Definitely see where you're coming from, fella. I've only been here a week so definitely no expert, but based on what I've learned so far Whatsup and Greer are spot on...

At the end of the day, we all know money can talk and it's the same with every industry/system. Is getting help from a whale any different than getting a big name author et cetera to endorse your work? Is paying for the bots different to advertising? Yes and no for both, I guess. To me, the idea that votes can be bought defeats the purpose of rewarding quality content - if politicians used robots to vote themselves into office they'd obviously be in trouble, lol ;) - but I can see the value of using them for re-steems et cetera, so, like most things in life, success does involve learning the system and playing it.

Ultimately, it depends on a person's individual hopes and aims. Personally, I'm here more out of curiosity than anything; I'd never see something like Steemit as a career or even one small facet of the big picture. If you're prepared to put in the time, and possibly the bucks, success here I think can happen, but at the end of the day, what if Steemit shut down tomorrow or equally bad, you lose your password? Stranger things have happened and either way, the hard work is undone, so it's definitely not something I'd recommend someone put all their eggs into, even if they experience success.

Based on your blog, you seem like a good writer, and it's great to hear about your success - long may that continue! The important thing, always, is to follow your gut and do what's right for you. If it takes a few bots to get you started, there's really no harm, and if you chance upon a whale, maybe that's the kind of break needed. If success here, however, depended on selling your soul or ass kissing, I think this place could become pretty demeaning. Personally, I wouldn't suck a whale's c*ck in or out of the water, but obviously each to their own, lol!