Hi @bashadow, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!

History (or at least my previous personal experience) tells me that there are *always* going to be "cash grabbers" whenever a venue even *hints* at the possibility that you can get rewarded for your efforts. History *also* suggests that they tend to be a pretty impatient lot, and most of them have wildly unrealistic "get rick quick" expectations.

In general, *two* primary outcomes are possible... (1) they suck a venue dry and things simply stop because all the "good actors" have left in disgust or (2) they discover it's just *too difficult* to make those hoped-for riches, so they leave in disgust, or in the pursuit of a pot-of-gold placed by *someone else* who was able to tell a better story about riches.

For me, the appeal of Steemit is that I can *build stake in the venue I am using,* and I am part of a system that has at least the *potential* to change the way we treat rewarding web content. I love the whole pay-it-forward and "gift economy" principle... we reward *each other;* we don't get rewards from some "central authority" that might go bankrupt tomorrow... or the owners run away with all the cash.

Any types of gamification helps make Steemit "sticky" for me. For example, I often check my rank on steemst.com... try to see if I can't keep on climbing. Same thing keeps me returning to Asher's leagues. Trying to become a Minnow, here... keep plugging away!

=^..^=