@paps I like these types of contemplative posts about the success of Steemit. I am committed to the platform and would like to see it grow over time. Regarding your first point, on the perception of the value of Steem in $ terms; it would depend on a few factors (non-exhaustive):

• growing subscriber base
• more active users creating compelling content that cannot be found on other channels (or at least published in Steemit first)
• advocacy by Steemians when they describe their success with publishing in Steemit, nurturing relationships formed and the growing size of their wallets
• the perceived future value of the platform as more projects are conceived with the umbilical cords to Steemit - utopian-io, marketsplaces, etc.

It would be an interesting idea for content consumers to earn some 'points' for the number of visits to the Steemit platform, the number of posts that they view, the number of posts that they share with their networks, etc. without having the pressure to create any content. They may have language issues (some read & speak better than they write), time constraints, lack of creative stamina, etc.

For an audience that is constantly distracted, video content with some gamification element may be a good way to promote Steemit to a larger audience.

Thank you for your post!