I think, inadvertantly and due to frustrations of the bear market Steem is creating a great foundation.
Better sign up options. The invite token helps to stream line the sign up process as well (but the account has no SP).
More articles written about steem by 3rd party (most recently about the dao), more content on social media like twitter and reddit, and more successful dabs.
Tribes with leaders buying up stake on the platform so they have a voice in the direction and it helps more people to be seen and earning faster.
Better communication by all in general.