Regarding the last point, it is important to keep in mind that what makes a cryptocurrency blockchain work is that the token has value. If the value fades away, then everything else (nodes, developers, users, even reliable witnesses) fades away with it. And conversely as the value grows the entire ecosystem becomes stronger.

Value and the investors who play a huge role in determining that value are incredibly important, and that in turn depends on effectively communicating the work being done, the goals, and the progress being made (and what better way to show progress than actual releases at a consistent pace?). The difference between marketing and hype is that marketing communicates the actual value of the actual work and hype is based on fabrication and exaggeration.