@yallapapi first I think SharkSchool is amazing. Now that's out the way as a plankton coming into Steem I was originally attracted by the mistaken charm of making money to post, I mean who would not be !right!. I shortly found that only whales would eat good and the plankton would stay small until they put in large amounts of work.
Taking into perspective what I saw going on and what I noticed about every big post(tons of bots and self promoting), I jumped in. Quickly tossing in my own cash to grow my SP only to realize a couple hundred bucks did nothing to increase my vote/self vote as I had almost no followers at the time.
Next it was time to make a choice, cake up and go home, be food for the sharks, or make my own pool to swim in. So I started digging, the results was my own #communitygrowthproject. By doing this i was able to promote big groups, tag accredited authors, and support other small plankton's/minnows.
By doing this my growth elevated, and awarded me some Steem to lease some SP though it was not huge, I was now able to grant rewards to others. I stopped self voting and started looking for content from anyone and everyone, re-blogging, and up voting with a minimal of .01 no matter the weight it took. Rinse, repeat, and do it again.
Along the way I can identify with a lot of what you said, small fish don't eat, bots make post hot, and whales while its many that help, there are many whom just vote for pools.
From the bottom looking up a few things you said, like resteem to the whale users, drop a name or comment even if its just a my five favorite minnows of the week type post. Start an instructional discord group to teach minnows to think like whales and swim like dolphins while they are still minnows, and last but not least support good content and share it.
However something that whales could also do to help is delegate to a few minnows enough SP to help them stabilize. Now I know not everyone knows how to use the voting system out the gate, and no one wants there SP abused but 100 or so SP for a week or two can go a long way.
Anyway in closing you are spot on about a lot of issues, personally I am looking forward to the Steem communities update as that will help a lot of small fish eat. But in the mean time if you see some minnows that are quality drop my name so I can find them. I have found some amazing groups that help teach writing, networking, and growth on Steem.
I would love to help small and new Steem members get connected to groups in there niche, and showcase there work to everyone I can. It's always good to see people at the top concerned about the bottom as it makes for a more sustainable ecosystem. I mean we all have to eat somehow.
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