I don't blame you at all for being a profit-seeker. The way I see it, my time is a scarce resource, and I expect compensation for sharing it. It does seem to result in a lot of garbage posting and those posts getting upvoted, certainly, but if that is the way the system is working in the short run, people are going to act in ways that maximize the return on their time-investment.

I have come and gone from the platform several times, and my opinion is that it doesn't have to be an "either-or" situation. If you are producing quality content that has appeal to other Steemians, the trick still is to get on the radar of those potential upvoters, commenters, and followers. The only way to do that, it seems, comes from investing yourself in the curating and commenting side of things, which builds community and brings attention to your own efforts. That way, you not only have to produce popular content; you have to consume the content of others. I definitely upvote and comment on some of the more popular blogs, but I balance that with saving some of my voting power for those blog posts I find compelling, like this one.