Wow, I never thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense - there's definitely a lot less trampling over one another to get to the top (dog-eat-dog); like there is in corporate environments. 

After 10 years of software development for some of the largest companies in the world, I decided to try contracting / freelance work for a bit. Bitcoin / Ethereum / Blockchain was the real catalyst for me; that made me see that the winds of change were blowing - and in a direction that suited me personally. 

I'm definitely interested in helping out where I can.

As I was raised in Alaska, I am familiar with a particular feature of tribal economies that may be highly applicable to Steemit, and @steemgig.

It is the potluck.  The wealth of the tribe is owned by the chief.  When this wealth becomes burdensome (when wealth is measured in fish, that doesn't take long) the chief holds a potluck where that wealth is delivered to the tribe as a feast.

The status of chiefs (reputation) is based on the recipients of this largesse, and creates a dependence on the goodwill of the tribe for chiefs.

Potlucks as transmitted to rural Americans tend to be more egalitarian, and to be less useful in terms of economic redistribution of wealth, as the attendees bring food to the event to share.

This doesn't make them less useful, and may be a more realistic analogy, and more applicable to @steemgig.

Hoped that perhaps this might be useful to you in your efforts, at least conceptually.

Thanks for posting links to @steemgig earlier.  As you pointed out, despite my nascent interest, it is not entirely obvious to new users how to connect with particular individuals.