I was having one of those zen moments earlier and this question hit me like an epiphany. Every day I think about writing or bringing something relevant and original to this platform, and while I relish the challenge, I actually wonder if I would have been doing it if there was no hope of receiving valuable upvotes.
For a content creator on this platform, the primary means of earning Steem is through upvotes/curation. So if hypothetically, Steem does a hard fork or something apocalyptic fucks up the blockchain and then completely removes upvotes from the system or maybe turns upvotes into “worthless likes” as you’d find in traditional social media like Facebook and Twitter, do you think you’ll still be active on Steem?
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Imagine if all the benefits from curation trails and autovotes stopped coming in and the only likes or upvotes you get were organic, and then, of course, they had no value. Would you still put content on Steem? Or how about the alternative view for whales with big Steem power holding, do you think people will engage your content as much as they do now? Especially considering there are numerous other platforms out there.
I run into people every now and then that left Steem completely and sited lack of upvotes to be the reason for their exit. They claim that upvotes were only going to an elite class, inner circles or something of that nature. I actually felt that way in the past but it was only a fleeting thought that didn't mean much. I love the upvotes and when I make content, I hope it gets upvoted but even without the upvotes, I’d still put in 100% to produce the best type of content I can.
Writing is my passion and that is irrespective of the situation. Way before December of 2017 when I joined Steem, I was writing for my sports blog soccermonger.blogspot.com, on my medium channel, Facebook and scribbles in my notes. I relish the reactions, engagement, activities, and freedom to express myself in a censorship-free and enabling platform. So, yes, if you take out the upvotes, I would 100% still participate actively on Steem.