I operate a Witness and a seed node for Steem, and have to say I am happy with Steemit thus far.. Yes there are some politics going on sometimes, but where in crypto is there not ?

I would advise that if your just starting out on Steemit, to go and make friends there.Comment on others posts and interact with them. Starting out as a "minnow" it really helps to interact with others to get them to follow you and vote on your posts,if you post good content.

Its 100% not a get rich quick scheme. It takes time to build up a rep and followers. But there are plenty of people there making a full time income and some.