Another good post.
Google has kind of even abandoned PageRank to an extent. It worked well for a while and now it's a lot more complex.
I don't think Steem should or will follow in those same steps because Google changes PageRank due to the time it was in. We're now in a post-PageRank era because it doesn't work with how the world is today.
Voting is good but that can be abused and manipulated as well.
I really think a more complex method is needed even though it would be nice if it would be kept simple.