Perhaps! But what sets places like Patreon above and beyond those like Steemit and Whaleshares, is the fact that they are NOT based on the blockchain concept, but rather are moderated so as to keep unacceptable content, like porn and other such stuff off their sites. No forum that allows the posting of porn (other than porn sites themselves) has ever succeeded.
And secondly, places like Patreon do not allow down-voting, therefore authors and their posts can not be destroyed by hateful members who seek nothing more than revenge as do many Steemit witnesses.
And then of course, there is the Steemit witness system. Such places are doomed to failure before they even begin, because they are really nothing more than disguised ponzi schemes.
RE: Witness Voting, OpenSeed and OpenLink