Nice to meet you! Following!
FUCK!!! (I just wanted to say it, too. And we can!)
As for some actual content to this comment.... I agree with you that we need quality over quantity. That's why it's great that our upvotes count, and get calculated in.
But yes, some tweaks need to happen. And like you said, little upgrades.
As for cryptocurrencies, don't get too bogged down by it. They're really just currencies. Mike Maloney (YT) has a Hidden Secrets of Money series, which is great, and episode 8 is all about cryptos. It's not for newbies but not for experts... sounds like it might be a decent intro for you.
My strategy is a long term one. I'm starting at $0 and don't have anything to invest, so I'm "grinding" my way up. I post content, I comment, I upvote with care. It's slowly adding up.
I'm putting everything into STEEM (a cryptocurrency). I use the "market" feature to sell any SBD (another cryptocurrency) I make, to get STEEM. And whenever I have STEEM, I use the "power up" feature to convert it instantly to STEEM Power. All that means is the STEEM is invested in your profile and in Steemit. The more you have, the more powerful your upvotes become (you start off being able to give people .3c per click but as your STEEM Power builds so will that number).
Eventually, in theory, we'll have so much STEEM we don't need to power it up anymore. We can convert it to Bitcoins, and from there into Amazon, or your bank balance, etc etc etc. That's down the road, though.
Sorry if you already know most of that. Just trying to let you know how I see it and what I've been doing. : )