The problem with blockchain currently is that most of the projects are currently inferior to existing other options, so starting on Steem now is like starting on the internet when it first came out. It's slow, not very user-friendly, and is limited on what has been created on it so far, but you join and learn cause you can see the potential.
Right now you have games, dapps, and ecosystems that are good compared to other crypto and blockchain related projects. One day you'll have crypto games that are just referred to as games because they're good when compared to the entire gaming ecosystem, not just one small section (blockchain/crypto) of the ecosystem.
A way to create an account instantly for the price of a little over one Steem.
Shameless plug, but it's a way to help others get started cheaply and quickly.
Another way to explain Steem Power is an investment in the Steem Blockchain to use the Resource credits of the system. It's a way to keep people from spamming the blockchain and filling it up with crap and bloat (more so than already happens).
SMTs
I've said from the beginning SMTs are overhyped crap, but can hold real value. Look at Steem-Engine. DEC is earned in a game that can either be redeemed for cards that can be sold for Steem or sold for Steem directly. It's an eng game currency that removes the middle man for safe exchange. Think of Gold selling sites for WOW, but where people who own the wow gold have a trusted platform that takes minimum fees.
Look at 90% of the other tokens on Steem-Engine (crap).
I'm not trying to be negative about SMTs, but the people who have insight to create SMTs that are "valuable" are just as important and will take just as long as writing the code to make SMTs happen.
One last example I just thought of is tokenizing an asset either real or digital. Aggroed created a token that can be redeemed for silver. The point wasn't to use it to buy silver, but to create a token back by silver that can be traded without actually moving the physical item and to be able to diversify your crypto portfolio. A similar example I can think of is selling Alpha and Beta packs. Once again it's an easy third party system that takes no or minimal fees that allows for trusted transactions.