Solid comment. Earlier today, I got to wondering, "What does Steem offer that other platforms don't?" I really couldn't come up with anything that Steem does that you can't get off of other blogging or image sharing platforms. The Steem pitch often is, "You get paid to blog." But realistically, if Steem ever does make it into the big leagues, your average Facebook poster will make a pittance. It's easy to click "like" on a shitty dinner pic on Facebook. In reality, if Steem were swarmed with the number of users that we want, most people would get 100 upvotes on their dumb cat picture or "this is what I had for lunch" post, and all their upvoters would be holding like 3 steem power or something. So what does it get you? Will people find 100 upvotes + $0.03 worth of cryptocurrency more compelling than 150 facebook likes?
This question has been bothering me all day, but you mention Medium, which I'm sort of familiar with. I will read about their model tomorrow and ruminate on if Steem is superior.
Also, the OP for this thread is off the mark. He goes on and on about marketing, but ignores one of the foundational principles: the features --> benefits structure. Reread it and you'll see "decentralized blockchain," "fast confirmation times," "lots of capacity" these are all features, but I don't see any compelling benefit.
Thanks for a great comment that gives me something new to think about.
A solid point, and one I've often thought about.
I guess by that point steemit (or whatever site that runs on steem takes its place) will have to be as good as facebook, so that people will switch for other reasons: usability, aesthetics, etc.
Also, don't discount the fact that you're assuming all those people will register investment-less. But if steem becomes viable as a currency used in everyday life, you'd hold your "facebook" money in the same wallet you use to pay for your Starbucks, so why not use the same wallet to vote, or outright tip people? People pay for angry birds lives and stuff lol! They pay for digital gifts! People could load up their accounts to get the pleasure of giving people a few cents with every vote. It might become an addictive game-like experience for some.
So steem would be an aspect of their everyday financial life, and using it on a social app would just be icing on the cake.