I've used ads (discreet, at the side, not blocking the content) before to monetise content, and found it a total waste of time, unless you are getting a LOT of pageviews from the kind of viewers who don't have adblock installed.

What really attracts me to Steem is that it can act as a platform for content creators to make money based on consumption of their content, without them having to rely on advertisement. Furthermore, not having ads = greater respect for users privacy and security.