There is an old saying that says "every revolutionary is a closet aristocrat."
Nearly every "decentralizing" movement in history has had the effect, intended or not (more often the former) of making its loudest voices the new "central."
The French Revolution created a leader who could not be questioned, sparking the reign of terror.
The First Chinese Revolution led to the rise of Generalissimo Chiang. The second, to Mao. the Bolshevik Revolution, to Stalin. The American Revolution, to the most dauntingly powerful leviathan in Human History.
It is simply an unavoidable fact. Anything that gives power back to the Masses sets up whoever is most able to move the Masses as the next "big fish."
I like the idea of Steemit, but let's not permit ourselves any illusions about the cyclical nature of Human History in this regard.