Question originally asked on Musing.io - Click here to see other answers
In my opinion it isn't hold back. It grows nice and smooth and is pretty solid. I think the account creation is one thing that holds back the growth of different users. It takes long. Also, Steemit etc is still a bit for the geeks or for the people who think they will get rich by writing beneath every post "nice post, good read" etc. Bit spammy imo.
I try to flag those messages but who i`m I :D
However, I just found out about Musing and this kind of applications will satisfy alot of intrested users.
Don't forget, Steemit is the number 1 blockchain product based on interactions!