it reminds me of what Youtube is now, compared to how it was years ago, albeit Steemit is moving at a much faster pace. I learned about a channel that puts out consistently lackluster content, basically ripping footage from other videos and giving commentary that adds nothing, yet the reason he's able to make money is by holding a "giveaway" where people have to like, subscribe, and comment (oh and he puts like, 5 ads in each of his 10 minute videos). He got slapped by YT when it was revealed his giveaway was misleading and that he might not even do it, but got his channel back anyways.
i hope steemit doesn't go down that route, as I love all the diversity in topics I find here on this platform! I have yet to use bots, but it seems like an inevitable thing...especially as someone who wants to be independently employed. Maybe some regulation will come into play to try to curb the bots or how much delegation they can eat up