The snobbery is real.
I've seen people make comments like 'it takes 3 hours to write a post' because they have some sort of mindset that posts on STEEM should have journalistic standards.
Which is exactly wrong.
STEEM is a cryptocurrency with a text-in-block feature. It is not a blogging platform. Steemit.com was created as one app to encourage the use of the chain, and with that use, increase the value of the cryptocurrency.
So yes, appealing to masses of users is the key to making the whole STEEM project successful. "Spam" away with your low effort posts! Of course, just like you might get downvotes on reddit for no particular reason, you might get flags here. Such is the freedom of the marketplace.
Self-voted just because