So I just became aware of this concept of token-powered decentralized social networks tonight and am doing some research. I see two main contenders: Synereo and Steem. When all factors are considered: fairness to content creators, ease of use for lurkers, fairness of mining... which one do you think will win the impending war of decentralized social media?
I think the question is impossible to answer because nothing that is out there now, even in terms of comprehensible plans that are vaporware, has a feature set or model that could become very popular. Well at least as far as I can see thus far (but I am not omniscient).
I did some
initial analysis of Steem (read the entire thread).
Your (and Erlich Bachman's) conclusion that Steem is a bad investment is based on a generalization that shareholders will be debased.
While it is true that if you simply invest in Steem and do not participate in the ecosystem that you will be debased, your conclusion does not consider that Steem investors can participate in the ecosystem and negate that debasement.
Investors can earn rewards for content creation, content curation, and by providing liquidity in the Steem Dollar market.
Furthermore, since Steem dollars earn interest, if you didn't want to do any work, then you could simply buy up some Steem dollars and earn more interest than any legacy banking savings account or CD.
Even if someone were to invest in simply SP and not participate in the ecosystem, it is possible that the social network grows exponentially and it ends up being a good investment anyways. In fact, IMO, recent trends indicate that is more likely than simply possible:
https://steemle.com/charts.phpIn conclusion, your blanket assessment that Steem is a poor investment is faulty, because it depends on how you plan to invest (Steem, SD,or SP) and how much work you are willing to put in to earn rewards from participating in the ecosystem.