@bengiles, you don't have to be pessimistic about #Steemit, at least in my view. You've been doing quite well on Steemit, at least in my view.
When I started using #Steemit one whale constantly downvoted me. I got very discouraged. My start was not very good. I stopped using #Steemit. Yes, in my view #Steemit is still to some extent centralized, but it is much better than Facebook, etc. Plus, keep in mind, that Steemit is constantly slowly slowly decentralizing... I've been observing this process and I've become more optimistic about the Steem blockchian ecosystem. Now I do believe in Steemit.

Btw, I was a student in Vienna, Austria. I did my Master Degree in Vienna. I lived there for 3 years.

Happy Steeming!