Man, this is so true. I was sighing as I read what you're saying because I've experienced it all. Well, mostly. I started on Blogger around 2007 or so. In 2008 I switched over to Wordpress where I've been ever since. Did the works on it: created a lead magnet to get subscribers, kept tweaking the popup to get better results. And, honestly, it's just been so much work and hasn't really paid off. It's been frustrating.
I write because I need to create. I need to share. It's what I do. So, for me, it's been nice to have Steemit because it allows me to share leadership lessons and other things, which I wouldn't normally share on my personal blog. I do pray for the day in which Steemit begins to turn the corner into better material, like Medium, but we'll see. For now, I keep writing and sharing on here.
Finally, one thing that Steemit has going for it is how easy it is to write. I go to the website, the POST button is prominently staring at me. You can just jump right in. On my Wordpress blog, just logging in is a little but of a hassle. I have all kinds of security measures in place, because it's gotten hacked before, that just logging in is a stressful experience for me.
Oh well.
RE: The Over-Engineering Of Blogging