Sorry I missed this for so long!
Absolutely. Steem has always been about the apps and the communities here for me. Earning Steem rewards is great and all, but you'll never make a full-time living from that unless you invest in a massive amount of Steem.
Instead, users ought to join these niche communities and build themselves from there. They can earn outsized returns by doing so and it's an amazing thing to be a part of a like-minded community like Palnet or any other communities that spring up.