In the last 6-8 months I have bought or converted from other coins somewhere in the vicinity of 10,000-15,000 Steem. I have also earned and powered up a fair bit of Steem too and, I wish I had been able to get my hands on more.
Currently, I am pretty happy with all the people who are willing to dump at these prices because it gives people like me more chance to buy in greater amounts. I am glad Steemit Inc are dumping because it reduces their stake over time while allowing people like me to power up. I am also glad that they are no t voting with the stake they have because it gives content producers like me a higher payout on what I produce.
I would go out on a limb and say that there are unlikely many content creators on Steem that have produced as much content as myself, and there are unlikely many who have managed to get "relatively" consistent commentary on their posts. I know a handful only.
For me, this is not only my chance to make a decent living one day through using my creativity and skills much like a self-employed entrepreneur, it is also about being part of the development of other's journey too. This seems to be something that is consistently forgotten in the, "why would I buy Steem?" argument as it is all about me, me, me. The same people expect others who have bought and powered up Steem to support them however, are they willing to power up and support others? Comments are great too of course, but for all those who want a return on their content, are they happy with only comments?
The only way to allocate Steem from the pool is through Powered up Steem (or being a witness) so every vote you have got that has any value whatsoever attached to it and any payout you have ever received is thanks to someone having Steem Power. For me, this is important because on Steem, Steem Power is my voice that can project out into the world and affect my world.
Everyone wants to be listened to when they speak and have their opinion regarded right? Steem Power allows me to point attention to where I want it to go. It is able to push comments up or down a list, encourage or discourage behavior I choose, support projects I like, invest into innovations I might enjoy and open up all kinds of opportunities, now and in the future.
All of the work I have done, on and off Steem that has allowed me to Power Up what I have has cost me time, energy and a great deal more most will never know about. And, I have put my vote into the Steem ecosystem, a vote that is powered by blood, sweat and tears, from my real world job salaries, time away from my family, and going without many luxuries. And, then people complain that they aren't earning enough, it isn't worth buying Steem and supporting others? A bit of a slap in the face - but to each their own - I have my own journey behind, currently and ahead.
I have no control over the sellers, I have no control over what people post, I have no control over those who complain - other than what my Steem Power allows me to allocate and, I am continuing to expand my staked influence. By doing so, I see a future where I don't have to onboard and rely on whales to support, I don't have to be part of a community that needs to vote beg, I don't need to sit idly by and wait for the grace of others and luck to fall upon me and the things I care about because, I will be able to support them myself.
This is about personal responsibility, something that most people don't seem to want any part of these days, yet believe it is other people's responsibility to look after them. If people think that they will be better off investing into other coins, good luck to them. As I see it though, most other coins are about profit, not community. They are about making sure "! am okay" even if me being okay has no benefit for anyone else. People will live on their tropical islands looking down at the others and thankful they were able to get out, even though they themselves added to the problem.
Don't worry, screw the Earth, pollute all you want because, the rich will move to Mars. Good luck with that.
I of course want to have some economic benefits from this but all economic resources do for me is give me possibilities. The thing I see with Steem Power is that it isn't sticking money in the bank or putting it under the mattress to secure my future, it is a tool of economy that is best used actively. Yep, I hope to benefit from the activity and support too, but I am not going to ever be taking 99% of the benefits with it. Using Steem Power to allocate rewards is to remove the middle man component and make it a deal between two people. I support you, you benefit, I benefit.
8.27
I believe value will increase in value over time. While this benefits me, it also means that every vote I have ever cast on someone else will increase in the same way. I have allocated 1000s of Steem across the platform to thousands of people. I am nowhere near the largest of distributors here.
That number up there, that 8.27?
That is how many years I could repost one a day for using the content I have created in the last 2.5 years. And, I can near guarantee that a great deal of those posts will provide value to at least some percentage of the community, even in 8 years from now. As said, I am a content producer and the hourly wage has been ridiculously low.
From an economic standpoint, I buy Steem because it has utility and gets access to other experiences like PALnet.io, @Steemhunt, @Wherein, 
This last one is what it comes down to and while so many people are questioning why they should participate at all, others are participating and creating a world where they will see why. Being a creator on Steem goes well beyond being able to write a good post and make a few comments. Being a creator on Steem is taking the responsibility to build a whole new world, a whole new economy, a whole new way of life that empowers many.
Complain all you want, do what you want, sell, buy, vote, selfvote, downvote, or toss off in the corner while watching others do what you believe is impossible - take responsibility for your own experience - your misery or your joy is your own. Your life is yours. Just don't expect others to care whether you live or die in whatever way that might mean, if you don't care if they do.
Speculate on this all you want.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]