RE: The Steemit Echo Chamber - Why we need to change
I understand why you might think this but also consider that it is still a revolutionary and relatively brand new website. A lot of people don't understand it yet, including me as you can see this is my first comment. This may be why the circle jerk type posts are upvoted.
I think it may just be a phenomenon that will slowly diminish as the novelty of the site wears off and people start to get used to it as a concept. Until then many users are searching for "the catch" of writing for free due to not reading the white pages completely (guilty).
Give the site some time to gain equilibrium and new content. Posts like these aren't bad for the site, I just think the project is just currently scaling and as a result we get the kind of front page content that is frustrating. It isn't a sign of the site failing though, think of it as growing pains.
To me it's kind of like how Facebook shows you content based on what you 'like' or give attention too. If we keep up the current trend we run the risk of creating a bubble for ourselves and miss out on what may be great content. You're probably right though, the site is still quite new and given time it might balance itself out naturally. Anyway, thanks for reading my post.