How to evaluate a project or app built on steem

For several weeks I have been pondering on a "simple" way to evaluate the different apps and projects that are being built on this network. Honestly, it's not as simple as it appears. First of all, everyone has an opinion and your goals may not align with mine or someone else's.

Some people view this place as just another way to make money. Others may see it as a means to spread their idealogy, political opinions or just want everyone to know how awesom they are.

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There is one thing that we can agree on (I think)...In order to keep the lights on we need the ecosystem to be economically viable. In a nutshell what we need is for the price of our currency to rise (the cost of running the blockchain is another factor but it's not the main point of this article).

Following this train of thought I came up with a set a questions that we should ask ourselves or that should be asked of every app or project out there:

1. Does it create demand for steem?
2. Does it reduce the supply of steem?
3. Does it contribute to the distribution of steem?
4. Does it help the "system" grow in the future?

So far we have been relatively good in creating ways of extracting value from the network. Think about it, with some notable exceptions most of the "succesfull" frontends to the blockchain are just fancy faucets.

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I know, this topics have been discussed lately (in light of the current bear market). It's like we are stumbling upon some fundamental truth. Hey, no one said it was going to be easy (and hindsight is always 20/20).

Even if you feel that your a small fish and that your actions are just a drop in an ocean remember this:

"What is an ocean but a multitude of drops"