I am admittedly a little bit of a lazy curator in some ways when it comes to search, but I have an ulterior motive with part of my approach. Just like you who reblogged the posts, I look for content that people I have followed have reblogged and as long as they don't go overboard, it is fantastic. I follow a lot of great accounts that have gone from small to relatively well supported over the last few years and they are generally active and quality authors. When they reblog, it probably means it is worth having a read and likely, worth a vote.
I also check out and follow many of the accounts that comment on my posts with a little effort, but very rarely on their first comments. People need to engage, get out there and show that they are interested in participating in the community first.