I don't think that you are right about Youtube.
On Youtube, it is extremely hard to create good content, to rank content, to get noticed but it is possible, and the earnings are evergreen! So theoretically you could make money only by posting 1 video with 1 affiliate link or even 1 product for the rest of your life, Youtube will never ever delete your video..only if's hate speech racism etc.
Of course, it isn't that easy, but I think you are getting rewarded for what you are doing. Nobody will ever have a chance on Youtube by filming himself talking a few minutes about random stuff. Why? Have a look at https://keywordtool.io
It's simple people aren't looking for "Vlog Name...". Because nobody knows that you exist. Also, I don't think that you need good equipment as long as people can relate to it, or a looking for these specific videos. You can influence it for sure if you have a lot of money but it seems that Steem has the same problem.
Just an example: I can spend hours or days on recording/editing a video where I know for sure that people would watch it on Youtube (because you can check it with the Keyword tools...)But when I am uploading it on Dtube it doesn't get any upvotes... But I can spend minutes talking about random stuff an make a lot of money. I assume that it is because people can relate to it, because in some way we all have the same interest which is cryptocurrency, but we want to grow the platform right?
This makes it really hard to create good content for Dtube, because people spend hours and hours on a video and users can't watch it most of the time, and it has no SEO etc.. so nobody will ever find it... It's demotivating at the same time...I can go on and on...
I love Steem and the community and that's why I am still here and I do get all the other points, however, I think that this is a serious problem and that's the reason why most people left or adapted their content...
Would love to hear your opinion about it!