Well you never know. It's because you never know, that things like Steemit are based on trust. Here's what I do as a newbie: I post good content, or at least write as I've always done and try to find things that will interest and inform others and on the odd occasion write something someone finds amusing. I get good replies. One of the first things I do every morning is look at my replies. I try to be a good curator, but that's mostly built on personal preference. I don't necessarily follow people if they ask me to. I follow those who I believe deserve it. It may be their first post or it may be something I find interesting, or it may be someone posting that I already follow. I don't measure that side of Steemit. I love being on Steemit and it opens the world in a completely different way. Try and see it as a community and your follow thing will go away. Good luck. I'm going to follow you when I see one of your posts that interests me.