I think they even the playing field out a little and remove the challenges of a brand new person finding smaller steemians to feature. Plus the great idea of the Judges picking an extra winner (thanks @energyaddict22) makes the effort of those finding great people to feature have an added chance of getting rewarded.
The contest will keep evolving and I'll likely add in a twist each week to keep it interesting for all involved and hopefully force people outside their circle of friends to keep exploring steemit to find new bloggers to feature.