Excellent post. I've heard a lot about how quality is subjective, but I think with respect to content, there are two kinds of quality: intrinsic and extrinsic. Any given content will typically have a mix of both, though some content may have very little intrinsic quality. Intrinsic refers to the actual utility of the content. Extrinsic refers to contextual factors such as audience size and the audience's needs. One example from the data quality world is an astronomy book that has the sun and planets rotating around the earth. Such a book does not have high intrinsic quality, but its extrinsic quality may be high, if one is interested in the history of astronomy. So extrinsic quality depends on lot on the consumer's goals and on the number of consumers. This is why value based on quality can vary so much. A second point is that the most valuable property is often intellectual property with lasting value, such as copyrights, patents and brands. My biggest concern with Steemit is that it does not reward lasting value, except through the brand of the content producer. In some very real sense, Steemit actually devalues valuable content.