Well, this update is much welcomed. Looking over the comments on this thread, it seems that people's responses to the recent situation on Steemit are highly varied. I find it fascinating because it reminds me we are always in control of our attitude in life.

The frustration felt by the Steemit community has been tangible, and I assume the Steemit team is aware of this and shares the sense of urgency and love for the potential of this platorm which is the catalyst for this feeling.

We are very grateful for all your hard work. If I can provide a couple of constructive criticisms to both users of Steemit at large, and then the team:

Users of Steemit:

1. Do not forget we have all signed up to be early adopters and pioneers.
2. Building a blockchain-based social networking site is a challenge that no one has ever faced before. Remember to be very patient and grateful to the developers and creators.
3. If you invest in Steemit by powering up or holding Steem, or just by using the site, remember that is by choice. It doesn't entitle anyone to anything, and we must assume responsibility for the risks it carries.
4. Learn about how to access the blockchain through busy.org (best for commenting, upvoting, and accessing wallet) and its new public beta, nd.busy.org (best for writing posts.) The service works perfectly and lightning fast, is secure and only requires your private posting key.

Please help spread this knowledge. There is never any reason to complain about slowness/failed transactions as you can access the same mechanics instantly on busy.org.

For the team:

1. Keep doing what you're doing on a technical level. It's absolutely stunning and has worked perfectly for most of the time I've used Steemit (4 months.) Thank you!
2. Have you considered hiring a few people to dedicate exclusively to marketing and being liaisons to the users of Steemit and the general public? I understand the security rationale behind not releasing too much so malicious parties can't take advantage, but most people operate on a very emotional level. If we want Steemit to see mass adoption, Team Steemit needs to have quite a few people that are able to cater to the average person, who usually doesn't care about the details anyway and just needs to be reminded gently of the roadmap!
3. Which brings me to the next point, Would you consider addressing the status of many of the targets addressed in the 2017 Roadmap for Steemit? (https://steem.io/2017roadmap.pdf) There are a lot of things that were listed as slated for release this year that we haven't been given any concrete information on, including when Steemit will come out of beta and add all the streamlined features mentioned in the TL;DR section of the roadmap, when the official Android and iOs apps will release etc.
4. Even if the updates are somewhat vague and general, if they are more frequent, it will help build confidence in the user base and make people more excited to talk to friends, clients, etc. about signing up to the platform. It will also provide a lot of reassurance for all of us who don't get to see the development process that things are constantly being worked on.

I know this was a long message, but I've been waiting for this update for a couple weeks, and I just want to continue the conversation and be a conduit for the continuing improvement of this platform and community. Much gratitude and respect to everyone, both the team and all Steemians! Looking forward to what's in store.