I do vote my posts only up, to be part of the unpopular crew. I don't have any qualms about it; I know full well that my content is excellent. The work I'm doing here, I'm immensely proud of. It may not be to everyone's tastes, but it is my life and my passions and my experiences laid bare, and to me, that's worth the piddling $0.03, or whatever.

However, from day one, my rule has been for myself: never up vote at time of posting. Never up vote in the first half hour. I always wait until curation rewards for others are at their highest potential before I spend my one vote a day on myself. (Upvoting your own comments is like high-fiving yourself in the face, however.)

I know that when I do make it on this site, it will be through the curation of others. I upvote pieces that I like freely; I don't curate for money's sake. I'm not good at it, I don't have the time to choose the best and most diverse collection, and my heart isn't in it. By the time I up vote my own post, it's either already going gangbusters, or it isn't. But when I add just that one more vote to my totals, it's not only an act of self love, it's an investment that just might make the difference. Someone who sees 80 upvotes, instead of 79, might just happen to be more likely to take a chance on my work...who knows.

I understand the sentiment of your post. My dream/not-unattainable goal is to get back to where I was before the HF, where I was able to up vote every single meaningful comment on my posts to reward and show appreciation for the people who connect with me. Real whales have no need to up vote themselves anyways. I'll get there :)...sorry for the novel.