I was asked directly earlier in the day for a vote, and now I'm assuming many other people were too. To be completely candid, I didn't expect him to jump this far this fast. I expected him to end up in the 30-50 range and just slowly accumulate SP much like the other backup witnesses do (and I did for a long time).
For me - charlie is someone outside of the existing "groups" that exist on steemit today, much like myself. I joined steemit of my own accord, then started doing and working on things. I saw him do this as well, with his posts and the projects he's put effort into so far.
I kind of feel for @charlieshrem... this whole situation could have totally been the same, except with my account as the focal point. So I'll just close out by saying if we're going to highlight an issue, it's the voting, and not charlie himself.
My 2 cents.
RE: Announcement: Charlie Shrem Advisor to Steem and Witness Proposal