Steemit as a pump-and-dump, but not a scam
Steemit isn't a scam per se. It will be a scam if you decide to invest external currency into it. Barring that, it is a pump and dump, used exactly as that is defined.
By itself, Steem is a garbage cryptocurrency. But as a medium of exchange via blog posts, it has gained value (kind of like cacao beans thousands of years ago, or anything in demand but lacking intrinsic value). The sole reason it has value now is precisely so it can be pumped here and dumped for BTC on crypto exchanges.
Here's the rub. The major external cost is your time. When your payout doesn't adequately compensate you for your time, then it's either time to stop, or to stop expecting to profit.
I realized that I was never going to make what the whales are making. I have a job and a life outside of writing and posting content. So my frustration was reduced quite a bit once I stopped expecting to actually profit. I will still invest some time, but only on two conditions:
I must feel that what I am about to post is of substantial quality
I will only use time that isn't easily used on something more worthwhile
I agree with you for the most part, though I wouldn't call putting external money into steemit being scammed as opposed to making a bad investment. However, as investments go, sometimes what seems like a bad investment can become a good one. I don't mean to come off as one of those people that expect every new cryptocurrency to become massive successes, but I think it's a little early to say whether or not the time is worth it.
That's a good point (scam vs bad investment). You're right; it's pretty clear cut....minus the white papers that the uninitiated (like me) can't get their heads around.
So far since did start of alt coins there are pump and dumps on every single one, steem is actually a token but does act as a monetary value as well like ETH and DOA's most alt coins other nothing different to any other altcoin, Bitcoin and Litecoin and possibly still Dodge other and work a bit like the gold silver and bronze in your pocket. if you are investing you need to do your due diligence an example would be is this the same as any other alt coin YES?NO, does this other a technology that I see a future in YES/NO is it a space that is already occupied by other programs YES/NO, and so on. A lot of people who have joined do not yet have a full understanding of how share markets or forex markets work, I see this in a lot of posts the choise you have here you can use the platform as an extension of your twitter profile or blog and not get into the nitty gritty or you can over time learn a little more invest what you can afford to lose (this a golden rule for most investors and never have all your eggs in one basket) its up to what you want to get out of this that determines how much you want to commit.
On one hand, the white paper makes mention of the fact that it works like the lottery, in that people tend to expect greater returns then they'll actually receive. So on that point, I agree with you.
As I see it, five (or more) things can cause STEEM to continue gaining value: (i) growth in numbers of steemit users; (ii) improvement in web-site usability/user engagement; (iii) improvement in quality of content and curation; (iv) New applications making use of STEEM; (v) Actual purchase-demand for STEEM. As long as one or more of those areas improve, I think STEEM should be able to continue gaining value.
When you buy steempower, it's an investment, but it's also a tool to amplify your voice, so it's not too different from buying advertising in other environments.
In the end, the web site merely provides a mechanism for people to do the same things they're already doing for free on sites like reddit and facebook. With a new business model and a new cryptocurrency, it's certainly a very speculative and risky investment, but if STEEM/steemit is a scam or a pump & dump, then I guess facebook and reddit must also be.