@pharez, I don't think that this post is a must-read for newbies. It is a must-read for the people who have been around for awhile, and have the ability to do something about it.

Certain people could change the information that is being put out there about Steemit in the marketing.

Certain people could change the FAQ in Steemit to give better user details for newbies.

I agree with the points in your article, but you probably should not have made the first tag "introduceyourself" because it is not a first time introduction post for you. You can't edit the first tag, so there's nothing you can do about that, but it is something to avoid in the future.

What is missing from the majority of the information out there is that Steemit results are heavily influenced by having a good relationship with people, and that takes time and effort. Engaging with people in the comments of their articles, and building a reputation as a person who reads what an author writes, and makes valuable comments is a big part of gaining upvotes that count.

Think of it this way: if a customer buys a small item from a manufacturer, and is dissatisfied with the item, he cannot contact the President of the company to make a complaint. No matter how he tries, he will never gain a hearing from the President. However, he can politely engage with the lowest customer service representative, and politely work his way up the chain of supervisors until he gets satisfaction. The President will still never give him a hearing because he is too small, and far removed from where the President sits and rules, but he will be able to gain the friendship, cooperation and support of any number of company employees if he is polite, and cooperative. In this way he is able to gain favors from the ones who have a degree of power to influence his outcome, whether it is a refund of his purchase price or a new and better replacement item.

Steemit is not exactly like that, but the hierarchy of voting power works in similar ways. Get a Whale to read, comment or upvote your article? Forget about it! Build a network of friends who are willing to help each other grow by commenting, upvoting and resteeming each other's worthy articles? Now you are talking! It's a long, slow road to success for almost everyone who starts out in Steemit (and isn't bringing a huge following from other platforms with them like @jerrybanfield - who, by the way, has worked hard for years to gain the following he has).

Cheers!