I have noticed a growth in the community also. Not through statistics, but simply through personal observation.
The thing is, as this community gets larger, something needs to be done about the maintaining visibility problem that no one seems to talk about-- especially if we are moving into 7 day payout cycles tomorrow.
Currently, the site is set up somewhat like tumblr, but that site is utilized for content that is quickly digested, and so people have the time to scroll through their long home feeds to find all the content there.
With a growing community, and with the content on Steemit being of more sustenance and taking longer to read, we must find a way to extend the lifetime of posts or the majority of them will be lost in an ocean of content within an hour of being published.
With that said, it's great to have verified statistics that show the community really is growing. This is is exciting.
Thank you. I too have seen a very strong sense of spirit recently and this is very encouraging to see when it is backed up by stats as well. These are very exciting times. Stephen