Steemit is an online community much like any other. It is not exempt from fundamental laws of economics or social dynamics. When it comes to people interacting based on financial rewards, we have to understand that every possible transaction is based on demand and supply.
capital is compartmentalized into social, financial and intellectual. Every company or individual falls under the same economic spectrum. The only difference is that Steemit is unique in the way it merges social capital with the financial one. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Throughout the past year, there were plenty of views in regards to how value is created in the platform. Every now and then, morality was invoked as the means to rectify specific incidents. Nonetheless, morality is irrelevant to value. A given environment dictates the morality of the group. Depending on the point of view one examines an economic incident, some parties might feel they have been treated unfairly while some others not so much.
Some whales for example have invested heavily in the platform from the very beginning. They were the ones mining the tokens. It is expected from them to be opinionated about how things are run in here much like with every other major shareholder in a given company.
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Others have joined Steemit following team members from previous projects. This is also something that happens in the outside world. These members have invested mostly in people and they feel they should be treated much like any other shareholder. Many other dolphins and minnows have been interacting with one another, created personal connections and formed groups of interest. Again, much like in every company or organization social capital is extremely valuable since it enables the other two forms of capital — intellectual and financial.
When a member of the platform utilizes their shareholder power, no matter how big or small, then it is to be expected not to be frowned upon. People on Steemit can sell their services and products — heck even their own tokens if they so wish. They can also counter other offers with their own version much like in the free market. This is what makes the blockchain so great. Complaining solves nothing. Acting (or reacting) is all they money, literally.
In a recent example, the whaleshares initiative introduced the concept of buying whale votes with their respective tokens. As a counter market act the Random Whale Vote initiative was introduced offering a different reward system that relies more on gambling. Both initiatives, aim to raise capital in their own special way.