Yes! I'm so looking forward to communities! I'm doing okay now, but a few months ago I was really struggling and being able to stand out in smaller communities would've really helped me. I think this is key for small minnows and will allow them to exist, grow and even thrive perhaps. Right now they just can't get through the shouting match that is the Hot and Trending pages. All they can hope for is a random passerby from the New section.. and how many dolphins and whales sift through that? Almost none... But in communities the whales and minnows would easily mingle and meet!
Especially if it evolves like Reddit, where /r/btc is the go to place for Bitcoin news.. We need Steemit Bitcoin communities where people come to visit to read the latest news! Even a newbie could make a valuable contribution and get noticed, just like on reddit.
And yes, making money while socializing is totally addictive. I too kind of get a kick out of doling out upvotes even though I can't give too much yet. Sometimes I get hit by a whalevote and my mind is blown.. right now I have one comment that three whales upvoted to $10 and I'm like "Whoa!!" and even moreso with today's SBD prices. I mean, whoa!!
I believe that communities will be similar to Reddit, from what I understand. It might be supposition on the part of some but I believe I was reading a post by the developers who talked in that manner...in fact, it cited Reddit and their userbase...so I feel it will be similar...
It is hard in the continually moving stream to get noticed. Communities will eliminate that completely.
Steemit being the defacto news source for people would be amazing...you arent the first person who mentioned that to me...it is a wonderful idea.