Thank you everyone for your support, particularly @Steemstem and @teamaustralia can I share some observations for my first 47 days.
The Pros.
I was looking at a blogging platform and actually Steemit with markdown I feel is quite simple to use (I don't mind messing around with codes). I looked at Reddit, Medium as well as one of our biggest astronomy forums (www.cloudynights.com).
Reward system is great (and might come in handy for pocket money). To me this is a nice benefit even if the reward amounts were to become half or a third of what they currently are. Typically if I write an article for a magazine I might get $150 if I'm lucky and generally there is more work involved.
Sense of Community feels strong. Thanks to @teamaustralia and @steemstem. I see these guys organising events and so forth which no doubt means they sacrifice a lot of their own time. I also see them supporting members, even if they are feeling down. The job you guys are doing is admirable.
I really enjoy blogging, including doing the diagrams, etc. More than I thought actually!
The Cons.
Voting power is too leveraged to STEEM power. I know this is what makes Steemit work, but if you upset the wrong person here they can sink you.
There is not too much original content in my own field of astronomy, a lot of rated articles remind me of school assignments. What is the attraction of the Steemit platform if I can already get this information from wikipedia?
Related to the last point, if I make a post on my facebook and twitter feed, again in my astronomy circle, I'll often get responses from a lot of people and sometimes from people who I would consider experts in their field. Replies here are pretty sparce....even if the post has high ratings. Look at my last post on facebook and you will see what I mean.
Anyway, I am interested in comments/counter comments below.
Terry