I wouldn't worry so much about quality standards. Whenever I see that, I read it as: "Don't post meaningless memes and please post more than one sentence. And post your own work! Don't re-hash an article you read without adding your opinion to it." ~ I post fiftyword stories sometimes... they probably aren't "quality" in some people's eyes, but I spend a good couple of hours trying to craft them, they're my own work, and they're more than one sentence with a few of my thoughts after the fact. Therefore, to an ordinary person's standards, they're quality content.
:)
I don't mind this low dollar. I can finally power up my account! I can't throw thousands at it like I see some people doing, but $50 here and there... every little bit helps.
Yup, if I had spare $$ I would definitely buy in now. However, I may not even be here if I had spare money, as I came to steem because I was desperately looking for another source of income. "Quality" is a subjective thing, and as they say "one mans trash is another's treasure". With all the dapps coming out, more and more people will be able to find the niche that suits them. I am learning to stress less about making sure my posts are "quality", and focus more on improving my engagement and interaction with people that do visit my posts.