A lot of the dead accounts are from the early days and some people managed to create hundreds to try and exploit Steem. I know Steemit are still adding hundreds of people every week and we need to do what we can to keep them active. Steem needs much more growth to be taken seriously.
When I buy you an SBI share I also get one, but it's a long payback time. I really do not mind that. It's just another incentive to keep posting.