OF COURSE IT"S ABOUT THE MONEY - but for many of us it's about the money we really don't have but want to support certain people or specific content in a genuine and practical way.
I've already attracted an actual world-renowned author, composer, and musical director ( @somtow ) to sign up here- (and I'm absolutely nobody in the world, just a friend who admires his work) because the many, many hours of wonderful content he's GIVEN (in the sense of posting to FB, and YT, etc.) to the world has been almost exclusively monetized by others, and practically not a bit for him. So far, it's only been a few dollars on Steemit- but it could grow to the level of being a major supporter for his work (and it's powerfully positive work he's been doing for decades now).