I've put way more into steem than I've taken out. I powered up with 1k off the bat when it was in the $2.50 range. Why? Because I want to reward and read good content. It saves me time and maybe someday my posts will reward me. It makes social media more fun, and I see the enormous growth potential.
Yes, it's mildly lucrative to like your own comments, but that only drains the system..
That deserved my upvote :)
It seems that was a time a few of us kept the community strong for what we envisioned it to become.
And then the recent influx of "follow me" "upvote your self" and endless spam, not to mention the porn, came to Steemit and catches us by surprise.
I have to wonder what the marketing department is doing?