Instead, they chase down every lead, spreading themselves thin in the quest for more, but realizing less
I think that's old blogging advice catching up to the masses when it's a bit out of step now xD Like for artists you're basically considered monumentally stupid if you don't have a dA and/or Facebook account because that's where "everyone" is and people still think you somehow get more exposure just because there's more people there (perhaps it's the case but what I've found is that even if you're good you usually just get lost).
I was on a few art sites some time ago and basically ended up cutting right back because having to reformat copypasta for different websites felt too annoyingly time consuming. Now I'm just on my blog, here and dA (and also ko-fi but that's not really a socnet) and even that's a lot of effort but at least more fun XD
Sell for the sure thing, or take some risks in an attempt to double up?
Sounds like gambler's dilemma x_x
I think there is likely a pareto principle in this too, 80 percent of gains come from 20% of investments. The problem is, many people put 80% of their resources into chasing the 20%.
Yes it does, doesn't it ;D