Hey there tylerdav, welcome to steemit. In regards to the 200 people following you before you even post.. Here is my idea about that. A few of them might be real genuine people who followed you after you followed them or commented or interacted on their stuff, but.. I think most of them are "bots". I really don't think I'm at almost 1500 followers. I think it's probably more likely 500 or less.
I can't prove it, but I have a suspicion that a lot of if not all of the people on steemit have inflated numbers in regards to followers. And that many of them are not real people but bots.
That aside.. I enjoyed reading your post! You seem like a very likeminded individual and I appreciate your passion for not only trying to find the truth but also to sharing what you've learned with others. Definitely going to give you a follow. Good luck on here! I look forward to seeing more of your posts in the future.
Thank you for the feedback! I would definitely have to agree with you about the bots. I'm sure at least half of them are bots, in my opinion, lol. I will give you a follow as well! All the best to you.