Hey, @bryan-imhoff.
I think the question about pursuing investors plays to the identity of just what STEEM is. Some of us think we're a social media platform, others an investing platform, and there's probably another half dozen legitimate answers. You're looking at STEEM as a utility blockchain that can be built upon, and how that potential diversity of application can bring in more users than one single use case could.
So, I like what you're saying. I wish it were more venture than vulture, too, but we don't seem to be out of that cycle yet.
Yeah, I hate the mindset of “investors” who see ROI as token acquisition vs. raising the value of the token. Enough of that type of thinking actually creates a de facto Ponzi type structure... which is a good reason to discourage the wrong type of investors.