My experience has been very similar and agree that a big part of the attrition has been due to false expectations when arriving. However, I also think that the value from the community comes in many ways that is not only financial! I have enjoyed learning about many topics here as well as gaining perspectives from decisions I make on a daily basis with subjects that interest me like investing. This has expanded as more Dapps have come and brought me to consider my health and fitness with @actifit or some entertainment with @steemmonsters. This has demonstrated how it has become an ecosystem expanding the community to new experiences on the same technology which I believe is an indication of value creation.
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There's so much more I could cover, but it was over 1000 words already, and yes.. there's lots more to gain than some crypto. So much has evolved since when I started, and if anything its now easier to get attention, maybe not from the community initially but by using the many dapps.