Absolutely spot on, i am a bit soft and if anyone asks me to follow them i will, but when it comes to me i just put posts up and hope people like the material enough to follow me. I am get terribly affected if people unfollow me, but as you say whats the point of having 1000 followers if no one upvotes the stuff you post because they aren't that interested.
Part of what i love about this medium is the "sweat equity" concept, my hard work is rewarded with crypto currency, but again, i am slightly contrary, i like the upvote thing and still suffer from Facebook syndrome, loads of upvotes mean people like my stuff, still trying to get my head round a platform, and members, that materially reward me for my work
Sweat equity. Perfect. That's exactly it. It's incredible to feel like you're earning success, small or big.