there is a ''game'' for the new ones and it's called 30 days challenge. I don't know the exact rules but basically you have to stick 30 days on steemit before you give up and leave and if you then haven't found what you were looking for you can go out.

This kinda helps at least keep the newbies for a month in which they can understand how it works, meet new people and finally stay.

Another initiative i know of is that some people with high rep and voting power have created either in the form of a post or in the form of a new account a place where they show, upvote and resteem some quality intro posts!