What else is affecting the price of Steem? In my mind, Steem is bigger than just Steemit. What I love is the development going on, as you mention.

You put a lot of emphasis on the rewards pool, investor 'protection', coin value etc. But I'm not sure that should be anything to directly worry about. I think bots are more positive than anything negative. I think they're an interesting addition at present.

But I think, let's keep the focus on the platform, usability, encouraging curation and practical use (+beyond Steemit) that will help the coin really grow. For once 'quality' or engaging content is being rewarded directly, by others. That's the main reason for its continued success. Competitors, however, may become more of a threat, if Steemit fails to keep developing and expanding what is now possible with this new, exciting art of sharing crypto.