I just started to write half an hour ago so I don't have a real introduction. This is me reflecting on some of the roles I have or theoretically could have on Steem. Big upcoming changes but also some past changes and some great posts I read last week got me to this point. I didn't plan the post and didn't try to keep it short. Sorry.
soyrosa The Author
I'm one of those lucky bastards that does pretty well as an author on Steem. When I started on Steem I got one of those rare whale votes on automatic within a month, which enabled me to build up my account pretty quickly to 3000SP. Then I 'lost' that vote which made it feel like a couple of really slow months, but I kept on creating and engaging. When I went to SteemFest with all the Steemians and felt my investment in STEEM wasn't reflected enough in my Steem Power holdings I bought myself some STEEM to get myself that Dolphin badge.
Currently my posts do pretty well thanks to another few whale and orca votes and a lot of friendly dolphin votes and let's not forget all the Minnow and Plankton votes add up as well. All of these I 'gained' for both unknown reasons and more or less 'known' ones. Traveling from the Netherlands to a Steem meet-up in London gained me one of those autovotes from an Orca for example - proving to me that people like supporting people they know or people they feel make that extra effort.
I could've bought a lot of STEEM with the money I spend on that short but expensive trip - it's London guys! One night at a hotel could've bought me 350 STEEM. And that was just the stay at a hotel, I was invited to stay the other two nights at a Steemian's house. But that's money talk. They people I was able to meet there or connect with on a more personal level after only having had some short talks at SteemFest was way more valuable than any vote/support I got after that.
Yes, the author gained some support from going to these meet-ups - and this support doesn't mean my content is better than of those with less support. It just means people appreciate the author as a human. At least, that's how I interpret it.
soyrosa The Curator
I suck at curating. I vote what I read. I mean WHO DOES THAT - right? [/cynical]
Sometimes I do a pretty much random upvote round at 2AM at night when I'm doing a last round of scrolling and know I have some VP left. I hand out a couple of 100% upvotes because it feels good. My curation rarely falls in the 'optimal' curation window - which means after 1,5 year of voting daily I curated a total worth of 250 STEEM.
So, that's that. Curating isn't my game and I feel like I only could get more gains from curating if I were to autovote all my VP. Nothing wrong with autovotes, but I like to leave a comment with my votes so people know I read. Yes, I read. And comment. And curate. It doesn't earn me much but it is the thing that ads a lot of value to the platform.
Or not?
If I say I suck at curating I'm forgetting that I'm actually trying my damn best to spread the rewards. I'll probably favor some Steemians I've met in the past or like a lot personally, but I also know from 
soyrosa The Investor
I delegate some of my SP, currently it's more than 1/3rd but I always try to stay around that 1/3rd so I leave most of my SP free to distribute to others. I delegate to projects that make me other tokens, like 
I've not invested a lot with liquid tokens, but I'm currently powering down for 1 or max 2 weeks so I have some liquid STEEM to invest in... PAL? DEC? ENG? Some of these tokens might be really good investments and diversifying is a good thing. I'm grateful for steem-engine.com - I can't even imagine how Steem would look like without it. Way less lively than it is today, that's for sure.
I delegated some of my SP through 
I'm a pretty careful investor and it's one of those activities I would have never done with Fiat money - so I see it as a privilege to be able to do it on Steem as for now it's money I don't use in daily life so it's money that can make more money if I use it wisely. It's a whole new opportunity handed to me thanks to Steem. Being able to become an investor with STEEM (Power) taught me a lot.
I hope many more amazing opportunities will come for investors on Steem - both for STEEM holders as well as for Fiat.
soyrosa The Value bringer
There's this vague 'rewards are for those that bring value' idea on Steem which is never clearly defined but is interesting to think about. Who brings value? In my off-Steem life I'm that person that doesn't make functioning products but is really good at brainstorming and enhancing ideas and 'translating' technical stuff to 'normies' that aren't too technical. I'm that person you need so the team feels good, the individual feels heard, understood and coached into being a better version of themselves. I've always been that supportive person that people mostly miss when they're not there but don't always notice when they are.
In real life this made me quit my job as I liked/needed my income but hated that feeling which commercial companies can give you: make us money TODAY or I won't need you tomorrow. I'm not a money maker, I'm the one making sure everyone feels sane so they can keep doing their job.
made an image to help us reflect on our different roles on Steem. How would you define yours?If I look at what I add to Steem it's similar to that: I'll patiently answer any n00b questions on technical stuff, pointing people the right way, not treating anyone like they're stupid.
There's enough of people around on Steem that are arrogant while thinking they're adding value. They probably are adding value even - at least in ways most people define value. But am I not?
There's other stuff I did in the past that earned me some community support bigger than my 'normal' circle of supporters, the most known probably being me approaching stateofthedapps.com after which they added Steem on their website - other things might involve simply working behind the scenes with people that are doing bigger things.
My content and community activities - do they add value though? I'm not sure. I write personal stuff, photo stuff, sometimes some Meta Steem stuff. I don't believe 'the big guys' who want to attract more 'value to Steem' see me as one of those value bringers. So I'll have to convince myself I am bringing value to this ecosystem or just believe that this value is reflected with the votes I'm getting.
If I look at those votes some people seem to think I'm pretty valuable. But am I more valuable than someone making 10 times less? I don't think so. Follow-up question: am I earning 10 times too much or are they earning 10 times too little? Should people who are like me earn 1 STEEM a day or 10 STEEM a day?
I don't have an answer, just thinking out loud here.
soyrosa The Rambler
Some thoughts that are currently going through my mind about my position in this ecosystem. This all came from a few very worthy posts from 
I might do follow-up posts and come to some real conclusions about one thing or the other - currently I'm just reflecting and pondering while still unsure where I stand on the current state of Steem and how HF21 will worsen or improve that. There's a huge interesting complex game going on between human and financial aspects in a way I've never been part of before. So yeah. It's all new, literally all of it. That makes me tend to enjoy the ride more than having some definitive/harsh/bullish opinions on it.
I tend to observe.