........take one look at this and think "This is a complete effing waste of time!"
I think this happens a lot, tbh.
This was exactly my thought process, and I have lots of free time.
Putting myself in the place of someone (90% of people), who's time is in demand, - to be totally honest - I wouldn't bother with steemit.
This is not an attractive platform for those just joining and wishing to make a long term 'living/ just a few dollars to help the budget', out of it.
If it promoted as such, (which it is), and doesn't deliver, it is bound to fail. People feel cheated.
And there in lies is the problem. It needs to be more attractive initially.
Thousand of potential new members are lost because of this, I think...
Totally agree with that.
The front end user interface needs a LOT of work to make it a feature rich environment that would make potential newcomers-- and not-so-newcomers-- think "Well, this is a cool site so I'll hang around anyways" even if they don't make more than a few cents. Right now... the allure isn't there. The "money first" marketing approach that has been used a lot has NOT helped, either... it sets up a sense of entitlement that leads to loss of members when the site doesn't live up to expectations.