"I will agree there are some cool applications on this blockchain that could be of interest to millions of people. That said, I do not believe there is enough on here to make STEEM a top 10 token. All the marketing in the world is not going to change that."

On reading this, at first I thought you sounded pessimistic. But on a closer look, I saw that point you were trying to pass across.

I used to think the de-emphasis in marketing of Steem was intentional. To be fair, I haven't seen any aggressive core marketing strategy for Steem. It seem the strategy is to let the platform grow itself, sell itself and attract new users.

But you raised a very important point; moving from Mass marketing to focussing on the "masses". I think that's a fool-proof way of working this out.

If more attention is paid on user experience, building applications, like you said, which users find irresistible, then, in no time, word would get out there, drawing more people in.

But I think I would rather a fusion of both strategies: Focus on the masses and a subtle, strategic and more aggressive form of advertising Steem to new investors and users.

Facebook didn't grow that geometrically merely because it had happy users. It did because it had happy users and invested heavily on advertisement(s), R&D and other key enablers.