"I promise you, this site better get their act together, fast,
or they're going to lose even more of their content creator base!"
Income on Steemit is generated by "investment" (the more Steem you have, the more you earn) and by "work" (earning Steem by contributing content that adds value). Already having invested my savings in Steem, I'm now working by uploading unique valuable content to the blockchain. My first goal is to increase my average weekly income to 15 Steem.
Considering income from accounts that I own, that my wife owns, and accounts started as group projects with my funds (currently 
Week 01 - 0840 (+ ? ) Steem (+n/a%)
Week 02 - 0848 (+ 8 ) Steem (+0.95%)
Week 03 - 0862 (+14) Steem (+1.65%)
Week 04 - 0868 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.70%)
Week 05 - 0876 (+ 8 ) Steem (+0.92%)
Week 06 - 0888 (+12) Steem (+1.37%)
Week 07 - 0914 (+26) Steem (+2.93%)
Week 08 - 0929 (+15) Steem (+1.64%)
Week 09 - 0936 (+ 7 ) Steem (+0.75%)
Week 10 - 0953 (+17) Steem (+1.82%)
Week 11 - 0960 (+ 7 ) Steem (+0.73%)
Week 12 - 0966 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.63%)
Week 13 - 0973 (+ 7 ) Steem (+0.72%)
Week 14 - 0980 (+ 7 ) Steem (+0.72%)
Week 15 - 0986 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.61%)
Week 16 - 0991 (+ 5 ) Steem (+0.51%)
Week 17 - 0996 (+ 5 ) Steem (+0.50%)
Week 18 - 1032 (+36) Steem (+3.61%)
Week 19 - 1040 (+ 8 ) Steem (+0.78%)
Week 20 - 1045 (+ 5 ) Steem (+0.48%)
Week 21 - 1051 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.57%)
Week 22 - 1059 ( +8 ) Steem (+0.76%)
Week 23 - 1065 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.56%)
Week 24 - 1073 (+ 8 ) Steem (+0.75%)
Week 25 - 1079 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.56%)
Week 26 - 1091 (+12) Steem (+1.11%)
Week 27 - 1100 (+ 9 ) Steem (+0.82%)
Week 28 - 1105 (+ 5 ) Steem (+0.45%)
Week 29 - 1108 (+ 3 ) Steem (+0.27%)
Week 30 - 1119 (+11) Steem (+0.99%)
Week 31 - 1151 (+32) Steem (+2.86%)
Week 32 - 1159 (+ 8 ) Steem (+0.70%)
Week 33 - 1166 (+ 7 ) Steem (+0.60%)
Week 34 - 1172 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.51%)
Week 35 - 1177 (+ 5 ) Steem (+0.42%)
Week 36 - 1183 (+ 6 ) Steem (+0.50%)
Average weekly income (last 10 weeks): +9.2 Steem (+0.81%)
It has been a while since my growth was even linear:
As I've said before, when investment returns are invested back in, we should expect exponential growth. Instead, we're seeing diminishing returns (growth approaching zero):
A comment last week suggested that the decline in growth is related to overall slowdown on the site (due to the dropping price of Steem). It's a suggestion that has come up before, and I think that's because it has some merit. I don't think it explains everything, and in some ways it doesn't explain things at all, but there's something to it.
Change in price theoretically shouldn't have any effect on growth because growth isn't dependent on price. And one could point out that as the price of Steem has fallen from $7.0 to $0.35, why am I still barely able to pull in 6 Steem per week? A few months ago, that 6 Steem was worth $40, but now it's only $2. How come my growth is falling along with the price, and not rising?
So I do not think the price change alone explains my data. Assuming the price of Steem rebounds at some point, if my growth suddenly becomes exponential for the first time, I'll give the theory another look!
Steem fell to about 30 cents yesterday, and it has rarely in its history been this cheap. Was that the bottom, or are we in for more rough times?
Sure, "money isn't everything"! But Steemit is Steemit - not FaceBook - because of the cryptocurrency aspect. There are other sites people can blog at, if there's no chance of ever making a cent doing so. My team's putting in hours, day after day, month after month, modeling and writing and attending events and photographing and editing and promoting and managing our profiles. We're the content creators this site requires. Without real content, a site is reduced to spam, bots, and spambots. That WON'T attract viewers, users, or investment!
That's why it's very insulting when we increasingly see this pop up, stopping us from using the site:
We're not allowed to post our content, which is essential to Steemit's success, because it 'places a real cost' on those who run the blockchain, and we must wait (often days), or pay more??
I put everything I had (to invest) into Steemit, putting my money where my mouth is, and have worked tirelessly for over a year, without a single day off! To be asked to pay more, or not be able to continue contributing, isn't just insulting - it's suicide!
A fully powered 100% max upvote from me isn't even worth two cents now (the minimum for payout). It takes me and a few other people ganging up on a post just so that it will pay out!
We can barely post, we can barely comment, we're even more limited than ever on how often we can vote! If Steemit is supposedly free, and users 'might even get paid', why are the content creators being blocked from posting unless they pay?
DRutter
