I would respond except that @sircork seems to have done a far better job than I could. I might point out that there are already alternative social media blockchains in the making, and that there will surely be ones that have a higher element of centralized control. It is only a matter of time before facebook and reddit have serious answers for monetizing their own users' content, and at that point it will really be a decision for purists of whether they want a platform grinding along the road of "fairness" or the wild west approach. Me, I have no idea which sounds "better" as an option: the most I take away from this site so far is having met a few good people, and been inspired to be more creative. But that could have happened on facebook as well if I had dug deep enough into a more active subcommunity. I think the financial aspect of steemit is a distraction more than anything. I haven't "made" anything off of this platform that i couldn't have "made" by leaving money on an exchange and for me at least the idea of having to make the decision of "what to do" with my account one day if I decide to cash out is pretty stressful. Which probably means I am not very well suited for this environment and would be better off someplace else, but hey now I am invested in it with a lot of time and effort, so I'm staying.