I totally agree that there is a steep learning curve for Steem and we really have to dumb things down by a lot to bring people in. The dashboard idea is great and I will love to see it.
Will be nice to have the dashboard separated into beginners, intermediate and advanced users. Basic users have to know things like how to manage their keys, post and vote. Posting and voting requires RC, hence that should be briefly described as well.
Intermediate users probably will start to be able to appreciate the concept of STEEM and SP, delegations, transactions, SE tokens and tribes. Advanced users will probably want to know how the blockchain really work, what's DPoS, witnesses and stuff like that.
The idea is to get users running as soon as they have their accounts. I am personally driving an initiative called #raiseto50. Details here. The idea is to delegate new users up to 50SP so that they can hit the road running without much friction. The delegator, at the same time, will serve as a mentor to the new Steemian forging new and stronger relationships