Followers who offer Resteem for SBD

Is this normal? One on side I am very happy to get new followers with a sincere hope that they are reading my blogs. They are here because they like what I write or they are increasing their network and along with them mine. Either ways I am fine. I too like to increase my network and my influence, my followers and one day many readers of my blog.

But when I see their profile page, they clearly offer Resteem for SBD. And I wonder, maybe that is why they are following me and hoping I will send them SBD to get my articles upvoted.

I have deleted their names and other details as the idea is not to flag them. Just to show how normal it is to see this on peoples profiles on steemit.

I just wanted to know if this is the acceptable practice on steemit and this is how people get their blogs to their audience?

Buying readers and hoping they up vote for Steem Power?

If I have to pay to get readers, then I am surely wasting my time writing useless blogs that no one wants to read on their own.

If the application expects this, then there is something really wrong with the way the application is growing its user base and it will all fall apart sometime later if not sooner, unless the application keeps attracting more new players at a rate that older ones get well paid, in which case this truly would be a Ponzi scheme.

I write because I want to express my thoughts on various topics. I hope someone will read them and appreciate or oppose my thoughts or correct them. If someone comments (positive or negative), I am delighted. If someone upvotes and I make some money then leaving a 6 figure salary just gets a little easier on my life and there could be a possible bread earner in the house again.

But to get there by buying Resteem / upvotes!! The thought itself is so repulsive. If this is what I wanted to do then there was nothing wrong with the way corporate world works today, nothing wrong with the expectations of my job from me and I can just walk back into my six figure salary. I am not yet dead wood.

Not sure what fellow Steemers think about this. If this is the culture here, let me know. At least I won't keep wondering why no one is reading my articles or upvoting me. I will just know why and I will know it is my conscious decision not to buy, just like leaving my job (not having salary is tough, but I know I chose it consciously). I will be happy to write and let the articles be buried without anyone ever finding them. I will still be happy :-). Making the right choice is more important that upvotes.