I miss G+ too, but Steem gives me a good mix of content. I'm resigned to certain pestle not being here for now.

The rewards thing really is generally about who you know, but that could change if it scales up and they get distributed across more people. What we earn will depend on what value the markets put on Steem. I think my top earning post may have been $200, but Steem was probably $4 then. What I have made has paid for a few nice things, but I'm not planning to cash out for now. I'm investing time in trying to build communities that add value. That may pay off for me eventually, but I try to make the process fun anyway.