I'm definitely in that category; where often the comments I make wind up being noticed more than actual posts. Not posting very often it's not really a concern.
This does play into the user retention issues that I see discussed regularly. When people pour their soul into a well researched article and a week later they are sent the 3cents... meanwhile, in that week, they get to watch the trending feed where there's a constant stream of mediocre or worse content that was slapped together half-hearted and on the verge of getting rewards in hundreds or sometimes even thousands of dollars. People without a thick skin could easily lose motivation.
The frustrating part about curation is that you wind up having to start following people that you don't really like their content but KNOW that everytime they post that you can get 5-10 cents of curation. It's one of those mixed bags where the feeling is that you almost need to subscribe to stuff you don't like because it has rewards associated. Starts to feel like signing onto surveys to get coupon books...
Commenting is another gamble; many times comments just slip under the radar, many content creators do not address comments on their posts, but it has the benefit where I've had many comments in active threads wind up getting more votes than MOST of the actual posts I've made.
you are right, many authors do not comment back and do not upvote comments. this annoys me. If someone has the deciency to spend their time engaging with you, the least you can do is offer a little time back. But these are personal standards I have and not everyone is the same.
You are also correct about having to start following people that you may not be really interested in. Maybe I should do a post addressed to the other side of this, those earning more that don't thank their followers.
Maybe it's just the factor that I rarely get much more than one or two comments when I post, so responding is just a matter of paying attention.
The other hand of following people you may not be otherwise interested in is that occasionally, you will come across some other the few shining lights. People who built a following with little to no use of bots, who respond to many or most who want to engage in the discussion. People who, otherwise, would not have looked in their direction twice.