Thanks for your reply. I know you are very popular on Steemit, and your input is much appreciated.

My thought on this is that if I do something on Steemit that I don’t actually believe in, just to get a higher rep, am I different to all the newbs posting spam comments in order to attract followers?

A rule I try to Steem by is to post the sort of content I want to see on Steemit myself. And if that limits my audience, so be it!

When I read most posts, I only tend to look at the top coments, and the ones I really notice are the ones with pictures.

So when I comment I include a picture, upvote the coment I’m replying to (even if I disagree with it) and upvote my own comment. And that ticks my boxes.