The lack of instant gratification makes this more exclusive, I'm not sure we want everybody flocking over here yet. We are still in beta, that means more testing and development!

Also, @mattclarke had a great post about why the 7 day payout is a feature, not a drawback. It keeps newbies able to earn, for example.

Lots of cool new stuff on its way, we are pioneers here! There is a certain freedom on this test site called steemit, but the steem blockchain is home to a wonderful number of dapps, as you mentioned. The future is bright!