Biz dev skills are especially useful here, and I think looking into cryptos should be encouraged, which is why Steem-like currencies are especially useful and relevant for the mainstream domain. Really doesn't matter if you're technically inclined or not - we can all have good conversations about these stuff lol. Basically, if you have any problems worth solving, try including tokens as part of the solution! It wouldn't work 99% of the time, but it'll be great if 1% of the experiments work :)
Maybe Steem's already the killer core app, just needs time to grow and mature in other ways, adding to its utility. But I suspect SMTs will alleviate some of the burdens of community conflicts and such, make them more niche and separated. Maybe not.. will see lol.
There is such a saying "How to call a ship, so it will float" .So the design should be approached very seriously.