One problem at Steemit is that by monetizing the activity and adding the element of buying bot votes to hopefully drive traffic to your post, the content becomes secondary. If you have a successful post with many upvotes its usually because people are voting you to get a payout, not because they have any interest in the content. So it skews the feeling of community and lowers the standard. But it does make some people money if they know how to play the game right.
Status games is about attracting whales and people with more Steem to follow and vote on your posts. The big "whales" have many vests and when they upvote you you can make more money .. but seriously your first post is already a great start so just dont lose your keys and you'll be fine .. :)