Thanks for the detailed explanation. To me, the word "whale" just means someone who owns a lot of Steem Power (in the trading platform trollboxes, it tends to mean someone who owns a lot of whatever coin was being discussed), so I've never meant it to be derogatory in any way.
I'm in learning curve mode right now, trying to figure out how to break in. I'm experimenting with different types of posts, and I'm also reading and commenting on other people's work. Hopefully I can figure out where I fit into this community soon.
I don't have a problem with the way it's set up. Most innovations come with a tremendous early adopter advantage. I've been fortunate to have that advantage with some of the other innovations in the Cryptosphere, NEM being a good example. I don't happen to be an early adopter of Steem, but that doesn't mean I don't see lots of potential upside ahead.
Still, I did have some questions, many of which were thoroughly answered in the article, so thank you very much for posting it :)
your welcome.
Keep experimenting. sometimes, there's no shortcuts to mining the gold within yourself - just persistent effort in testing out several different approaches, learning from every bit of feedback. Become a student of VALUE and consistently work to pack as much value as superhumanly possible into every piece you write, keep improving your skills, and eventually the investment in yourself and the community will pay off - as long as you keep your integrity in order. ;-)
That is great advice, especially the last part about keeping the integrity in order. Thanks :)