Thank you so much for posting this. I hadn't really noticed the decline util the past week, when things started to go noticably quite, and my stream of new followers, upvotes and upvote income took a significant hit. I agree with you that this is an IDEAL time to take inventory of our purpose and goals here. Here are my thoughts, which I believe are COMPLEMENTARY to what you have stated above :

1. This is an IDEAL time to re-consider the value of the "social capital" aspect of our activity here on the platform. For me, it has ALWAYS been about the RELATIONSHIPS I have discovered, and continue to cultivate here. The valueof the actual cryptocurrency is SECONDARY to these relationships, as those relationships have MUCH greater potential to return PRICELESS dividends into the future (such as in the forms of further collaborations, activity OUTSIDE of Steemit, etc.)

2. The lessons and skills I have learned and developed in my almost one year on this platform have RAISED my knowledge and appreciate for social media and blockchain to a totally HIGHER DIMENSIONS. Again, there is NO PRICE that can be put on that.

3. This is a time to MEDITATE on the HYPOTHETIC question :

"If Steemit were to disappear tomorrow, what have I gained (in terms of NON-monetary gains) from my activity/experience here?"

The key is to find the value BEYOND the $$$ value. If Steemit hadn't been created I would be YEARS behind where I am now in terms of my overall development on ALL levels (mental, physical, spiruitual, etc.).

Let's all just keep doing out consistent part towards the "Great Work"...

@transcript-junky