Loved this article. I think at this point that I'd have to argue that helping minnows and gaining followers is just as important as whale votes. If you are not on a whale bot list, you may only receive a high payout once. That is not necessarily sustainable.

Helping people and continuing to make interesting content will lead to people interested in what you have to say. Most everyone who has not invested a dime in the platform started as a minnow. If you help a minnow who surpasses you quickly and are friends with them (someone like @sirwinchester or @ms.steemit) to me they are valuable not just because they are extremely good at managing time and making great content, but also because they are my friends and friends usually tend to help one another out.

Yes the money is nice on this platform, but as long as you enjoy what you are writing about then money should be a lower priority. If you passionately write about something you enjoy, it may not make a lot of money, but it may gain a few followers who in turn may be able to help you out down the line.

Also why are tunas larger than dolphins? I feel like someone should break down the different fish levels. I also think it would be cool to have your fish next to your name Adding Whales Minnows & Dolphins Next To Usernames with the possibility of having different color fish as you slowly "level up." I think that would entice some gamers to try hard to achieve a certain status based on a number of different metrics.