What about rentable ASICs? In other words, a client would call a DVM or http endpoint to get the PoW from a provider, then publish it. Another idea I've had but can't really evaluate is proof of burn. This anchors work to real value without requiring the payment to actually go anywhere.
I do think the ideal solution would be something like reverse-zaps, where an author spends a certain amount of real value to publish their post, and people who interact with it automatically get paid some small portion of that value. I'm not sure this couldn't be gamed by bots though, and would require a custodial service to hold/disburse the sats.