RE: And maybe it's as simple as that. Steem thoughts.
For me it's not up to Steem inc to put effort and attention into who is going to use those apps. For me, their key roll is providing the app makers with all the tools they need to do that themselves.
Not being able to sign up your own users is one of the things that is holding everything back. The process is not friction free, it's not a nice first experience. It will be addressed in HF20. I think it's a hugely important update.
Second is of course SMT's. The reward model of STEEM is great but also has it flaws. Being able to come up with your own reward model and a ton of other parameters to reward and incentive users to use your product is fantastic.
Those two combined alone will bring the Steem blockchain to the next level and it's all powered by steem.