[#1 A huge portion of the Hero/Legendary crowd honestly care about the merit system. They are making it work, and they are more than happy to teach you.]

So you want to earn merit (as fast as possible!)

After a few days skulking the Meta section I realized a few important things:

#1 A huge portion of the Hero/Legendary crowd honestly care about the merit system. They are making it work, and they are more than happy to teach you.  

For some basics check out this chart by Zentdex:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2836429.0

Then, check out this more detailed infographic by paxmao to get an overview of the system: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2834641.msg29065043#msg29065043

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2974436.0
Infographic: Activity, Merit, sMerit & New Rank Requirements

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2822349.msg28909933#msg28909933
How Do You Feel About This New System??

#2 Many forum members have gone the extra-mile to statistically show you which topics/areas earn the most merit. Surprise! top Bitcointalk members prefer to merit posts in the "Bitcoin" section...Go figure.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2947171.0     
Lets Break The QuestionAuthority NOW !!!

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3082289.0
Merit Stat from theymos data

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3093768.0
Where the Merit Pours?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3015036.0
3 Merit Stat After a Month of Merit

#3 You probably won't earn many merits shilling for the latest ICO bounty

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2970251.0
Merit Data from 503 Randomly Selected Altcoin Bounty Hunters

#4 It doesn't hurt to follow the merit sources

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;stats=topsendat

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2827596.msg28975211#msg28975211
Merit System Upgrade

#5 Merit Giveaways for Linking Your best Posts or Answering Questions

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2843413.0
Merit giveaway for Jr Members and newbies

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2971165.0
Joel_Jantsen's Merit Distribution Thread (Newbies Welcome)

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3041155.0
Common Q&A about Bitcoin: Non-Technical Edition (Earn Merits)

#6 Provide a Useful Service - Helping People Stake their bitcoin address!

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=996318.0
Stake your Bitcoin address here

#7 Some members have elevated posting how little they care about merits into an art form

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2979373.0
not receiving Merit? I don't care

If you have links to some topics I'm missing please post them here and I'll add them to my list! I'll keep editing it with new great info (especially statistical info) as I find it.

#8 Some Merit Sources are Racist, so make sure your English is on par with native speakers

#9 Know what the past was like

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3358364.0
For forum nostalgics - how data show forum evolution

If you want to see bitcoin adopted by everyone in the US quickly, we have a serious problem. I first started noticing this when US citizens were getting kicked out of bounties - which is a growing trend.

Right now, paying someone for services in bitcoin runs afoul of minimum wage regulations. For a service, someone MUST be paid in US dollars. As a result, an individual cannot perform a job and get paid in bitcoin - no matter how much the bitcoin is worth! This is absurd!  

We need bitcoin supporters to lobby the US government to clarify these regulations in terms of bitcoin - especially as US cities in California and Texas are considering payment of taxes in bitcoin. If we do not, bitcoin will struggle to find its place in the service economy and especially in the gig-economy.

I did manage to find that there were companies that were willing to bridge this gap: https://www.ccn.com/wagepoint-us-companies-can-now-pay-employees-bitcoin/