I'm coming late to this, as I've been away for a few days.
Even with Steem as low as it is now, by investing just a few hundred dollars in Steem, even if you never post or curate, you can earn more passive income than you would with most bank accounts. So I think the reason for the trading doldrums is due to the "ignorance of the masses". Sorry if that seems patronising, but I think it's true - where finances are concerned. Most people don't invest in anything until they see it start to boom, by which time the big gains have already been made. Few people try to learn anything about a company or crypto before they invest in it.
I invested in Ethereum in the crowdsale (unfortunately I sold out too early!). I just thought it sounded amazing, and I told all my friends and family, blogged, tweeted and Facebooked about it. But no one took the slightest bit of interest. When it suddenly exploded, a couple of people said to me, "Hey - have you heard about this Ethereum thing? I'm going to invest in it!"
Even today, people sometimes say to me, "What do you think of this Budcon thing?"
It's frustrating, but we are really really early adopters of Steem. In general, markets do not follow logic or rationality. There are no guarantees. But I think Steem's time will come.