You have raised a huge range of issues here @ beanz and you have done it very well! Given that we would not be starting from here ... most would agree, why do we not start with the end-game of the short term horizon, that being going Alpha? Reverse engineering is a good way to approach such planning.
So, if we could establish what an Alphs steemit looks like, this would give the protocol/policy designs a better structure, rather than a 'suck it and see' approach. There will still be good and bad along the way but ... we seem to be a bit goalless in our HF developments.
Your appraisal of investors needs is very good, though I would add a few more metrics to it. Retention is one of the biggest metrics. Facebook users check in on average between 4 and 5 times per day. They spend 10-15 mins each visit.
Steemit to me, with its longer form posts is a better engagement format BUT it needs short format p2p and 'p2group' short form messaging built in, as an example.
Revenue generation is the sticky one. Corporate presence to a platform of pseudonyms? Multi-accounts and bot voting, flagging, the leverage % of SP and the openness to attack - facelessly?
These are complex conundrums. They need a better think tank than we seem to be operating under ... with a few notable exceptions. Thank you for the thought you have put into this. Namaste.