Hi @bashadow, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

History (or at least my previous personal experience) tells me that there are always going to be "cash grabbers" whenever a venue even hints at the possibility that you can get rewarded for your efforts. History also suggests that they tend to be a pretty impatient lot, and most of them have wildly unrealistic "get rick quick" expectations.

In general, two primary outcomes are possible... (1) they suck a venue dry and things simply stop because all the "good actors" have left in disgust or (2) they discover it's just too difficult to make those hoped-for riches, so they leave in disgust, or in the pursuit of a pot-of-gold placed by someone else who was able to tell a better story about riches.

For me, the appeal of Steemit is that I can build stake in the venue I am using, and I am part of a system that has at least the potential to change the way we treat rewarding web content. I love the whole pay-it-forward and "gift economy" principle... we reward each other; we don't get rewards from some "central authority" that might go bankrupt tomorrow... or the owners run away with all the cash.

Any types of gamification helps make Steemit "sticky" for me. For example, I often check my rank on steemst.com... try to see if I can't keep on climbing. Same thing keeps me returning to Asher's leagues. Trying to become a Minnow, here... keep plugging away!

=^..^=