Is Steem What it Says it Is?

I wasn't here in the beginning of steem and steemit. I love the idea of a site rewarding content that is contributed. I love the idea of networking. I don't have millions of dollars to invest in steem nor would I take that big of risk if I did. The minimal risk time for acquiring TONS of steem has passed but it may be coming back down again full circle. The interesting thing is we've seen steem price go from 1.50 to .25 recently. If the price goes low enough we may see it get closer and closer to where it was in the beginning.

Is Steem Rewarding Content?

I have concern that vote trading, bid bots(a service that is paid to upvote your post because it has a lot of steem power(influence over future payouts of steem)), or vote following(just coming in behind a strong upvote) may be disruptive to rewarding quality content. No I don't propose a better solution.

I'm left thinking that someone had to be here early purchasing a large quantity of steem at minimal risk or if the price gets low enough believe that it could happen all over again. To ask someone to invest a significant amount of money in steem right now appears to me to be passing out advice on a HIGH RISK investment.

What about the person that doesn't invest or invests little. Will we be able to keep them as a member? How difficult is it for them to create content that is rewarded at least to it's value? Is a person given a chance to work their way up in a reasonable amount of time?

I think every one of these questions and statements deserve attention if we are concerned about steem's future. I'm a fan of steem, but I want it to fulfill it's vision and goal.

Below is some interesting stats on bringing in new members and where they come from source @penguinpablo