RE: Adding value / Is Steem the place for a blog? / 're-up parroting'
You raise a lot of good points. Everything we post should have value, but very little of it actually does. I try and resteem posts that I think are interesting, but now I'm at the point where I start running out of bandwidth unless I dial it back. There's just so many awesome people out here!
One thing I've learned very quickly is to build a network of people you think are cool, and just stick to that feed. Don't waste your time with created, it's not that great. Build meaninful relationships with the people you follow, and your overall enjoyment of the site will follow accordingly.
I do believe Steemit is trying to figure itself out, though. There's a lot of things going on, all at once, and it can be difficult to figure out which ones are where and what's worth pursuing. Should Steemit figure this out, we should see a very interesting scenario where we have a google-like umbrella that is run by a whole group of awesome people.
That's a good lesson to have learned quickly. Not to make Steemit an echo chamber but to find people with challenging ideas, that encourage you to think, participate, and to grow.
And to make things engaging, no? You'd rather see the new posts from the people you follow rather than a bunch of spam from randos.