Ethereum Classic, despite having no central organizing committee, has managed to attract many kinds of participants at various points in time who have come and gone and all contributed and shaped it in their own way. ETC's greatest strength lies in its philosophy and principles, which can be spread even without billions of dollars of marketing because their value is self-evident, and bright minds gravitate toward them.
There is no way to compete traditionally with a billion dollar budget VC-backed blockchain in the short term. Those projects are sure to attract immediate attention, but this reliance on centralized funding and direction comes at the price of long term sustainability.
As the good word of Ethereum Classic is spread, and people get deeper into understanding the true value of blockchains, ETC is going to keep delivering on the Original Ethereum Vision of "Build Unstoppable Applications" and will become quietly, steadily but inevitably more useful and valuable, without a central budget in sight.
This section contains a selection of contributions from community members that feed into the source of ETC's strength, by providing intel and philosophical ordnance that can be deployed in the battle of winning hearts and minds.