where is this coin getting its popularity from?
i havent seen any reference of media attention.
me neither, i just found this page and joined the ride.

either way, at current diff of 32 and only 5 satoshis at
https://www.mintpal.com/market/KARM/BTC, i am looking to make .06 btc ($48 @ $800 btc value) per 24h @ 2.7mh atm. not bad. the community seems asleep, but they were starting to build with some good ideas last night, referenced in OP. if it even goes up a tiny bit in valuable, it becomes significantly more profitable for miners. especially if community comes through with some of the ideas and the coin moves on through exchange cycles.