Thank you for this good overview @starkerz I'd like to add two things.
Keeping value in the system is easier when there is something you can actually buy with STEEM. That's why I like the business model of @dstors. It gives every Steemian the possibility to unfold economic activity within the STEEM-ecosystem.
Driving the speculative perception-based value is the second thing everybody can do, blogging outside of Steem and spreading the word about the good solutions being built on Steem. Maybe this could be coordinated in some way!?
Absolutely!! Check out @share2steem!! This is the perfect app for doing this sharing outside but still being rewarded using the steem reward mechanism
And I just read about steemapps.com - exactly what is needed to drive speculative value: https://steemit.com/steem/@therealwolf/alpha-steemapps-com-the-frontpage-for-apps-on-steem