Where People Gather an Economy Develops - It Is All About the Eyes
Growth in the value of Steem is all about the number of eyes viewing the frontends, usually measured in transactions, page refreshes, etc.
That is what brings e-commerce, ads and additional investors. People want to build, where people want to live.
Gatherings of people naturally create trading groups
Historians believe that cavemen traded bones and tools.
Kids at lunch tables create elaborate trading exchanges
You can look at the population distribution in the USA and see where people traveled, cities and centers for trade developed.
Craigslist, e-Bay, and Poloniex were created because people needed a place to gather and trade valuable goods and services online. This happened because people were online.
The same concept is being created here.
I believe this would be recreated, anywhere you put a tribe of people.
An Economy is being created on Steem and it will grow as more users are potential customers, advertisers and consumers.
As much as everyone hates them, the bidding bots are a part of that economy today, people use them to market their posts. The effectiveness can be rightly questioned, but they developed because there is a demand for votes and visibility.
Projects like SteemMonsters also bring real money into the economy.
And there is nothing stopping companies from advertising here currently here is an example of how it could play out... I've used this before in another post, but it is relevant here.
The more people who gather here the more an economy will naturally happen - Here is an imaginary situation where a company buys in to advertise.
At some point, Coke or Pepsi or another large company may purchase some Steem and create an account. (we aren't there yet)
Based on other Internet business models, my guess is they would get people to interact with their account by giving away free services or products.
Some people on Steem will be upset about large corporations joining and will try to flag those companies.
This may work for a while, but if current users keep flagging, and there are enough eyes here to motivate Coke, they will buy into the "Stake Based System". (They could even buy enough stake to vote for their own witnesses)
Many users may become angry and leave, so Coke has to be careful to retain the "eyes" if they want their purchase to provide returns in name recognition or sales.
It is all a balancing act
Whether you think it is a good thing or a bad thing, the more eyes we have on Steem, the more value and potential it will gain from creative, motivated people.
It is just how it works.
This is why I find it is in my self-interest to help others, engage and encourage new users to feel successful within the Steem Economy.
@whatsup