I woke up this morning with a simpler way to look at this. I imagined the Steemit ROI question in terms of a relationship. The old paradigm (@stellabelle referred to as commodity paradigm) is like entering into a new relationship thinking about what the other person can do for you. The paradigm shift is that point in a relationship when it stops being about yourself and honestly becomes about what you can do to help your partner.
Most of the folks I have encountered so far on Steemit who are successful in terms of large followings, lots of SP, high reputation - the measurable metrics - all seem to have things that they are doing to help the platform. Personal projects to give back to Steemit. And that seems to be driving a lot of the engagement in a positive feedback loop. They are in healthy relationships with Steemit.