I've just seen this post of yours..
Said whale has NEVER voted on my stuff even when I put out music videos but has on some of my friends posts.
I had appreciator a few times, but that died away too.
Personally I wouldn't bank on them anyhow, what is quality and what isn't is in the eye of the beholder and a lot of stuff gets upvoted that I think shouldn't as no effort was put in whatsoever.
What I find is really important is, as someone here has said already, to join communities to share stuff with likeminded people and going on from there, make contact with others. That IS the hard bit and not for everyone, but give and take is what works in life and is the same here.
Vote and comment as much as you can or have you done that already? You've been here so much longer than me.
I'd like to think I have actually made friends here over the past year and love the interaction and seeing what others do.
Of course, you can't do that very well when you travel.. ;)
Take care my friend!
I replied to that comment about my community engagement saying that I had already replied to her (Beeber) on what has happened (and still happens). Have a look FYI to enlighten yourself about "nice" things taking place here:
https://peakd.com/@orestistrips/re-beeber-s1y8rk
I am among the most prompt ones here. Never left a comment unanswered except a very few obvious BS. And I also upvote the ones who care to write a few words about what they read. It doesn't have to do with me not being social enough. Besides, even when I got more than 1000 upvotes the payout was still flirting with ridiculous in the absence of whales. Without them you go nowhere.
It's a small world here, if you are to be among the well paid ones it shows early. If you haven't already you probably never will. At the end of the day it comes down to what one is willing to tolerate. I no longer gonna work my ass off here only to be paid a small fraction of the X lady who posts "tea with my hubby" and earns multiple times what I do, with a cup of tea and a few words of thin air. I'll drop only effortless or copy pasted stuff of mine here since I login to check out my wallet, with good chances to not even bother doing so after a while as even like that I'll be probably offering more than I get back. Not gonna spend time voting others either. That's how it goes for people out of whale's favouritism, they get tired, take their funds and go. I'm not the first one. If they don't have enough brain cells to realise it's a win win to support guys like me I'll be the last to try to convince them.
The felixxx account has raised the issue of whale taste more than anyone else, you should be at his posts back in the day he was more vocal to read the reactions of an OCD guy. Picture a guy speaking 5 words, one them being the C word, totally uncalled. Felixxx also stays away now. At least he has managed to have a minimum pay out of his followers on every of his posts being older here than I am. I don't even have this motivation.