I've not done much better than you, but I know that from what I can observe, the best places for merit for me, which you will get from moderators and even staff, is if you help Bitcoin users with issues using Bitcoin, or answering technical questions about Bitcoin, or discussing technical issues in constructive manner.

I admit, I don't have the technical knowledge for these things, so I don't expect to gain very much merit. I'm sure it's the same for most people. So if merits are super important to you, you need to brush up technical knowledge.

In that sense, I think it's a great system. Even I know now who are the guys who know a lot and those who don't, just from merits.

This is of course generic. I know some people also gain merits from being contributive in other areas like even gambling.