Networking, or pandering? Is there a difference?

I don't think there is for you.

If Steemit is all about making money, then good luck with it. That's not the goal of Steemit according to the white paper. It's supposed to be a social media site where content creators receive rewards that other social media sites just capture as profit.

This is why it's supposed to become the gorilla king of the space.

This is why it will, unless

"...abuse of the scoring system...cause[s] community members to lose faith in the perceived fairness of the economic system."

In which case, there will be no (further) capital gains for investors. Competition, which I have predicted, has arisen. Calibrae seeks to improve Steemit in several ways which @emble advises.