I think it's important to acknowledge that people don't arrive on Steemit as equals. Jeff Berwick (aka The Dollar Vigilante) has a successful, multi-decade career behind him. Not to mention his established online presence. Simply evaluating the quality of someone's post and comparing it to your own work, is a tad naive I think.

It's also important to remember that Steemit is still very young. The community wants to embrace people from the outside in order to grow. Some may think the community's standards are, at present, too low. I think as Steemit matures, the standard for what is considered a good post will rise and name recognition may begin to lose the influence it once had. There are other factors to consider such as the use of Steem Power, and how people may be able to perpetuate success through the influence it allows but I'm going to stop here before this comment turns into an essay.