Well, managing expectations in general can be difficult for some. I've introduced some friends to steemit and I find myself reiterating time and time again that I got extremely lucky (my first posts did really well thanks to @curie ), and that success takes effort and perseverance.
As to people who just go into posts to get follows and upvotes, I share your opinion. I mean, I do tell people when I upvote and follow them, but it's simply my way of saying "hey, I like your content!", and I do it after actually commenting on what I read and legitimately engaging with their content before I do. It's annoying to have to sort through 11 comments to find just ONE person who actually read the post.
Anyway, nice post! I hope it gets better in your comments, as you seem to be really fed up with the whole thing.
"I do tell people when I upvote and follow them, but it's simply my way of saying "hey, I like your content!", and I do it after actually commenting on what I read and legitimately engaging with their content before I do." - and that's the difference right there.
i'm all for people telling me they liked the content (but be specific and show me you actually read the post) and that they're now a follower (cool; more than happy to check out your profile since you authentically engaged with my post)...but it's these skeletal posts that are more like bug bites than anything substantial that are so prevalent and annoying.
and yeah...i had that same early bump when i first came on too. it's been hard to get a lot of exposure since, but that's part of the deal. you have to engage, you have to legitimately talk to people, you have to consume what it is they're putting out if you expect people to consume what you yourself are posting up.