Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! It is so nice to see that what I have been going on about for so long is finally catching on. I believe this has now turned into a movement and more and more people are 'getting it'. As more influential people begin to write about this issue, the faster this movement will sweep through the community and soon a new mindset will dominate the landscape. I truly am excited to see more and more of the higher-ranking Steemians writing articles like this one.
There were days when I felt like joining the crowd and give in to the pressure of vote-buying because I could see how those who bought votes shot past me in earnings. However, I feel proud that I didn't cave in and have never paid for a vote. Instead, I have been offering all my SBD earnings for the week as incentives to others to read my weekly contest posts and to write some meaningful replies in order to encourage engagement.
I'm just a small fry with very little influence, so would appreciate any participation I can get from this audience.
Thanks again for supporting me in my mission to look at the long-term health of this platform by having REAL social interactions.