I don't know if gamification is the answer to Steemit's problems but there is a lot of work needed in simplify the user's experience, is a trouble for all newbies to fully understand the way this network works, if the gamification goes in that direction, I mean that if manages to do the learning process more comfortable for the new user then it might be a solution, if we complicate too much the things in that gamification we could manage to do the network still harder to understand.

Good article, you have here some interesting points.