Some say the problem with Steemit is the people who came in recently. They are greedy! They just want easy money. They do not even care about the long-term future of the platform.
Some others say the problem is with the Whales, they do not care about the Minnows. They just vote for the mediocre posts of people with high reputation. They just want more money. This wouldn't help the platform grow.
And some others say, "don't get me started on bots"
One thing they all agree with is that there is a problem with Steemit. Really? Is there a problem with Steemit?
These same people spend hours on other platforms, without any financial incentive. They contribute without complaining. The possibility of an incentive changed everything. Or is it the lack of a real incentive - the appreciation for self expression or the availability of quality content.
If we compare Steemit with other crypto projects, we might find some similarities. In the early days of Bitcoin the users were thrilled about the experimental nature of the project, they were ideologically driven, technology enthusiasts. They were ready to face difficulties, and thrilled to use it, whenever they found an opportunity, without complaining.
Then came those who wanted to make money out of crypto-currencies. At first the ideologically driven, enthusiasts were happy with this because they thought the newcomers found value in their ideology. But when Bitcoin became unusable as a currency because of the high transaction fee and big delays, they got confused. Those who came in for money wanted easy money, they weren't worried about the future use case of Bitcoin and some were not even aware of an ideology.
Now both these groups are waiting for the real users, those who will use Bitcoin just because it is easier to use and more secure than fiat money. That's when the real potential of Bitcoin will come out. It will satisfy both the ideologists and speculators/investors.
Similar to this Steemit will have its full potential when the real users come in, the users who come in for good content or freedom of expression. For these people to come in, we need to evolve into an easy to use platform, where good content is easy to find. Until then complaining and blaming will continue. Neither the ideologists nor the money mongers, will find what they need here. But for better or worse this is a passing phase.