I came into Steemit just a bit ago, like most of us- wide eyed and extremely impressed that such a system could even exist. 

However, as time has passed I've come to have some hesitations about my investing in the platform. 

I usually don't like to speak bad about anything or anyone, since you should be able to create your own opinions, and negativity never leads us forward much. However, as much GOOD as I have to say about Steemit, there is also another side that can't be ignored. 

BELOW is a list of concerns I have about the platform, which you may share with me. Perhaps in the comments below you can help assuage some of these with counteracting merits and oppositions. Debate is healthy!

1. It is becoming increasingly harder to get noticed when creating posts, as new users swamp Steemit with content, in an effort to make some money. Many users came aboard because they've heard of the "gold rush" opportunity- they had someone that they knew inform them of money that they'd made by simply up-voting or creating a blog post about make-up, or whatever. They come on board, nowadays, and are lucky to make a penny for a well crafted post. Steemit has become crowded with bots who immediately comment/up-vote (even if those up-votes are worthless), and it makes determining quality posts more difficult. Steemit is NOT for in-depth articles, just yet. Everyone is looking for the next "Hot" post, to like, so they don't really take the time to digest whatever blog post they are considering to vote for, often times.
2. Whales and Dolphins are the only true curators. If you don't get their attention VERY soon after posting, then it's highly unlikely that even if you put a finely-tuned makeup tutorial up that you will make anything. Seriously. Take a look at how many likes some posts have in certain categories- some have upwards of 40 likes, but they've only made ONE dollar. However, if you get lucky and manage to attract Ned, Dan, or Cryptoctopus, then you just won a small lottery. And it "steem"rolls from there :)
3. Powering Down is a joke. When you choose to power down you will receive about 1% of your held Steem Power, in Steem, per week for two years. However, every day I make almost DOUBLE the amount of Steem that I'll be paid weekly, just in interest due to inflation. This means that in a week, I'll have WAY more Steem Power than I'll have lost via my Power Down reward. Not powering down is really just a silly move at this current time, as it'll never really drain your Steem Power, yet continue to reward you indefinitely. Also, if you cancel your Power Down after your first payout, and then restart it, then you will get an even BIGGER payout from the "new" Power Down reward the next week. Score. 
4. This is NOT a decentralized platform by any means. The power is VERY centralized. Check out www.steemwhales.com for more info :) Also, you really get not much say in what direction the developers take this site. Maybe they'll listen to your advice, and maybe they won't. It's hard to run a Steemit node all by yourself.
5. The site goes down constantly. This one scared the bejeezus out of me. However, I've become more and more accustomed/tolerant to the "Error 500", "We are Upgrading Steemit", and "Content Offline" pages that come up when I try to access Steemit. It's really a gamble to know whether a post you spent hours putting up will even be available for users to up vote, since they can't access the site. And you ALL know by now that "Error 500" could also very realistically mean that the site was just hacked. Last time everyone got their accounts back, but that may not always be the case. Exchanges even shutdown Steem wallets when the site shuts down, as their exchange holdings appear to be tied to accounts on the Steemit website (poloniex/bittrex accounts, with memos for your specific account).
6. The site can't keep up with demand. And with only about 12,000 users, it has to stop accepting new applications. If this site can't grow and scale quick enough, then it might easily be overtaken by surely evolving competitors, or ignored by frustrated want-to-be members. When they finally join, they give up, as their first few posts (which oftentimes take considerate effort and time on the users creative behalf) go largely ignored. If you don't create an epic "introduceyourself", then you better try again next week and hope that this time someone finds it. This is probably the only category they'll find it, anyway.
7. The follow button is there. Yet, it does nothing. And this is part of what makes building any sort of real reputation and fan base that will up vote your content nearly an impossible feat. Either they've bookmarked your Steemit account (and let's face it, who does THAT?), they actually search for your latest posts on a daily basis, OR they happen to find it under "New", by coincidence. If only they could actually see posts from those they followed on a separate category...then this button would be pretty damn cool.
8. The price for Steem is nearly impossible to get to a big number, and this will definitely hurt your profit margins/capital gains. And we're seeing that now- Steem's price is at around $3.60 and that is EXPENSIVE if you plan on moving it into Steem Power. If the price drops back, now that speculation is dwindling, to the REAL market price (based on what's truly locked in Steempower/balancing inflation), then it'll likely hit and settle closer to 1-2$ per Steem. Inflation truly is CRAZY, because the price is MEANT to be low, so that others invest in Steem Power more easily and lock it up. If they lock it up, then it'll mean much sexier payouts for those at the top who Power Down :)

Now, Steemit has one BILLION great things going for it as well. Steemit is the FIRST social media platform to actually integrate cryptocurrency, it's a GREAT on-ramp for the mainstream to jump aboard, it's providing MONEY to places that usually have difficulty reaching anything of the sort, it's developers are very TRANSPARENT when they actually give us updates, and it's GROWING insanely quick. Steemit's potentials are vast, but in order to reach for greatness it needs to come to terms with what is holding it back.

"Let's look for solutions, not excuses"

Let your voice be heard and shout far and wide the pros and cons of this gorgeous new system. Only by caring can we really make this thing great for all. -Crypt0

P.S. Check Out This Video if You Wanna See The Train of Thought That Led to This Post: https://steemit.com/ethereum/@crypt0/let-s-take-a-step-back-concerns-about-steemit