So... the cloud... is basically off site storage for data? It's not even a new idea, it's just a new name for it.

Is it as big of a scam as I believe it to be?

Everything I see about it says it's the best thing ever but it seems to me like It's just a scam to ensure people maintain a subscription to a service to maintain access to their data, I see nothing but downsides to it especially since harddrives so compact and always getting better.

Is there anything good about the cloud other than more money for the companies that run them?

... digital hipsters like myself have been using the term for quite a few years .

Nope. I invested in a memory card for my phone so it has 32GBs thats more than enough for anything I'd use my phone to run.
The Cloud is just an invention by these providers to make money. By holding your data for you because you can't hold it yourself.

Money is nice, and when money is nice, people are going to do anything they can to attain vast amounts of it. I.E. The Cloud!

lol well its anything but a scam. considering most dumb ass consumers will make a mockery of what you are saying about their habits of being a dumb ass consumer..

Instead of storing your stuff locally, with an internet connection you are able to access it anywhere. voilà