@dana-edwards This is a well thought out post. It could work in theory but there are some issues which you called out. I also want to mention that Storj is not going to work because you need to keep paying or your data goes away.
Here is what I recommend for steemit. You have direct access to your master private key. It's over in settings.
Make sure to get that key and paste it into a plain text file.
Now use scrypt and set the password to something you know and will never forget, for instance your drivers license number, social security number or your favorite quote from your favorite author.
Take the encrypted text, and find a picture that means something emotional to you.
Next grab a steganographic application like this one...
https://sourceforge.net/projects/stegoshare/?source=directory
Put the stego app itself on a thumb drive and then run it to hide the encrypted text file "inside" the image.
Next copy the image with the embedded encrypted text file to the thumb drive as well. (extra backup in case you forget)
Now simply upload the image to the blockchain as a normal part of a regular posting.
With steganography no one will know you've hidden an image in there.
Now if you forget your password you don't have to rely on anyone to get it back. You have your thumb drive but if that gets lost damaged or stolen, you still have everything you need sitting right there on the blockchain.
I may actually do a blog posting about this.
This defeats the whole point. The point is to make it something everyone can do not just cryptographers. It should be one step, not ten. There is too much room for error in the manual approach.
@dana-edwards Ok fair enough, let me see what I can come up with. Losing passwords is a hobby of mine unfortunately :(