Currently I see a greater use for dtube and the meme site (I forget the name) that are attached to Steem than the blog section. You are 100% correct, bots manipulating votes, people posting crap or copy and paste from other sites or just posting a link to an article with no commentary.

For what Steem is currently, there is a lot to be desired, (basically a lot of what reddit offers only with money :)) but I guess that is where the big difference is, people can make a ton of money on youtube and other photo sites. Their activity on those sites is almost purely driven by what will get them more views, likes, shares whatever will result in more money ...

I agree with you, use Steem as your platform for what you are passionate about and any money made is just a bonus!