@ned look into UX designers or non-dev improvements too. The technology is pretty sweet alredy, although personally I think the rules (7 day reward period) stimulates quantity over quality. There is some empyrical evidence in the "new" section.

If even a two year old post could reap some rewards when it's still popupar and relevant enough for people who come across it to vote on it, quality would be rewarded.

On a 'classic' blog, no one would switch off ads/revenue on a post after 7 days. The biggest reward often comes in months, when a quality article is propagated through the internet.