Sorry about your loss. Unfortunately, losses of that magnitude aren't uncommon with highly speculative assets. New players get burned so frequently, it's like a hazing :(

I've had to learn the hard way myself.

As for my own holdings, I've bought about 2,500 STEEM and have powered up with all I've bought. I can earn a little through curation rewards that way.

[Interestingly, the "buy and earn" case is much stronger for someone who has >100 BTC to throw into STEEM...]

As for Steemit's long-term future - I honestly don't know. Like all social networks, it's going to depend on going viral to the extent that some celebs or others at that level decide to join. Its growth has more-or-less stalled over the last month or so. Will the second stage kick in, the one that'll take Steemit up to the level of Medium? I don't know, but I'm betting that it will to the tune of 2,500 STEEM :)