Hey NEW STEEMIAN'S
Read this to know what you are getting into!
Being here for only 4 months I think I have accomplished quite a bit without having to pay for my Steem Power. But I have actually seen a big change within this time.
When we first join steemit we usually request a FOLLOW for a FOLLOW and an UPVOTE for an UPVOTE..
Followers don't really mean that much.. look at me: 1200+and I still struggle to get over 1 SBD without an upvote bot. The only difference is out of that 1200; not one consistent whale (at least anymore).
Whales are the "big" boys around here...and we always be searching for WALDO (the whales)
Lots of minnows (us) struggling for a boost of support.
But you know.. I'm starting to feel like a N00b again!?
I wrote that when you actually mature on steemit you won't need to request these things because your natural followers will upvote. But what happens when those bigger dolphins (guys who are not minnows and not whales) START LEAVING?
Well I'm right and wrong on the subject.
I and numerous other steemians have noticed the influx of UPVOTE BOTS. Upvote bots are steem accounts you PAY to get an upvote.
Now the new steemit economy has evolved even further where bots are competing with each other!
Paying for upvotes.. yah I guess that's fine since very few upvotes get passed around. I get it, put your investment to work to make your money grow. Whales don't really need to do that because they simply just need to upvote to grow even larger and fatter.
I have become somewhat dependent on those upvote bots.. like CRACK!
Sure I get the odd upvote at 1% from a whale; yah that's maybe boosting my post up about 1 SBD..
but because I'm not really of value in the long term it doesn't pay off to give a higher percentage of the vote.
So is this what polarization looks like?
WHALES who are not in charge of these bots will soon realize that this is now a two-tier Steemit Economy.
Whales vs BOTS
Whales get the whale vote
Bots get the minnow vote
OLD OLD OLD news..but NEW news to minnows not knowing what they are getting into.
SO what's next?
I have no problem upvoting followers who upvote my posts; it's the same behavior Whales give each other. It's highschool all over again. Unfortunately there are more minnows than jocks.. and eventually the little minnows will LEAVE. In my opinion this is not a great economic model. Even dolphin's are starting to crack because they don't compete with upvote bots.
I have personally seen some GREAT followers HIT THE ROAD. One of them has been on this platform since JULY 2016!
I was feeling good about my evolution on steemit until that happened (I really miss you 
Every other day now people are purchasing steem accounts, putting a little bit of Steem Power into each and then being the new "upvote" bot.
ENOUGH ALREADY!
This is an OBSERVATION.. maybe even A PREDICTION!
So to sum this up:
WHALE upvote @100% - WHALE Follower
Minnow PAYS $1-5 SBD upvote - BOTS
Thanks to 
I won't stop steemit.. because frankly.. I still love the concept AND anything is better than facebook.