Like @playfulfoodie said, don't look at the trending page. It's frustrating. I have been here ten months and my payouts have dropped a LOT since the whales stopped voting after the "experiment." I think the users who were lucky enough to accumulate 20,000 SP and higher while the price was really low are the ones who are becoming bazillionaires now. It's just like anywhere else in the world - the wealthy become wealthier while the middle class stay where they are. I have learned to be thankful for any payout I receive at all. I may not make tens of millions of dollars someday like the users who frequently make the trending page. But I will still have a nice chunk of money some day with my earnings. Hang in there!