The money is a great part of steemit, it gives you an incentive to put time and effort into your posts. As the curation, posting and payouts continue to refine I think this will be an fantastic platform for great content. (It already is, but I think it will get much better with time.)
People like to stick to what's easy for them, it takes a lot to get them to jump into something new. I believe that the fact that you can make a few bucks is one of the things that will get people off of the social media they're used to and on to Steemit.
I have no doubt that the community building will be something that comes up in the future of steemit, but it seems like the core is motivating to keep creating and curating great stuff.
Thanks for the post!