Like many people, I have been looking at the price of Steem since I joined in November. Back then, you could buy Steem around $0.80 or so. I was still new and had limitations to how much I could post, especially after Hard Fork 20. It was a rotten experience that didn't encourage me to contribute or buy. I can't say for certain. Perhaps it is coincidence. It seems like HF20 was the iceberg that struck the Steem ship. Or, perhaps the iceberg was the Bitcoin war that dropped the price of all coins.
As a result of the price Steem dipping into the $0.20 range, I was able to purchase more Steem than I would have at the higher price, thus increasing my stake much sooner. This allowed me to post more frequently and vote more. I have also read more posts and learned more about Steem. I had not been as active in prior months until all of this reading and learning showed me what Steem is.
As a concept, I love Steem. It is gratifying to be rewarded for doing the sorts of creative things that I would do on my own. The reward is ridiculously low, mind you. A reward of $0.001 is hardly exciting. However, compared to what I earn on Facebook and Twitter, it is far better. What is especially exciting about Steem is that it is a proving ground for what is possible with dapps. One blockchain ties together different types of social media. While Steem comes from Ethereum, I don't see dapps coming off Ethereum like I see with Steem. Mostly, I see Tokens coming from Ethereum. Again, I am probably wrong. I can accept being disproved.
The dapp concept is so successful that EOS and Tron are aiming to do the same thing. My understanding is that many of the ideas implemented in Steem are also being ported to EOS and TRX. For example, Steem Monsters is rebranding as The Splinterlands and asking for Tron investments. Perhaps it is possible to be dual blockchain.
I purchased some EOS and Tron just in case these blockchains have something interesting in the future. Also, there is always the chance that the price might shoot up and provide me a windfall profit. The important thing to note is that the money that went into those purchases could have been put into Steem.
What if, other people who are into crypto, which I imagine most of us on Steem are, do the same thing? What if instead of buying more Steem, they are buying EOS and Tron? What if in the frenzied excitement of EOS and Tron shooting up in price, people decide to operate there rather than on Steem where the price seems to be languishing? Why invest your time and money on Steem when you could make a killing over on the other blockchains?
There are a lot of ifs.
I want Steem to succeed. I want to own a larger stake. I want to interact with others and for us to reward each other for our contributions. Except I have to wonder if everybody else will stick around or abandon ship if it starts to sink? You see, it is not just that people will stop buying Steem that worries me. What is worrisome is that, like money, time is limited. Every minute spent on other platforms is a minute not spent hanging out on Steem. So, if neither money nor talent flows into Steem, the future looks bleak.
With fewer people posting, upvoting, and commenting, perhaps it is a good thing. It means that the reward pool is smaller. However, we would each get a larger percent of the reward pool. Maybe this balances out and the rewards come out identical for those who remain. If this occurs, perhaps we will see an exodus of investors from Steem, leaving behind people who primarily use Steem as a social network. That wouldn't be bad. Although, it would be a smaller pool of real people against a larger percentage of bots.
There are so many variables. So many possibilities. All we can do is sit on the deck and wait to find out what happens.