Well i think reward pool still has a place and I'm trying to figure out the balance with providing it a place on the UI and not making it too much the center of the UI.

On another note i think that for large content creators there is a usage for rewards pool... it's for them to get a decent amount of steem so that their vote is seen as motivating to their viewers. They can use votes to influence action.

• Make content about this thing
• Comment on the post
• Take a picture of you at our show
• Mention our blog on twitter
• Tell use your favorite...
• Do this poll
• Tell us what you think about this product from our sponsor

All those things are INFLUENCE and if having some voting power even if it doesn't change a life is still influence to do some good and that's what they like and that's also what their sponsors pay them big money for. So reward pool isn't for creators to earn from as much as it's a tool to interact with their audience ... well that's my opinion.