com/americanninjawarrior/@aussieninja/road-to-american-ninja-warrior-day-75

Have a rare book or two that you are after? If you are looking for a rare book then you'll need a rare book sleuth:
https://steemit.com/books/@rarebooksleuth/rare-book-of-the-day-rommel-drives-on-deep-into-egypt-richard-brautigan-first-edition

Reminders

Have fun and get involved in the community with contests!

A great list of contests on Steemit by @artz called the Steemit Contest Compilation for you to enjoy and win prizes. Good luck!
https://steemit.com/contest/@artz/steemit-contest-compilation-05-03-11-03-win-sbd-steem-upvotes-and-other-prizes

For writers or those that want more practice, @moneyinfant keeps the most up-to-date list of writing contests on Steemit - the only way you'll know about it before @moneyinfant is if you create the writing contest!
https://steemit.com/contest/@moneyinfant/steemit-writing-contests-issue-48-march-14-2018

There's no prizes for sharing knowledge on SNL, but there are very good incentives to participate in the How To contests for sharing knowledge about your special subject matter or area of expertise!
https://steemit.com/howto/@aoart/how-to-weekly-8-informative-entries-this-week-announcement-on-a-bigger-prize-pool

A Steemit Beginner's Guide

@ethandsmith's post about a great initiative to bring Steemit to the masses with "The Beginner's Guide to Steemit" has also kicked off:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@ethandsmith/the-beginner-s-guide-to-steemit-part-1-steemit-quick-start-guide

Steemit still has got talent

The finals of the iTalent contest showcasing Steemians with different talent and skills:
https://steemit.com/art/@ivan.atman/italent-audition-voting-results-or-time-to-vote-for-the-finalists-or-voting-closes-on-15-th-of-march

FINALLY,

Whether you are new to Steemit or an experienced Steemian, if you have a passion or genuine interest in sharing your knowledge and helping other Steemians out there, the Steemtopia Network of Learning is for you! Read about the initiative here:
https://steemit.com/makesteemitgreat-again/@plushzilla/the-steemtopia-network-of-learning-helping-steemians-to-achieve-success-together

The learning circles provided for people to list their interests/topics are as follows:

I will continue to update this table with people who have expressed interest in learning and sharing their knowledge in this network:

username	TEACHING	LEARNING	CONTACT
@plushzilla	STEEM, LIFE	STEEM, DIGITAL, LINGUISTICS	Discord (plushzilla #1634)
@mountainjewel	NATURE: homesteading, permaculture, sustainability
@grow-pro	DIGITAL, NATURE/LIFE: homesteading, gardening, sustainability
@amariespeaks	SPIRITUAL/LIFE	STEEM, DIGITAL, TRADITIONAL, NATURE	Discord (amariespeaks#9425)
@cstrimel	NATURE: environment, sustainability
@simplymike	STEEM	STEEM

Do you know anyone who is a wealth of knowledge in any of these areas and would like to share their knowledge with other Steemians? Do you think there are other learning circles that should be added? Please let me know and I will feature them in future SNL posts :)

This is the list of people who I think are great teachers on various topics here on Steemit that I will be adding to with each post update:

LEARNING CIRCLE	TEACHERS
STEEM	@pennsif, @davemccoy, @mudcat36, @markrmorrisjr, @heiditravels, @goldendawne, @paulag, @wilfredn, @kafkanarchy84, @ethandsmith, @decryptionary, @jokossita
TRADITIONAL (Humanities & Arts)	@jacinata.sevilla, @jungwatercolor, @yurche, @dissfordents, @jimdraws, @zombiedoll, @marty-arts, @malloryblythe, @alexandravart, @Ivya, @rambai, @sireh, @vaansteam, @bengy, @armadilloman, @leathertinker, @monicacope, @simgemngc, @alexandravart, @musicapoetica, @tin-tin, @aoart, @lynncoyle1, @jnart, @ivan-g, @blink, @adelepazani
TRADITIONAL (STEM)	@magicmonk, @lemouth, @justtryme90, @suesa, @scienceangel, @simplifylife, @rocking-dave, @sciencegeek, @freyablekman, @drmake, @pbock
DIGITAL	@vermillionfox, @naydenova, @zomagic, @shoumi, @hiddenblade, @aurah, @wanaf
LINGUISTICS	@wentong-syhhae, @techslut, @yekrats
SPIRITUAL/LIFE	@mihail.tsvetkov, @edward.maesen, @enchantedspirit, @mindszai, @roselifecoach, @tifaong, @jac-e, @xatu, @flauwy, @celestialcow
NATURE/ECOSYS	@earthnation, @ecoinstant, @eco-alex, @slhomestead, @mountainwashere, @trumpman, @amavi, @holothewise, @herpetologyguy, @wizardave

Image by @fabiyamada, sharing her wonderful artworks with the Steemit community :)