Rambling About Steem's Continuous Bleed; Steemit Inc's Potential & Disappointment

I decided to check out my Followed list, something I do every few months to keep track of certain people I've followed and curate that I may have missed, or simply update the list and weed out the occasional member of the Steem blockchain that has fallen into unending inactivity.

This time was different, though. This time it felt far more real and depressing, and for an unexpected reason: many of those accounts that I had realised I had not seen in some time were once incredibly active members. Some of the best content I'd seen related to my interests. I attempted to support them in the ways I could, but it seems it was never enough.

Some of these people were there in supporting my content from the earliest of my days here on Steem. Some would always be there to throw in a comment and curate, as the platform was designed for. Some would allow comment sections to dive deep into discussions displaying a wide range of unique thoughts and opinions on subjects. To know that those people are gone now feels like a catastrophic loss for the platform of Steem. The platform now misses out on some incredibly diverse content, as well as discussions.

I noticed that for many of these accounts, the decision to simply give up came at least eight months ago. Looking back at the charts, that's when Steem began to show some really negative signs in the market. Bitcoin had reached $3000 all the way from its $20,000 high, and Steem, while twice the price it is now, was still crumbling and showing signs of weakness.

I have no reason to believe that I'll leave the Steem platform myself in the future. I'll continue posting for as long as my fingers allow me to do so. For as long as Steem's blockchain itself continues to create new blocks. But I can't help but look back at the people that have made such on impact on my own decision to continue posting here that have slowly given up, and I genuinely cannot blame them for doing so. It's very easy to complain about the management of Steem itself: an incredible resource that has been mishandled by a centralised authority that seem almost unprepared to handle what's within their hands. A bear market is troubling times for many, but to have a huge amount of Steem dumped constantly with existing market weakness only makes things harder.

For some, giving up seems like the best option. To exit the market with whatever you've managed to make, or perhaps maintain in terms of fiat value, and move on. While for others clearly that's out of the question, they're in too deep and want to see things turn around. To have the issues addressed in a professional manner and change implemented at the soonest available time. To have discussions raised and answers given. Conclusions arrived at. It seems almost too utopian on Steem, where we're feeling as if we're mostly just yelling at the sky in hopes that someone hears and flicks the switch of change.

I get that this post sounds overly negative, and I guess it is. I've witnessed the harsh reality in which people I've connected with have been slowly pushed out of something they truly believed in and supported. And while many of us are asking the right questions, why aren't they actually addressed?

The crypto industry is now heavily centralised with services and platforms managing to raise teams that run their currencies and creations. These companies are constantly raising capital and having to ensure they're meeting specific demands of investors. One could argue that that nature itself enforces positive change and results, but one could also argue that being void of such challenges should enforce more natural growth as a centralised authority could listen to what the users are saying directly and adjust accordingly.

Given we have a centralised authority running this show, it's disappointing that we don't have some type of meaningful method of direct contact with them. Your best option is to post and hope it's seen. We could flourish if we had the resources to vote on changes we want, straight in front of the eyes of those who could make it happen. To encourage discussion on those changes and ensure they're seen by the community. Wishful thinking, I guess.

It's been a while since I've let my thoughts out here on Steem. So this turned out to be pretty long, if you made it this far, sorry! If you did, though, what do you think? How are you feeling about the market and Steemit's performance? What would you want changed and improved?