7 days is too long to wait for rewards on a social media site.

Regular users want instant gratification. They want to do something and then get rewarded as quickly as reasonably possible.

Average users don't even remember what they posted on social media a week ago.

24 hour payout feels like social media vs. 7 day payout feels like a job (no one likes jobs)

Money should be moving faster not slower in the crypto economy.

Daily payouts open up a whole new world of business possibilities that can operate on a daily basis. Cryptocurrencies make it possible for people to be paid faster and more regularly.

24 hour payouts are a major feature of this new economy!

Gamification principal

24 hour payout window:

Post something. Get paid.
Post something. Get paid.
Post something. Get paid.
Post something. Get paid.

(Action. Followed by a reward which is obviously connected to that action. Users can then use that information instantly to improve their next post)

7 day payout window:

Post something. Wait.
Post something. Forget about it.
Post something. Wait.
Post something. Forget about it.

Get paid for something you forgot about.
Get paid for something you forgot about.
Get paid for something you forgot about.
Get paid for something you forgot about.

But people will make a little bit more money if it's 7 days.

Regular users are not concerned about maximizing profits. They just want to know that they've received money in their wallet.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". Users don't want their money in limbo for a whole week. They don't want 7 days of fear that their $40 pending payout is going to get flagged down to $20 on the last day.

Almost all votes are cast well within 24 hours. Why should we extend the timeframe 7x to accommodate for probably less than 0.10x more rewards.

7 days isn't new-user-friendly.

With a 24 hour payout period, new users can grasp, experience, and demo the full concept of Steemit in a couple days. If the payout is changed to 7 days then it will take more than a week for a new user to really experience how Steemit works (from post to payout).

"Come back next week sometime and we'll teach you how to use your wallet".

But isn't one payout period "simpler"??? even if it's longer?

Actually, length of time can make something more complicated. It's a lot more simple to keep track of something for one day than to keep track of a bunch of different things over the course of seven days.

Disclaimer:

I'm not saying I am right or that I have all the information. This is just my opinion right now based on the information that I have been exposed to. I also realize that there may be a bunch of undisclosed good reasons for changing to the 7 day payout period... I hope there are. But I really am scared that changing to 7 days is a major step in the wrong direction. If I'm missing something... please let me know!