Yes. And...I'm kind of unsure about how to feel.
On the one hand, a writer shouldn't have to be successful in other fields to prove he is worth investing in.
On the other hand, it's fairly easy to build a following on social media. Especially if you reach for the low-hanging fruit.
In any case, I believe Steemit followers should count for more than Twitter followers, since Steemit followers actually pay you (even if it's not out of their own pocket). But I'm guessing most publishers don't know about Steemit yet.
I guess it's our job to change that.
It's the reason why I Indie-publish. Once my books became profitable I stopped worrying about getting an agent or publisher. And I see a lot more of successful indie-publishers then getting picked by the big publishers.
And some publishers/agents want sales numbers for books, so Steem would be difficult to calculate into that.
But I use Steemit as a revenue source for my books. I quickly learned if I serialize a book on Steemit, the book becomes profitable before it even hits Amazon.
But in terms of an audience, that doesn't just occur in books, but also music. And there reaches a point, if I have developed a large following on my own, what do I need an agent or publisher for?