ok, so I have a question... are you using steem for the community tools? or for the free money / monetization aspects of the platform?
The two are completely separate... you can use steem as a tool for your community without this cool kids club you mention being anything more annoying then a few mosquitos when camping... you don't HAVE to engage them to communication with your buddies and pals... I know when viewing friends posts that are hidden due to low ratings, etc,... I just click as though it was a NSFW tag... oh noes, a click to see a friendly post..
I've put fiat into steem also, around $850 i think my last calculations were, and look at me now, over a year later and chilling at a cool $250/ ish... am I butthurt? nah, its part of the ebb and flow of life, some hobbies and tools cost more than others, some pay back and some don't,... steem is a communication platform first, a trading/barter community second...
what are you exactly complaining about here? what unpopular fights are you trying to get people with money to give a shit about? you are literally sitting in a sandbox with 100 other kids complaining that others are taking sand from YOUR area... when its all OUR area.. we are all playing here, loud annoying obnoxious kids that destroy other kids sand castles eventually will get pushed off the playground,...

looking at some of your previous posts,
https://steemit.com/life/@ericwilson/hobby-hopping-and-content-creation-blues
is a cool post, a spin on the de-motivational posters, a strong solid motivational post. I like the question presented, and offer this,...
when your spoons are low, focus on your basics.. mazlow has you covered here for the basics.. past that, finding a self-actualizing flow, i feel, starts with finding your passions previously in life, those things that you skipped food and sleep for... and finding what about those tasks you did enjoy, this isn't a disruption to the spoon metaphor / energy draining, this is rejuvenating... these things you used to spend countless hours in offer shards and seeds to plant for future endeavors, maybe you loved playing the world of warcraft auction house, ok, use those skills and play the stock market or investing game.

idk, smoke some more weed and chill on your entitlements... ^>^
oh, and yea, steem sure has its issues, ITS A MIRROR OF THE REAL WORLD!!! the gold rush in california started with a few buddies goin out to some random hills and getting lucky... you think they didn't milk it for all it was worth before telling anyone else about it? i dont know about you, but I cant name one of those old rich fucks that made it in that first wave,... and some of them had piles millions bigger then the others... yet here we are in a society that eventually distributed that wealth to those that think a little about those types of things... the rest of us slaves just keep going from shiny to shiny, complaining about that elusive amazing future,... simply because we don't think about the things that matter,... spending less, eating better, wasting less time, walking more, being mindful of your breath....
I could go on all day, but im probably beating a dead horse here already...
but hey, ENJOY STEEM!!! its a solid platform with a beautiful api to build on...