I have used bots before, and to be honest I do not know much about them beyond the superficial. It is often enough, however, to make me realize that it very seldom profitable. What they do is that they make your work more visible so users will of course jump on the band-wagon and upvote you. This strategy has worked for me a handful of times.
My issue with bots, however, is not only of profitability but of quality. As people are loath to be honest on this platform, I will be a lone wolf and say that there is a lot of garbage on steemit. Call me sour grapes but I find it troubling that the merit of many pieces on this platform is measured by what he/she can buy as opposed to the quality of his/her content.
Because of this many wonderful posts go unnoticed, even within their section. With the exception of @berniesanders and company, few are willing to call these things out. Pertaining to the whales, they have the opportunity to either call out these individuals, or merely refrain from voting for them. Unfortunately, we find that some are of participants in this.
My question therefore is; going forward, what will this mean for content on the platform? To be fair many groups are addressing this; in the sense that they are seeking out and upvoting great content. To be fair, I have benefited from this. But as is usually the case, they are in the minority.
That's my two cents. I hope I answered the question.