I believe that will change only when steem offers something more than a "blockchain solution".

I agree. I think it will take-off when an app emerges that people would want to use, even without rewards. Eventually, I think that will happen, but it's a lot slower than I had imagined when I got here.

I thought about a concept where people can publish academic journals and papers through the blockchain

I think @steemstem was initially working towards something along those lines. Not sure if they're still pursuing it or not.