I'm happy to see this discussion being created. I'm not a whale, and honestly I'm rather new here. But as an internet marketing expert I'm confident this discussion can benefit everyone - even the whales - by getting some genuine ideas flowing. You've already done a great job of that in your post above.
First and foremost, I can't stress enough the importance of quality content. Additionally, I think it's critical to educate people to the basics of steemit etiquette before trying to teach them how to monetize the platform. I encourage whales to support this idea, or we'll forever be dealing with a massive learning curve from new users.
Yesterday I noticed @intelliguy has an incredible writeup called Steemit (FAQ) Frequently Asked Questions, Common Myths, and Misconceptions, that I think is highly relevant and helpful to anyone new or trying to learn the ins & outs of steemit. His post also does a great job at covering some of the ethical issues in regards to posting/voting/monetizing on steemit.
Anyone who's serious about steemit has a responsibility to guide users - and steemit as a whole - in the right direction. However, for you whales this rings even more true because your reputations hold authority and give you more leverage. It'd be nice to see you leverage that strength to help eliminate the learning curve for people who are here thinking they're going to make a quick paycheck by posting, spamming, or recycling mediocre (and even plagiarized) content.
Thanks to everyone who's taking the initiative to help get things on the right track! Your consideration and concern for steemit really shows in your posts and willingness to help.
Thanks for noticing. I did get paid well for it. But that wasn't point of it. :) I just wanted it to be seen, and it was.. just not enough, considering the amount of people showing up daily.
Luckily upvotes now also have a 30 day payout too.. so they can get longer exposure.
I had written a post yesterday about the problem with content recycling, and you were kind enough to enlighten me with links to 2 of your posts in my comments section. They answered a lot of questions very clealry so I wanted to be sure that others see it as well.