I think the loss of interest is not directly related to #STEEM and #Steemit. The overall cryptocurrency market has declined aggressively which have left many people disappointed and disinterested. There have been numerous articles about the decline in Google searches for Bitcoin and others. Many Youtubers have also seen their channel views also decline with the market. Unfortunately, the market are very correlated to whatever happens to Bitcoin. However, this may change in the future when longer term investors step into the market and invest in the major projects that have a viable projects that can grow. Given the flexibility and scalibility of the #STEEM platform, it could gain interest relatively quickly.