If you were a whale and had a large stake of SP would you spread your upvotes in small amounts to as much users as possible or just big chuncks to a few *hardcore* ones??

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I would follow the same approach that many of the new Steem platforms use, for example Utopian or Steemhunt or Musing.  This involves creating a community around a niche idea (e.g. open-source projects, technology hunting, Q&A) and building and promoting that community.

One of the aims of the Steem blockchain was to generate the best content on the web. But the Steem blockchain doesn't produce enough rewards to compete financially with the largest social networks. The top Instagrammers or Youtubers earn huge amounts that Steem cannot match. So it is difficult for Steem to compete in all areas.

But if Steem can build a name for its niche communities by employing rewards in the areas where currently there are no rewards (the above examples plus things like restaurant reviews and book reviews, as well as micro-tasks and micro-economies) it can start to build a reputation for excellence in certain areas.

Hopefully this excellence can then attract more people and more investors. 

In order to try and promote this excellence rewards need to be focused on people who are really producing the best content. So in answer to your question I would be hitting a small number of articles with the best content with the biggest upvotes.

I would also have rewards for the best comments, with the aim of promoting community and engagement.

Finally I would consider a fundition-style approach, where users who produce good content which takes a longer period of time to generate (whether artists, writers, scientists or coders) could apply for a regular basic income to support a defined purpose, project or investigation,

Steem has a lot of this already. Really there is a lot of potential for this blockchain to work.