I definitely agree that if the Steem Dollar is to make sense, it should be pegged to the dollar. Apart from that, I quite like the system where STEEM can be converted to Steem Power. It rewards those who choose to store their STEEM long term on the platform and prevents quick selloffs. The token mechanics could have been better explained, though.

We actually have a WYSIWYG editing window. I didn't discover it until someone pointed it out in the comments below. Under the title field in the post editor, just press "Editor". I would even go as far as to say that adding photos is super easy, regardless if you use the markdown editor or the WYSIWYG editor. You can copy-paste, drag and drop, or simply upload.

When it comes to post-promotion, I think the system we have now will work in the long run, once adoption increases. Currently, content from people who have been on Steemit for a long time gets higher ranked than for example relevant news, which would be ranked high by Google, but once bigger names (like you, thumbs up) start gaining traction and actually start investing in STEEM, I think the news picture will converge towards that of Google today, maybe except for all the sensationalist news that newspapers put out these days.Keep in mind that even Google prioritize based on the content's provider's history, thus keeping smaller content creators from getting recognized easily.

I appreciate you opinions and I hope your influence has what it takes to move the development in the right direction.