Steemit is like any social media site. It takes time to build a following unless you get a boost from an already popular user. The money side of it tends to just put an extra bit of frustration on top, which is probably why you hear more complaints about YouTube and here than places where you can't earn. It's not so much a pyramid scheme as social media with added incentive. People complain about the whales not sharing, but it's no different to the popular people on other social media accounts who wouldn't give the average fan the time of day.

Have you joined up with team Australia yet? It's worthwhile.