Although there has been no significant push-back by traditional platforms yet, but if Steemit were to become extremely popular the push-back from traditional sites would be abundant.
I have no intention to discuss any opinions on how to achieve this type of success, but in my opinion Steemit does hold serious potential to achieve long term success. I was thinking about about what the site would look like if it were to get a huge increase in user base, and then I began to consider just how much influence firms like Facebook have over potential legislation and laws regarding to the internet. Facebook specifically spends over 8 million dollars per year on lobbying efforts. But remember that only accounts for specifically what Facebook the company spends, and doesn't account any of the contributions or "donations" that individuals and other groups could potentially make for Facebook to the same groups. The sheer quantity of resources that these groups posses pose a great danger for any new firms entering their specific market. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has a current personal net worth of over 55 billion dollars, and it would be completely logical to draw the conclusion that he would be willing to "invest" a huge amount of resources to protect the future of his "company".
The connections, resources, and influence these massive firms have, allow these platforms "unchecked" power when compared to other industries.
Has anyone considered why there seems to be such a little amount of discussion regarding Facebook and comparable firms irresponsible collection of their users' data? Facebook and other firms have legitimately written many of the rules regarding collection of user data, and were some of the main factors that led to the universal massive data collection that we see today. I cannot think of a single other industry where a handful of firms have the same level of influence that firms such as Google and Facebook have over internet related matters. It is common knowledge that these firms act as "contractors" for the government, and make it much easier for the government to run its mass surveillance programs and projects. Firms such as Google and Facebook that allow the government to spy and abuse the very same individuals who make their platforms successful don't grant the government this permission on good faith, they help the government run these types of programs because they know that this will give them much greater influence and control over the regulations regarding their markets.
With this abundant amount of power, resources, and influence it could be completely feasible to imagine firms like Facebook taking active and direct actions in an effort to slow or halt the progression of the Steemit platform. This action could come in the form of "advocating" for regulation regarding any number of aspects of Steemit, such as regulation regarding to Steem as a cryptocurrency. If regulation was established to make the sale and distribution of Steem harder, such as what New York has done through its Bitlicense, it could have a direct negative impact on the continued advancement of the Steemit platform as a whole. This is just one example but the point here is to show how these firm's abundant influence and resources could be pointed in the direction of Steemit. If we lived in a society where these types of firms didn't hold anymore influence than anyone else then this would not be an issue, but the fact of the matter is that these firms do hold a disproportional amount of power and influence over the regulations for their industries.
These firms are notorious for protecting their majority control of their industries, whether that's through extensive lawsuits or introduced legislation. The incredibly small number of firms holding such a large portion of influence is a very dangerous thing for innovation and advancement of new platforms and technologies. With a platform like Steemit, the US government is likely also to be against its advancement because of the fact that they know they wouldn't be granted any backdoor access and they would likely have a much harder time analyzing all of the data through their current algorithms.
Freedom cannot exist without personal privacy.
The US loves to tout it's love and prioritization of freedom for all, but all of their government actions regarding the internet have validated the exact opposite. In regards to the internet, the US government does not believe in personal privacy, free speech, or an open internet simply because it disables their ability to conduct global mass surveillance operations. Even with the first release of Vault 7 yesterday, I still believe it is highly unlikely that individuals will "wake up" to what types of behavior the US government is engaged in online. I must admit that I haven't had an adequate amount of time to examine the detail;s of many of the leaks, but even with just the few summary articles I have read the leaks simply confirm what many of us already knew was going on. The documents show the clear and distinct advancement of government surveillance programs, which I still don't believe is going to be enough of an influence to finally change the majority of societies feelings on unchecked and reckless government surveillance.
Steemit poses a direct threat to the continuation of the current platforms, and the governments ability to abuse those platforms.
In my opinion, the fact that Steemit poses a serious threat to the existing systems just validates its long term potential. If we are being objective, currently Steemit likely doesn't have an extensive negative impact on the traditional platforms yet, but with continued advancement of the platform it is completely reasonable that it may in the near future. If Steemit was to experience resistance after gaining popularity, then I think that reason cited for the the resistance would be something completely different from the true motivations behind the action. The government and firms such as Facebook have never once been honest with the public regarding their actions or motivations, so it would be illogical to believe any reason other than it makes the governments surveillance operations harder and has the potential to wake individuals up regarding Facebook's abuse of its users and inefficiencies.
As the public becomes more informed regarding the implications of the surveillance actions conducted by the government in collaboration with centralized firms, the environment may be perfect for the mainstream adoption of the Steemit platform. I have only been a daily user of the platform since the end of November, but the advancements and improvements that the platform has undergone so far have already outpaced my expectations. Imagine what the Steemit platform could look like in 2 or 3 years. If we take an objective look at the platform as it stands, its unlikely that the platform is currently ready for mainstream adoption.
This doesn't mean that the Steemit platform isn't great and beneficial currently, but simply that as time goes on the platform is likely to become more prepared and ready for mainstream adoption. The aspects of personal privacy, free speech, and users having the ability to take part in monetizing the content they generate,will continue to become more appealing to more individuals in society as societies' feelings continue to move more towards digital privacy and freedom. Individuals who are becoming more aware of the reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous actions that their government and major firms take against them will likely be much more responsive and incentive to join the Steemit platform, but especially if the platform continues to improve and mature. If nothing changes in terms of government surveillance programs' need for collaboration with various internet platforms and firms, then it is highly unlikely that Steemit would not be met with serious resistance upon adoption from legislation or regulation. But if the attitudes continue to change in favor of digital privacy, then the Steemit platform may have too much potential for even the government or other institutions to stop.