Yes, this has already changed many lives and it isn't just for those in the trending pages. As you said, in some countries the small amounts are valuable and this is why I would also want people to develop quality content rather than Spam. The site is going to run into trouble at some point due to copyrights and if the site fails, all of those people lose an important part of heir income again. The long-term view i have is to support people in many different ways but to have that, investment is needed.
Some people look at today's value or next weeks value of Steem but, it is next years, and the year after that is important as it could be zero, or it could be 10. It is the community and the content that will decide which it s to be.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Not all take the time.
What you say is absolutely correct and I agree with 100%. I am looking to be in this long term and, yes, I do want to be one of the trending people. My reasoning is simple...I want to carry voting power that makes a different to people. I would love to be able to read about a hardship case in one of the poorer countries and with a single upvote give that person $4 or $5. When people are in that situation, that type of money makes a huge difference.
I also want to help others develop a nice income stream themselves so if I can advance my abilities on here while having a higher ranking, I can help others who just arrive.
Yes, this is a good perspective. How I see it is that at the moment, I can mainly add value through content alone but in time I may have the possibility to help financially also. The long-term view of charity requires a constant development of the self to best provide for others.
meep