I don't know about you, but I find that I can respond easier via messenger or the such when asked a specific question rather than writing a blog post about the same question, with no immediate audience.
I think I enjoy knowing there is someone actively listening, waiting for my words to tumble out of the interwebs, and that - in turn - motivates and inspires me in ways that blogging just....doesn't.
It feels like my time and ideas aren't wasted effort, even if the active listener doesn't agree with or necessarily enjoy the subject matter. It's not that their opinion doesn't matter - it does - but it doesn't feel as disheartening. There isn't the feeling of dread that I have when I blog, and more importantly, the gut-churning anxiety while I wait to see if someone - anyone - comments.
And if it ends up being a negative comment, for some reason, it hits me harder than it seems like it should.

One of the reasons I like Steemit is because if people enjoy my posts, it can be shown with "money" and not a meaningless "Like". Additionally, comments allow me to not only interact with my readers, but also reward them with upvotes, which is nice.

Sorry this comment went so long, and probably didn't address anything you did in your post. It kind of got away from me....