I love iNaturalist! From the moment I realized iNaturalist's ability to crowdsource biodiversity data, I've been hooked. It is an honor and privilege to be the Head of Engagement and part of the iNaturalist Leadership Team. I help set organizational strategy, broaden our reach, deepen engagement, nurture collaborations, and cultivate community support. I live in Washington, DC, USA, but have been fortunate to travel quite a bit. iNaturalist is connecting millions to nature & advancing biodiversity science, because people need biodiversity *and biodiversity needs people.* My advice to new users and anyone who wants to get more involved: * Check out iNatHelp if you have questions. * Look for other people in your area. Comment on their observations, favorite the cool ones, and add IDs. * **Check out the iNatForum**. It's a great place to get help and exchange ideas. * Not many people in your area/expertise? Recruit others! Organize online events or outings. * For initial identifications, it's fine to be correct (e.g. 'plant') without being precise (e.g. 'Common Milkweed'). If you're the kind of person who is anxious about looking ignorant with a general ID, don't stress because we're all here to learn (I tend to hear this concern from professional biologists, often outside their specific area of expertise who are particularly self-conscious because of their credentials.) * This is a social network, so the more you interact with other people, the more likely other users are to interact with your observations. * Help others! Add and confirm identifications for species you are familiar with. There are always plenty of observations that don't have any id at all and in that case even adding 'plant' or 'insect' is helpful. * Be the kind of person you'd want to interact with. Basically, be a good iNaturalist citizen (helpful, friendly, kind, firm-but-polite when necessary). De-escalate the conversation if it gets heated. Don't engage if you can't. Flag violations o