Good point about the incentive. It's true that it can be optimized a bit to make it a bit more clear what will be the benefits of being a member. With some better marketing. The sign up process of getting an account and be approved clearly needs to be faster in the future. But sign in to other websites I haven't found to be an issue since you can save your details. And it doesn't take that long to even input your information.

Right now on Steemit clearly to be rewarded it's best to focus on the comment section and produce high-quality content there. Isn't that 75% of the value of a blog post page anyway. Most want to hear other peoples opinions. The comment section is underrated.

Perhaps some recommendation engine on the side would be a good idea. Of articles created in the last 7 days. Like YouTube does with videos. That would surely increase the engagement. How passive new users will be can be interesting to see. Since they are used to that on the other platforms. Will they keep that behaviour on Steemit or will more switch into an engaged mode and produce value?

Isn't the biggest value on this site still that you can build more trustful connections with other people by using trust and reputation as a system? Since that can truly create lifetime connections! To create a competitor site to Steemit you would need more geeks right? Since there is lots of technical things that needs to be done right. Think that is why the market in competition has been so slow to react. It's just too complicated still!