Well guys....last week I started to power down. Many reasons.....if I'm being honest, I don't have the same belief in Steemit that I did when I first started it. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea, and it has a lot of potential, but it's a bit ridiculous the way it's set up. The rich get richer and hold all the power, and the poor stay poor...it's that simple, it's that annoying. I'm tired of seeing minnows groveling and kissing up to anyone with a ton of Steam power just hoping to get that $20 upvote. I'm also tired of these whales putting up videos that are about absolutely nothing and they get $1000 for talking about how rich they are and how much money they're making...are you kidding me? I'm also not saying it's their fault...if its their for the taking...take it. If you have a 4000 following, and tons of whales following you, and tons of people wanting your up vote, why not work as little as possible and make more money in a month than most doctors and lawyers...it's ridiculous, and really, it's not good for the future value of the Steem coin, no matter how you look at it. Steemit will probably make it as one of the top coins in the future, but at what cost. It might make it....it also might be so diluted, that the coin stays at the same price. Isn't the purpose of believing in the company behind the coin, ultimately to hope the coin goes up in value? I just don't see that happening anytime soon with the way Steemit has its infrastructure set up. I also understand people in the Steemit community don't like to read posts like this...seems like most want to be blinded by what's so obviously ridiculous in the community, and just continue thinking that Steemit is going to be a $50 coin in a few years....not a chance with how it's run now..I'd be surprised if it's even $10 in a couple years. Another reason I was going to power down was to buy into a couple other ICO's that I really like coming out soon, and I needed the money. I guess I'm sticking it out because I do think the founders @Dan and @Ned are extremely intelligent and drives people whose live and breathe building this company. Here's a thought......if everyone had THAT much faith in Steemit, well then why can't everyones upvote just be the same amount, or base it off of reputation score instead of Steem power. If the people with $100,000 steempower really believe in the company, then why not just invest in it without the need to get paid ridiculous sums of money, and keep the money in the company itself, and let them build it that way. I think the subscribers will come regardless...people that love blogging, have never really needed to get paid to blog anyway...they do it because they like to, and that's it. Personally I think the coin would go up MUCH faster if these huge amounts of money wasn't being paid to the "celebrity" bloggers...for sure the coin would go up faster. This money isn't falling from the sky that these whales are being gives...it's going to end up hurting the company in the long run....so I'm hoping the developers see this, and change how payouts are done in the future. I think everyone would be happy if the coin went up to $10 and their investment was 5 times what it is now, regardless if they were making huge amounts blogging. These alt coins shouldn't be looked at as a get rich quick scheme, and that's what I think Steemit is turning into, and the kind of people who are being lured into it.....I hope I'm wrong, but for now, I've cancelled my power down, in hopes of a brighter future and a better hardfork next time around. On a happier note, tomorrow is hump day. Enjoy the rest of your week from Queen Eleanor and myself! :)