Don't get discouraged. It's really hard being a minnow here. I think it took me around six months to build up a following of friends who would comment regularly and support me and vice versa. Now I'm almost here a year and I'm doing wonderfully. When you are new you don't have much SP or the ability to determine voting power which puts you at a disadvantage. When you reach 500 SP you finally can determine voting power meaning you can vote more often without draining your VP. I'd say for me reaching 500 SP was a turning point and helped me get noticed by others. It is possible to be successful here. You just have to work really hard in the beginning to make friends and build your account up some.