Steemit's problem is not with its promotion, but rather with how the platform is designed, especially with regards to how curator rewards are allocated. I realize that it is done by a rather complicated algorithm, but that is the whole point. The algorithm is designed to reward a very few at the top, while allowing next to nothing to the overwhelming majority of members.
Are you suggesting that curation rewards shouldn't depend on the the size of the voting stake used? It costs money to buy Steem Power. Therefore, the more Steem Power you own, the more you should be paid for curating.
Once new members understand how their anticipated rewards are actually being calculated, and that in reality, they receive virtually nothing for their time and efforts, they will leave the platform faster than they came. So without massive changes to the reward system, no amount of promotion will save the Steemit platform. It is doomed to failure by its very design. If nothing changes for the better, when it will fail is just a matter of time, but it will fail.
How much do they get paid on Facebook for liking posts again?
Steem is not a country.
Besides, why would anyone ever want to power up if they weren't allowed to earn curation rewards? To self vote? How do you think that would motivate any stakeholder to curate?
You don't have to own any more Steem Power than what Steemit, Inc delegates to you for free when you have an account created for you to upvote a post.
Complete rubbish. Anyone can make money on their content on Steem and the threshold for that is MUCH LOWER than on Facebook. Not everyone automatically does. Steem is not a welfare provider. You can't help but spend time networking and providing quality content and that's the way it should be.
Certainly not for the reasons you are proposing.
Steem is a tiny platform in comparison to most other social media platforms. Yet, it has delivered $100 million dollars worth of author rewards in the four years or so it has existed. Despite such generosity on part of investors, there are users on it bitching and moaning for more. There are thousands of users on Steem that are making orders of magnitude more than they could on any other platform. If Steem is going to die, it may do so because it being TOO generous.