Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to undermine what you have done or have accomplished in other formats away from Steemit. I am more or less trying to understand what I see as a flaw in the current system in my opinion on how revenue is dispersed. Can you honestly say "this" post deserves a 4-5k payout? Considering each post has its own value all other factors other than what is in the particular post is what the value should be based on. Of course, there is value in "loyalty" and a "following" but when it comes to the system of reward a simple, Hi, I am here, a lot of people know me and follow me doesn't really deserve that kind of payout, does it? What about authors like myself who mostly ghost write? Do we not deserve a reward for our work simply because we ghostwrite or use a pen name under the public radar?
The last few weeks I have noticed a trend towards "elitism" and the beginning of what I would refer to as a power struggle between the knowns and unknowns (all of which in a lot of instances have plenty to offer that deserves a reward within the system) starting to poke it's head on Steemit. If it stays on this course, I don't believe Steemit will grow into a massive social media site, but of an elite crypto world social media site, which could be alright if there are enough people to sustain it I guess. I prefer to finally see all kinds of content creators, writers etc finally get paid and rewarded for their work. You said it yourself, it has become common to have to give away your work for free, I surely hope Steemit finally changes the thinking of the world in this regards.
As to your statement about being more productive by "adding more value" - value is subjective and based on individual's perception, the problem I am seeing here on Steemit is there aren't enough voters with similar interests to content creators that hold similar interests, thus leaving many feeling empty. Of course, this isn't "your" problem, it should be a Steemit community issue to tackle for the longevity and good of the system as a whole.
On a side note, your new post "podcast" post is great and deserves its rewards. I enjoyed listening to it.