lol...yeah it pays, you just have to be patience, and upvoting on post newer than 20 mins old will get you less curation, upvoting to quickly makes your curation less as well. Wait at least a minute between upvotes, and try to pick articles that will have an impact on steemit... Im new myself, but my research has gained me some curations. There are several different factors that decide how much you earn, but you can earn by blogging, posting and commenting..And if someone with a lot of steem power enjoy your blog post etc. they have the power to give you more earnings if they upvote you at 100%.