I completely agree Steem is flawed in many ways, but I think it's the human element of greed that makes it flawed and not the technology itself.

Only time will tell if someone smarter than me can effectively write code that prevents those garbage posts from hitting $50 or $60 consistently.

I get frustrated with the amount of centralization on here as well, but I don't know code nor have the time to learn currently to change anything myself, so for the most part, I try not to complain because I see myself, in a way, as part of the problem.

While I would never tell my friends to invest in Steem, I would never tell them to invest in Bitcoin. I always tell people about Bitcoin because I think the technology will help change the future and to what degree is yet to be seen, but it's nice for people to start learning about the technology now.

Another place I think Steem holds value is it's a great way to onboard people to crypto, by allowing them to earn some for free and use it every day.

I appreciate the lengthy response and pretty much agree with everything that you have said. I am definitely not nearly as involved as I've been on the platform previously due to multiple issues, but the "hero" worship on here can be much sometimes, and all it boils down to is the Steempower in their wallet. as they are pretty toxic for the platform, but most don't see it that way.