Could be :) A lot depends on what the Whales/Founders want the site to be, who are their target user groups, what their long term goal is... Right now they're pitching to Widest Common Denominator, I think - pushing up the content that gets new users to A, stay, and B, to think "that could be me!"
The last few days, I've definitely seen fewer Steemfomercials in the Trending category and a wider variety of content, so that's a good sign.
I definitely got gold fever the first few days. "All I have to do is intro myself, and profit!" Nope. As you say, compromising = adding your voice to the sound of the crowd, and nobody's going to remember who you are and what you say, if you're saying pretty much what everyone else is saying...
I'm okay now with the micropayments I'm making. It's really only a handful of people at this point who can "make you," but I think over time new whales might bring more diversity to the "made men."
RE: How Steemit's "24 hour news cycle" discourages good content and user interaction