Steem will always be proof of recognition.
It isn't realistic to make the rewards out the gate if you haven't put in the work.
I do wish folks would lower their cutoff's for how much is too much.
If your vote value is <1stu, you really shouldn't be adding it to a post with more than 2 or 3stu.
Voting a post with 20stu is just silly talk, imo.