I have read all the part of this Convergence series. Really, wonderful observation and rational prediction :)
Another way to look is to how STEEM can see the exponential growth is look for how much talents STEEM is recruiting through these DApps. When Litceoin (LTC) was released by then BTC developer, Charlie Lee, it attracted lots of BTC developers and developers from other fields. Now LTC is riding on this success from the hard work of talented developers. Now I think of steem blockchains, it has attracted not only talented developers such as @jesta, @timcliff, @good-karma, @someguy123, @utopian-io, also creators from all over the worlds @samseder, @davidpakman, @jerrybanfields etc. It is also creating a network-effect of talent recruitment. Moreover, steem is finding new talents through steemit, Dtube, utopian-io, steeoshot etc. Since success of a company or organization mostly depends on the leadership and top-level talents. STEEM has attracted a plethora of talents from all over the world. Therefore, STEEM will be developed and get better non-like any other cryptocurrency. It will be a Top 5 cryptocurrency (AGAIN) in coming years!