Good stuff man, I like your take on this, seems like you're very knowledgeable when it comes to steemit's strengths and flaws.

I have a feeling Steemit will continue without great growth or abandonment until a better implementation of a similar platform comes along... at that point we'll see a massive shift where everyone on steemit starts talking about the new platform and migrate over to it. Hopefully the one that gains hype will have lasting integrity and not turn out to be a short lived fluke/scam.

I've been a part of similar paid platforms in the past... I used Tsu.co for years before they eventually shut down. I've also tried a few recent steemit competitors, but none of them seem like they have a universally better offer than Steem currently, just different niches without much adoption.

I'd really like to see an implementation of a paid platform where the network effect/whale factor isn't make or break for a user's success-- a more meritocratic paid platform where users could truly start from scratch and build based on the value of their content. I feel neither Steemit or Tsu.co have that goal and that has kept average users from finding success. I have some ideas for platforms that could have that type of model, but I certainly don't have the resources to build it.