Thank you! I imagine being a whale is like being a member of an exclusive fraternity. Sure, you gave the support of powerful friends, but there's a significant cost to access that network. One thing I've noticed is that the more involved I get in the community, the more I understand the idea of being able to buy "clout" to help shape the direction of the platform so that it isn't overrun by spammers and copypasta that would make the platform unsustainable.
The nice thing about Steemit is that if you can't afford to buy the steem power to hold influence in the community, you can work your way there by simply interacting with other community members. The platform seems good about rewarding genuine discourse, and that's due to the diligence of people who want Steemit to be successful.
Following you as well :)