So the year is ending, i have been here since very long time but never been too active.
Yet im browsing when im in school and voting with my hands.
Here is some thoughts of mine among with questions.
Can you make it just from quality content?
Theres loads of users here but if we browse the trending or hot pages - usualle we see the same names. Since STEEM added feature of "views" on post if we look, views are around 10% of the votes number.
Shortly - the bots are voting. But most of the bots do not have AI to go for "popular posts" they go by authors. Speaking shortly - same authors are added to bots and any of their posts are getting hot.
Of course there is manual voters and great projects like 
If you spend time writing a good post, then nobody sees it or vote on it - you get upset and quit.
Right now HOT:
Todays Trending:
Only bots can make money on STEEM now?
So you can make money two ways. Curating (voting on content) or making the conent.
Voting - you have to sit all the time, read things and vote in right times (25-30 minutes is the best). Sounds like a job for machine and still you have to sleep. So bots win.
Now in the trending usualy we see posts that possibly were made by bots. Charts, Sports and such vs content from users with level 70 which is unlikely to get.
So normal user without coding knowledge and with decent writign skills wont make it anyways because nobody will notice him.
Pay your way!
Of course there is 3rd gate. You can grab BTC and then buy Steem Power and Promotion for your posts. And i assume this would work. If you become a whale and your posts get few cents other whales may notice you. If you promote post - users will notice you.
After few promoted posts you may have initial followers. Yet is buying your status on social network a really good idea?
Where we heading ?
To be clear im not speaking out of greed or so. I just think for STEEM to raise we need new users and its unlikely any of them will come here and stick, since they will feel their work is useless.
Nothign worse than coming, spending hour or two writing a post and then getting no views nor votes.
Of course we can invite here only bloggers who have audience and vote them up so they make money.. But we did that already and it just ended with them dumping or people making fake accounts to dump.
So whats the solution?
I dont know, possibly projects manual checking new stuff should get extra incentives from STEEM pool. Because if its keeps going how it is - STEEM will be just a small circle jerk.