Very well put, it's funny that the first thing the FAQ for the site says is "have fun, don't expect anything but a great community", but I guess people don't spend time looking into that.
I am still very fresh to the platform, and day by day I try to learn something new about the reasoning and technology behind it and it is a very very smartly done system that has a potential to truly let quality content shine, but like you said, it is not made to make you feel like a special snowflake, but rather give you a potential, and how crazy is it, possibly REWARD you for doing what you love and get nothing for it monetarily on any other social network.
I see this platform as a way to reach more people and I believe my intentions are good, and no, that doesn't mean I am entitled to anything, but at the end of the day I can sleep better. I have been doing my music stuff for years now and I learned one thing - if it reaches one person and truly changes their life a tiny bit, even if it's just a smile on a rough day - then I am not doing it for nothing.
Anyway, don't wanna ramble on, but posts like yours just solidify my opinion of the community so far - beyond any money stuff. Cheers, my man!
I'm still amazed by how great Steem is and the possibilities we have. I know people from third world countries making a full salary from one post, and they are not even dolphins, it's just mind-blowing.
That's the spirit man; I often used to have the same thoughts in the beginning, if I would've received some nice feedback from the community, even if I weren't making money, I would've been reasonably satisfied.
The community is fantastic, good luck man. ;)
I really believe in that or maybe naively want to believe in that (or generally that "people are good at the core"). I think a perspective goes a long way, if you look for negative, you will find it, but same with positive.
I mean you can look at it from many different perspectives, and for someone it's their livelihood (like the example you provide) and it becomes work and money play a bigger role, but even then I think it comes down to the intentions. If you treat it as a business, shady business practices might get you a quick dollar, but lose you all your customers in a long run very soon, that's just as true in real world.
I appreciate your kind wishes, man, I think I already found a whole lot on here that puts a sparkle in my eye :)
You will be able to find so many amazing humans here, that will simply blow your mind. It's the perfect place and time to be, great people and the possibility of getting rewarded for engaging with them. Are you part of any discord servers? You should join some.
You give such a great example with the business comparison, I know a guy that joined around the same time as I did and he treated everything as a business while applying shady business practices that got him some huge bucks back then but now, that the prices are enormous, he's not making much anymore.
I'm glad you feel that way. :)