I know what I am about to post will come with some risk to it but this might be the community where it is possible. I was thinking about this when I wanted to buy multiple altcoins which are not easy to buy (as in you can't buy them on Kraken which I use or ShapeShift them). FYI: Not looking for anyone to send me coins! If anything I will send you coins so you can scam me, if that's what you want to do.
I still consider myself new to Steemit but the feeling I got the last 7 days is that people see it as a community which people want to contribute too. Some might contribute with great posts for financial reasons and others might just take the position of a curator as they like reading. Anyways whatever your motivation and preference is you are all contributing to the same goal, growing Steemit. You might read this and say: I am here to just grow financially but even people that just want to make money should know that by growing Steemit they can earn more.
Steemit Village
Steemit can be seen as a village in which around 200 wise old men live (70+ ranking) who have been living in this village for years and helped built it. These people are pillars to the community and are seen as trustworthy and honest. They will share there knowledge and so pass it to the younger people and those who just turned 25. The village is growing fast and it is good for everyone. Even the greedy new guy that moved into your street a few weeks ago to sell newspapers for a nice profit is happy with more potential readers moving to the village. But the village doesn't mind greed as the greedy new guy is a good law abiding citizen that contributes to the community. Greed thrives in the village as there is money to be made.
Now as the village is growing and opportunities arise for its citizens but so do the dangers. Steemit village is turning into an international city and its citizens will face different issues. A city has problems which small villages don't have like scammers, con men and thieves whom can have a negative impact on a community. So called criminals can be a burden to other citizens as they can't walk the street after 9pm or need to be very cautious about carrying a lot of cash when wanting to buy a second hand car. But all is positive as there are still strong and safe communities within the city, not one big one like before but many small ones which each are bigger then the community in the village.
So my question for Steamians is whether you would feel comfortable exchanging your bitcoins for Steem (or Ethereum with Bitshares) directly with someone you met in this community as its faster, easier and cheaper to do so? This could be face to face as eventually there will be enough people in your neighborhood on Steemit.
My answer is: Yes, but it should be an elder (someone with a good reputation on Steemit who will probably have an account worth over 100,000K or will be making $300+ on an article and therefore won't run away with my $400 worth of Ethereum which I want to exchange for Steem.