I personally dont think Steemit really matters much anymore. It is the most used application now but that is only because it was the first. Once HF20 takes place, apps will be able to onboard their own users meaning Steemit isnt even needed for that.
As for the whales, if you look at not only the total amount, but the percentage of the overall, you will see they dropped a great deal. This is a trend that dates back to March 2017 when I first started looking at the numbers. Yes they have power but it is a lot less than they had.
If you believe that steemit is not that good and you believe that steemit is not the future, why are you using it?