Don't Take This The Wrong Way...
Don't take this the wrong way but...... Steemit is nowhere near ready for the mainstream.
You can tell your mates and family (heck, even pay for ads on other social media platforms) but you're wasting your time (and money). As 95% of newbies will pack it in after a couple of weeks.
Why? Because it's not (yet) user-friendly and the whole earnings bit is far too complicated for most folk.
I like to think about mass-adoption of new platforms by comparing how the process might play out if I was to invite a family member like, say my mother. She is relatively tech-savvy - she's an iPhone owner, Facebook proficient and all that, BUT..... I can just imagine the conversation about Steemit:
You earn STEEM? Or was it Steem Backed Dollars? Did you mention Steem Power? Where the heck does that fit in...?!
I try to run through a simple explanation in my head - but there's no really simple way of explaining this platform. It takes an investment of time and patience (and potentially cash, if you want to skip ahead and really feel the potential of this platform). Most people have neither the time, patience nor the cash.
Does this mean that we should abandon the Steemit platform?
Absolutely not. Far from it.
We just need to give it the time to evolve and iron out some of the issues around upvoting and the reward structure; maybe simplify the token names and distribution, plus settle on an improved front-end interface with relevant feeds.
It is in beta after all. We are all at the very early stages of Steem's development - we mustn't forget that. Which means that we're not quite there yet.
It's simply not ready for mass-adoption yet - we'd scare most of them off!
Plus, really importantly, in the meantime, we need to focus on building a better distribution of Steem Power (SP) across active accounts. Crucially we need more 'Dolphins' that can encourage and support budding 'plankton' and 'minnows' with upvotes. This requires tomorrow's dolphins to buckle-down and start powering up Steem at every opportunity between now and the next 12-24 months, whilst building strong communities and networks to help more people clamber their way up.
The stronger the 'middle class', the stronger the overall Steemit platform community.
What are your thoughts?
What I try to get across to everyone that I'm introducing to the blockchain is....Provide value and build your name here...Don't worry so much about what you are getting rewarded...Because like you said, there are tons of things that need to be improved upon.
But if people have the right mindset coming in here, and a long term vision...They will be able to adjust with whatever path Steemit takes.
I try to always upvote every comment that people make on my blog and do my part as much as I can...But loads more can be done for sure :)
Yep, you are a shining example of how to get involved on this platform. I just don't think the majority of folk have your foresight and patience and that we shouldn't beat ourselves or the platform up for it. It's just not ready yet... But it will soon. And for those that can get to grips with it now and hold course then they should do really well here.