I enjoyed your analysis and agree with it. Steemit is a secret. Programmers write painstaking code for no guaranteed reward. Content creators write, design, paint, illustrate for no guaranteed reward. It's all done in a manner to make the platform a richer environment. Gifts are bestowed to the content that is deemed the most useful or valuable. Gifts are also given to those who also use charity to make steemit a stronger community. Good work.