This post is directed at both new and old members alike, and while some of them are leeches, some great and amazing people who fall victim to this syndrome are, well, great and amazing people.
Let me tell you just what I mean.
The Leech Syndrom is what I call the disease that makes people cash out every reward they get here on Steem.
Do you know those low effort guys who just comment 3 words in bad English and keep on cashing out their cents? Well, you've got an example there.
But what about the amazing people I talk about?
Well, they deserve their own paragraph.
If You're Amazing, Avoid This Syndrome!
You all know one of two people belonging to this group. They are the steemians who you think are really nice, polite, put effort into their posts and interact with the community.
You're always stumbling upon them on comments, they curate, they gain followers... and yet after one year or two of being on Steem, they still have 1000 or less SP.
Sounds familiar?
I am certain I know a bunch...
The problem is, whatever the reason, they think they NEED the money and dump their holdings for USD, EUR or whatever FIAT they choose.
Well, let me tell you why this is a giant pitfall (successful members of this community already understood this).
Why Was I Holding to My SP With a Wedding to Pay
Those who know me the best also know I was a bit panicky over having to pay for my wedding...
I ran around working two jobs and being a bit inactive on Steem - if you know me a bit less well then you now know the reason - and I asked @yabmatt, @therealwolf, @eonwarped, and many others if they needed any help for any work. I also thanked @rok-sivante for his constant support on my posts, as he added me on his auto-voter with huge voting power and that made a real difference, but I didn't cash out.
I even powered up sometimes.
And even though that happened, Steem still did play its part on paying for my dream wedding... how?
Well, the real value in Steem is the rewards you get from HOLDING the tokens.
I can't stress this enough if you're a newbie or if you're one of my friends who is a user for a long time and still has 1000 or less SP.
For those, I need to say this, I never powered down and I powered up the vast majority of my rewards and I STILL managed to cash out more than you did... because the excess vote-power I had got sold to whitelisted writers (More SP More Money), and my votes got me even more rewards to sprinkle on top of that.
If you really need to cash out, you need to stop doing it!
Think about it...
I think having some staked Steem is a very good Idea, and for those that are looking long term the more staked the better. I really have no problem though with those that want to convert their rewards to fiat currency, and spending it.
I really do not think leech is an appropriate term for those that do convert their rewards to fiat. For steem to prosper and grow there needs to be a two way path. Those people that take may brag about their rewards to others, this means steem gets free advertising via word of mouth.
I see no difference in a small account or a large account taking steem out and spending it in the real world. If the builders of the steem crypto coin want the use of their coin to spread, then rewards at some point must be converted to be spent in an off-line manner.
Is there really a difference between some one that invest $10,000 and some one that invest $0.00 in steem and both removing rewards? One can say that he/she invested, and is only taking out earned interest, but that a person who invested zero when they take out rewards they worked for and were gifted by other users they are a Leech,?...I'm sorry but there needs to be a two way street for steem to grow, and with out removal of steem from the system and converted to fiat to use, it becomes a useless token.
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What?