People are way, way too focused on Steemit.com. It's but one UI to the blockchain and quite crappy at that.
It will be much easier to get people to join Steem if onboarding is done via an app that they can use for what they really enjoy. Very few people are bloggers anyway. If any of your friends like to share cool links and stuff, you should point them to DLike and forget about Steemit.com altogether.
I like using steemit only, it loads the fastest, does not have all the js load issues the other sites have, I tolerate partiko for convenience but if I want to actually browse etc I use steemit, my backup would have to be steempeak obviously they do great work but the interface bugs me and the last time I used it on mobile I could not even vote. Alas the infiltration of js into all the sites is just an evil we will have to live with or is it that the devs give pretty over functional the benefit? As for an everything bucket I like steemit, until we get a utility app that then embeds all these other interfaces inside it easily with a single point of entry the specific sites like dlike are a hassle and only worth considering because they tag your post with their app and then you get your votes etc. and sure because they provide only the fields required to post that is convenience. Alas elements like that can be built into a single interface and you can just go into @dlike, @dtube or @actifit mode if you wish
It's simple and clear. That's why I still use it half of the time. I admit Steempeak has organized things better on their front page so that those newbies who go there, perhaps aren't repelled away because of all those tags that they have no interest in.
It is crappy. Simple but crappy. And we shouldn't accept that. Simple yes but not crappy. As long as there are people who might stumble upon Steemit.com first, we should demand at least a wee bit better appearance and usability.
It's like if someone is looking for a house that they do not want to renovate before moving there. Then it's no use for the dealer to say: "Sure it has a crappy outer walls and a leaky roof, but look at all the cool appliances inside! The fancy interior floors and cools gadgets. Sure it has multiple crossing stairs that lead everywhere, you get the hang of the stairs after few months when you've gone up and down those again and again." :)
Let's not forget the minority. :)
The problem with my friends is not Steemits fault. It's the word crypto and all the things they have to learn in order to use Steemit safely. That's "too hard" for them as they would say. I know their opinions about crypto currencies so I just choose to shut up.
Your friends are not the early adopting type. The world is changing faster than ever, which means that early adopters get paid for being early adopters better than ever. Of course, you have to pick the right things to adopt early to have a payday in the first place but there are more opportunities than ever before.
This is very much an early stage for Steem and for the blockchain. We're constantly moving towards a better, more user friendly experience geared towards the masses. At one point in the distant past, a command line client was all there was for Steem. All the Steem whales mined their accounts when even Steemit did not exist.
But they are! Unfortunately not in crypto currencies. I don't know if it's a Finnish thing or universal, but it seems that they have this crypto = scam written in their brain so... There really is nothing I can say. And how many times have I heard the phrase: "Crypto currencies are not here to stay!" HA, I say!
So we are! Let the early adopters of everything else than crypto or blockchaintechnology adopt something else what they think is more important and valuable. :)