Indeed! And that is a tough question.

I'd honestly have no idea how to make it so that money is not the main focus. The whole concept sort of evolves around it and it is a major strength / selling point too.

One could suggest that Steemit changes the way it displays the current value of a post (e.g. change it to display STEEM instead of $), as to make it less obvious. But again, we'd be messing with a selling point too. Stuffing it away would also go at the cost of transparency, so that's not worth it either, since transparency is another thing Steemit has - something far most other social media platforms definitely have not.

I might be wrong about the vibe on Steemit being/becoming a big problem, but that's what keeps me from using it properly/frequently.

It might just be me! It might be just a phase Steemit is going through. Or maybe it is just indicating a need for site-wide moderators to keep an eye on fraudulent or spam-like posts/comments, as Steemit grows in popularity.

Either way, combine that with all the points you listed too, and there's plenty Steemit could (and should, for the price'/growth's sake) improve on!

It still has major potential, so I'll be watching from the sidelines for sure! :)