The growth comes from social interaction with one another and by individuals adding value to the community. For those that add value, they do well. I've also seen many who end up begging for support, upvotes, etc and they won't find much support here as a result. This platform demands that everyone contribute as everyone has value to contribute. The challenge is for people to find the calling and engage it so that they can do well. The community rewards that initiative and commitment.
On top of that, curating, commenting on posts and performing full on participation can bring all kinds of rewards and get people noticed. There is lots that people can do here to provide for the community.
An eco-system which acknowledges that everyone has something to contribute is incredible.
The challenge for me and other newbies, as you point out, is to explore and figure out what this value can be.
Thank you for the insight.