This is quite interesting @geoffrey (GOT reference?) I like the idea of followers sharing voting power, but wonder if that might possibly make a situation like on Instagram where people beg for follows and likes. (whether or not this is good or bad I guess depends on who you talk to).
I feel that from the data I have seen, the wealth of the whales is being distributed to more quality users and creating solid dolphins. But yes, while the whales are all very helpful and honest (from my experience).
Money can corrupt people and one sperm whale could sleep with a humback's wife (whale relations haha) and cause a huge rift in the ocean. A whale war would divide and devalue what steemit is striving for. So you have a great point that keeping a checks and balances system in place to prevent abuse of power is very important.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but I think having following separate from who you share your SP with is important. The people I follow because they produce good content are not necessarily the same people I would want curating content on my behalf.
That's a really good point I honestly did not think of.
Exactly the same thing what I was thinking. I follow people because they are good writers or otherwise interesting, not because I trust them.
True I have also pointed that out in the past that I may not have the same interests in all categories as people I follow. And as well, as you point out, I might value my follows as content producers, but maybe not as curators.