This was a very thoughtful post. I really appreciate your honesty.
For me, Curie has been that little bit of encouragement to keep me posting until I can build a real following, because it's a slow and discouraging journey otherwise. I probably would have given up, honestly, if all my posts were making 2 or 3 cents and no one seemed to be reading them. It takes time to build a name, a business, a community, and that's why most entrepreneurs give up. You're right that Curie is not a permanent solution, but I feel it does help give some light on the dark path upwards.
And those vague, sycophantic comments you're getting--those are bots. :)
Yeah, as I mentioned in the post I had already given up once before. I might have given up again were it not for Curie. I really think they're serving as a great first step for new content producers.
Goes to show what I know, if even one of those commenters I've seen are really bots it's scary to think how hard it's becoming tell the difference...