This is really helpful. It's a bit scary to hear Richard talk about how monetary incentives are often a negative impact on a community - I wonder how Steemit can work to overcome that hurdle?
On a micro level, it makes me want to dig deeper into what my audience wants. I try to use lots of upvotes in the comments to encourage participation, but maybe it's more about listening deeper and finding new ways to get people engaged. Hmm...
Thanks for checking it out, Matt.
I agree, it is scary; however, I don't think it's surprising. We've seen the failure of other social media networks (such as TSU) because money was consistently the primary focus of users. The difference that I've found with Steemit is that I originally came for the money, but it is in fact the community that has retained me. I think those who were posting back in December when Steem was worth $.04 USD were doing so because they felt that they were part of the community.
Definitely a lot to think about.