It was somewhat disheartening to read your post, although it validates some of my hunches/misgivings. I stumbled upon Steemit through the likes of James Corbett and Dan Dicks and liked the concept of what seemed to be a place devoid of corporate censorship and running on an alternative economy.

I have always avoided social media like the plague, especially FB, and cryptos have been part of an arcane universe that I do not inhabit. I personally prefer things that are real as opposed to virtual. I must admit though that, since being on Steemit, I have encountered some pretty cool, like-minded and creative people on the site, which can be hard in real life when you have a full-time job, family etc.

I came aboard without investing any money, as I didn’t know enough to make a wise investment decision. I have to say that a couple of things have me baffled, beside the fact that Steem seems to be created out of thin air. With its virtual printing press, it doesn’t have much to envy to the Federal Reserve.

One is the discrepancy between the emphasis on quality content and the amount of junk content that is actually posted. Perhaps not counting two.word comments or LOL as posts might help take care of that. The other thing that bugs me is how someone can have 150 upvotes and a bunch of $$$ just a couple of minutes, sometimes seconds, after their post has gone up, even if it is just one picture (and frequently not a very good one at that).

So I cannot help question whether the system is truly based on meritocracy, quality contribution and hard work as well as a peer economy, or whether it is a system where success can only be had through cronyism, technical know-how and bots, and if you buy into it, ie. top down.

Until I figure this thing out, I am definitely keeping my day job and will continue reading your posts to stay informed. I appreciate your candor and hope that a real dialogue will take place between the skeptics and the believers to make this a self-sustaining system where everybody has a fair shot.

Or maybe we are dealing with a self-organizing social structure predicated on the survival of the fittest which replicates despite itself the inequities of a society it seeks to escape.

I guess time will tell.