steemit does need to improve its interface. and it's not just the outside looks. minnows don't stand a chance when most of the pool is dominated by a few whales. there's zero incentive for anybody to curate 'quality posts' (not to mention 'quality' is a very subjective term to begin with). super-linear curve on curation rewards doesn't guarantee anything not even in theory because it's just easier and more effective to collude & circle jerk.

steem has a lot of potential (which is why i still continue to be active here), but does @ned have enough humility to step back and be a facilitator for a mainstream platform? (instead of trying to be the centerpiece of it all?)