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I initially joined steemit in order to comment on a particular steemian's posts. (He has since left.) But I met others that I enjoy keeping in touch with. Earning money was just a bonus. (I still don't really know how to convert steem to usd very well lol) So the payments don't matter so much to me.

Oh I get it. So you joined to help support someone and then they left? lol. Well, it's a long term game so I wouldn't worry about converting steem for awhile. I think the Steem blockchain will continue to grow and become a major player in the crypto world so I think it's a good investment.

There are so many great things happening on the blockchain, one can't even keep up. It's number 6 in the entire world(for blockchains) as far as the number of developers working on it. This doesn't have anything to do directly with steemit but it looks super encouraging for the strength and future of the Steem blockchain which will mean that steemit will continue also.

But the way to earn in the future, starting now, is through tokens like the esteem token, so it's smart to get on that platform.