While I'm a pretty well-known critic of steem, I have to say that overall, I think it was a smashing success.

The real failure at Steem was a chronic lack of imagination. I think that this platform had the right DNA to grow 100x, and was held up by a number of poor choices.

Some not so great tech choices? Yes, surely
Some not so great business choices? yes, surely
Bad place to store your wealth cause it might one day disappear? yes, surely

Overall failure, no. Overall, Steem is a huge success.