Can you make a decent living from Steem?

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There are many dynamics involved in what one would consider "making a decent living from Steem." and whether or not it is possible. 

First I will say it is very possible, and people do it. I'm not one of those people, but they are on the blockchain, and they are known. 

The most important thing to consider first is, what do you consider a decent income? Some regions of the world require much less Steem for conversion of native currency, and for some a small amount is actually quite decent because of this, but for some, a 5 dollar upvote a day would not cover their coffee habit. If you feel 35,000 is a decent annual income, this will likely be easier to achieve than 100,000 a year, and if you think you are going to do this organically, it will be extremely hard. I don't want to say it isn't possible, but with my current understanding of the ecosystem, organically making a salary that you can live off is next to impossible on the Steem blockchain without your own out of pocket investment. How large of an investment you need will be dependent on how much you want to make. Now here is where things get a little tricky.

To make income, you need upvotes. Consistent upvotes. These upvotes can be organic, or automated, but they are not easy to get. The big vote that is, the vote that will put food on the table, and have you whaling up in a matter of months, no those won't come easy at all, and by investing your own money into the platform, you are going to need to do one of two things to start generating income, you either :

•  Pay for bid bots.
• Self upvote all of your posts.

There are a couple of other ways you could generate revenue, but we will keep it simple. If you do this, you aren't actually using the platform for anything other than a "printing press." What I mean is, if you have an insane amount of Steem Power as you say, and you are using it for self upvoting, and buying votes, then you aren't actually making the money, you're actually just partaking in practices that have questionable ethics. 

The dream for most of us is to be able to make a decent income blogging on Steemit, while receiving generous upvotes that supply a steady stream of income, and getting paid to do things we love.  This would require no upfront investment, and it would be a bloggers paradise,  with hoards of people adding content rich blogs to the blockchain, but that doesn't mean everyone is going to be good at writting/blogging, and it doesn't mean we are all going to make a decent income at it, even if things were a little more fair. 

The reality of what the Steem blockchain is right now, can more accurately be described as a capitalist market. Money makes money here, but things are changing I believe. I am starting to see a shift. Nice dapps are emerging, many non-serious enthusiasts are leaving, and the one's that are sticking around want to see Steem succeed. This is good for the economy. I find it very exciting.

Right now is a good time to make Steem. I wouldn't give up on the possibility of making a nice income on Steem platforms, but at the same time, set realistic goals for yourself, and don't invest more than you can afford to lose. 

I hope my response helps.