The idea about making a technology that promoted quality content has been around for a long time - Slashdot's karma system for example.

Steemit has a strong libertarian ideology behind it and is a bit undecisive in what it has to achieve. I am of course interested in a platform that promotes quality blogging, but I also know that the hunt for money is a driving force in the way value is added to the network. I am here for the money myself at least partly (I am also here because I am interested in ways quality content can be monetised by the creator directly skipping the classical middlemen like record-companies, editors and gallerists). I think @felixxx wrote an interesting piece, but as everybody else I can only second guess what will work and I do think that no technology will force a community to behave in a special way - only the people involved can shape that - so like you I try to behave like a good citizen and upvote quality, but...