It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out.
I think for starters, expectations need to be managed. The reality is, many people will NOT make significant money from their content which is perfectly okay.
I think when we and other Steemit users introduce Steemit to our family and friends we need to share our experience open and honestly..
Instead of "You have to join this site! You can make bank by posting content!," We can experiment with reframing it such as "This site is really cool, it's an awesome place I get to test content and make some awesome friends."
I do think, as you mentioned, making it easier for newcomers to discover content related to "how to" Steemit will help significantly. I also think that the reality of most social networks, for example Reddit, the behavior is to lurk and consume rather produce. That being said, one of the reasons i'm so excited about Steemit is because it may encourage former "lurkers" to dive in and share their story in a way that people can relate.
I think as a community we must do our best to be as welcoming as possible which I feel you've done a great job of doing @stellabelle. I also think we should continue to reward content that is actually good rather than just upvote people in hopes they will notice you.
I'm super excited as you can tell to see the future of Steemit and I'm glad there are many people like you Stella here that will make the Steemit community a better place. :)
I think you're right @aboundlessworld that many people will not make significant money, and that is okay. I also think that once this community becomes diverse and large enough, it's possible that whales will get somewhat smaller, dolphins will become more prevalent, and minnow populations will decrease in size as they have more access to dolphin waters. Minnows like me should have every opportunity to become dolphins with hard work and patience, without the miracle of a helpful whale. That's what competition tends to do - increase the population in the middle and give everyone (willing to work it) access to higher levels. But it will take time. I'm excited to see this environment and how it will be played out a year from now.