I'm sure I read somewhere that the idea here was that a piece of content would steadily gain traction (votes) due to its interesting nature, and rise up through the Hot pages before making an appearance on the home/Trending page.
With the content now in the spotlight, it would potentially gain more votes and/or further engagement from those who are not curating masses of content each day, and are just looking for what should be the cream of the crop.
I could well be wrong with the above, and there are potentially some valid reasons why a post can be highly rewarded but not (yet) have a great deal of engagement. A large stakeholder with for example, 2 million HP, can currently supply a $56 upvote - enough to promote a post to the lower bounds of Trending on their own. They could really like the content, and.or wish to promote their project/app - and it is their stake sooo....
With that being said, I have a table below which was first presented after the 'EIP fork' last year. At the time, promotional services were still around and a pro EIP whale had asked for a list of posts with a decent pending payout value, but with little engagement to show for it.
The link is not formed correctly on purpose, and you will need to add a '@' before the username (a right click and open would be best). 'PPP_Comment' is Pending Payout Per Comment, and the list is ordered by Pending Payout.
| Author | Post | Comments | Pending_Payout | PPP_Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| samgiset | link | 1 | 87.747 | 87.747 |
| oflyhigh | link | 0 | 84.041 | 84.041 |
| oflyhigh | link | 1 | 81.256 | 81.256 |
| oflyhigh | link | 2 | 80.897 | 40.4485 |
| oflyhigh | link | 2 | 79.612 | 39.806 |
| oflyhigh | link | 2 | 78.825 | 39.4125 |
| oflyhigh | link | 0 | 77.536 | 77.536 |
| colovhis | link | 2 | 76.011 | 38.0055 |
| dannyshine | link | 1 | 74.653 | 74.653 |
| hivewatchers | link | 0 | 69.737 | 69.737 |
| hivewatchers | link | 1 | 69.217 | 69.217 |
| bchainbastards | link | 1 | 69.15 | 69.15 |
| gabox | link | 1 | 68.531 | 68.531 |
| bchainbastards | link | 0 | 67.131 | 67.131 |
| taskmaster4450 | link | 2 | 67.077 | 33.5385 |
| hivewatchers | link | 2 | 65.553 | 32.7765 |
| hivewatchers | link | 2 | 65.161 | 32.5805 |
| freddbrito | link | 1 | 63.325 | 63.325 |
| dbroze | link | 0 | 62.226 | 62.226 |
| hivewatchers | link | 2 | 61.581 | 30.7905 |
| jaguar.force | link | 1 | 60.593 | 60.593 |
| z3ll | link | 2 | 59.782 | 29.891 |
| gabox | link | 0 | 59.384 | 59.384 |
| taskmaster4450 | link | 2 | 59.369 | 29.6845 |
| theouterlight | link | 1 | 59.333 | 59.333 |
| timsaid | link | 0 | 58.626 | 58.626 |
| the38th | link | 2 | 58.448 | 29.224 |
| thetroublenotes | link | 0 | 58.284 | 58.284 |
| guubadoop | link | 0 | 57.784 | 57.784 |
| barbarabezina | link | 0 | 56.775 | 56.775 |
| gabox | link | 2 | 55.733 | 27.8665 |
| theouterlight | link | 1 | 54.945 | 54.945 |
| taskmaster4450 | link | 0 | 54.576 | 54.576 |
| meepins | link | 0 | 53.977 | 53.977 |
| oflyhigh | link | 0 | 53.319 | 53.319 |
| dumb-news | link | 0 | 53.097 | 53.097 |
| strawhat | link | 0 | 52.949 | 52.949 |
| normie.fitness | link | 2 | 52.559 | 26.2795 |
| beelzebubba | link | 0 | 52.092 | 52.092 |
| strawhat | link | 0 | 51.908 | 51.908 |
| gabox | link | 1 | 51.512 | 51.512 |
| jeffjagoe | link | 1 | 50.818 | 50.818 |
| meepins | link | 0 | 50.753 | 50.753 |
| cheetah | link | 0 | 50.351 | 50.351 |
| kommienezuspadt | link | 1 | 50.214 | 50.214 |
| jack.russelle | link | 1 | 50.016 | 50.016 |
| strawhat | link | 0 | 49.807 | 49.807 |
| aggroed | link | 0 | 49.29 | 49.29 |
| hadley4 | link | 0 | 49.269 | 49.269 |
| gabox | link | 1 | 48.667 | 48.667 |
| oflyhigh | link | 2 | 48.306 | 24.153 |
| cheetah | link | 0 | 48.026 | 48.026 |
| lifecoma | link | 0 | 47.653 | 47.653 |
| ybanezkim26 | link | 2 | 47.586 | 23.793 |
| cheetah | link | 0 | 47.402 | 47.402 |
| cheetah | link | 0 | 47.108 | 47.108 |
| cheetah | link | 0 | 47.099 | 47.099 |
| z3ll | link | 1 | 47.011 | 47.011 |
| otemzi | link | 0 | 46.801 | 46.801 |
| b0y2k | link | 2 | 46.047 | 23.0235 |
| lukewearechange | link | 1 | 44.886 | 44.886 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | link | 1 | 44.774 | 44.774 |
| wartrapa | link | 1 | 44.337 | 44.337 |
| activistpost | link | 0 | 44.285 | 44.285 |
| dana-edwards | link | 0 | 43.946 | 43.946 |
| higgs | link | 1 | 43.931 | 43.931 |
| ecotrain | link | 1 | 43.592 | 43.592 |
| maastro | link | 1 | 43.287 | 43.287 |
| practicalthought | link | 0 | 43.053 | 43.053 |
| tonality | link | 0 | 42.865 | 42.865 |
| doitvoluntarily | link | 0 | 42.41 | 42.41 |
| cuvi | link | 1 | 42.349 | 42.349 |
| rivalhw | link | 0 | 42.095 | 42.095 |
| rivalhw | link | 1 | 41.911 | 41.911 |
| hufflepuff | link | 0 | 41.566 | 41.566 |
| lifecoma | link | 1 | 41.544 | 41.544 |
| lockhart | link | 0 | 41.503 | 41.503 |
| d-pend | link | 2 | 41.22 | 20.61 |
| thranax | link | 0 | 41.086 | 41.086 |
| leguna | link | 1 | 40.978 | 40.978 |
| rivalhw | link | 2 | 40.771 | 20.3855 |
| mproxima | link | 1 | 40.71 | 40.71 |
| strawhat | link | 0 | 40.639 | 40.639 |
| thranax | link | 1 | 40.495 | 40.495 |
| higgs | link | 0 | 40.183 | 40.183 |
| lukewearechange | link | 1 | 40.169 | 40.169 |
| honeybee | link | 1 | 39.969 | 39.969 |
| miguelmederico | link | 2 | 39.851 | 19.9255 |
| extractum-lunae | link | 1 | 39.83 | 39.83 |
| lifecoma | link | 0 | 39.705 | 39.705 |
| pinmapple | link | 2 | 39.468 | 19.734 |
| strawhat | link | 0 | 39.43 | 39.43 |
| lifecoma | link | 1 | 39.382 | 39.382 |
| tonality | link | 0 | 39.295 | 39.295 |
| thranax | link | 1 | 39.29 | 39.29 |
| ecotrain | link | 2 | 39.208 | 19.604 |
| inature | link | 0 | 39.108 | 39.108 |
| johnjgeddes | link | 0 | 39.037 | 39.037 |
| vladtepesblog | link | 0 | 38.754 | 38.754 |
| hufflepuff | link | 0 | 38.632 | 38.632 |
| endersong | link | 2 | 38.627 | 19.3135 |
| lorenzopistolesi | link | 0 | 38.585 | 38.585 |
| activistpost | link | 0 | 38.545 | 38.545 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | link | 2 | 38.508 | 19.254 |
| lifecoma | link | 1 | 38.424 | 38.424 |
| emafe | link | 2 | 38.333 | 19.1665 |
| meepins | link | 1 | 38.06 | 38.06 |
| dannyshine | link | 1 | 37.805 | 37.805 |
| lifecoma | link | 0 | 37.795 | 37.795 |
| aipaws | link | 1 | 37.776 | 37.776 |
| sonki999 | link | 1 | 37.773 | 37.773 |
| tonality | link | 0 | 37.706 | 37.706 |
| joythewanderer | link | 2 | 37.283 | 18.6415 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | link | 1 | 37.152 | 37.152 |
| deanliu | link | 1 | 37.082 | 37.082 |
| lifecoma | link | 0 | 37.063 | 37.063 |
| rafarosado | link | 0 | 36.97 | 36.97 |
| activistpost | link | 0 | 36.926 | 36.926 |
| ariapost | link | 2 | 36.907 | 18.4535 |
| drago18121996 | link | 1 | 36.798 | 36.798 |
| lukewearechange | link | 0 | 36.75 | 36.75 |
| hufflepuff | link | 1 | 36.741 | 36.741 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | link | 1 | 36.699 | 36.699 |
| khaleelkazi | link | 1 | 36.308 | 36.308 |
| tonality | link | 1 | 36.248 | 36.248 |
| krnel | link | 1 | 36.238 | 36.238 |
| milaoz | link | 0 | 36.084 | 36.084 |
| lockhart | link | 1 | 36.018 | 36.018 |
| veryspider | link | 2 | 35.816 | 17.908 |
| solrasol | link | 2 | 35.81 | 17.905 |
| leguna | link | 0 | 35.74 | 35.74 |
| makesomething | link | 2 | 35.637 | 17.8185 |
| jaguar.force | link | 0 | 35.523 | 35.523 |
| doitvoluntarily | link | 2 | 35.489 | 17.7445 |
| milaoz | link | 1 | 35.445 | 35.445 |
| rafarosado | link | 1 | 35.418 | 35.418 |
| janasilver | link | 1 | 35.41 | 35.41 |
| meepins | link | 0 | 35.387 | 35.387 |
| originate | link | 1 | 35.356 | 35.356 |
| tonality | link | 0 | 35.348 | 35.348 |
| maxwellmarcusart | link | 2 | 35.311 | 17.6555 |
| gabox | link | 0 | 35.199 | 35.199 |
| oflyhigh | link | 2 | 35.153 | 17.5765 |
The posts on this list have not been read by myself, and so I have no opinion on how interesting they are.
There are some one hit wonder accounts present, but there are also a bunch of names that pop up time and time again, and some of those appear on the post I wrote the other day regarding a rather impressive/depressing farming operation.
Taking the names on this list above and summing up the all their pending payouts (Over 100$ in total) and the comments on these posts, we have the following:
| Author | Pending_Payouts | Posts | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| taskmaster4450 | 851.097 | 14 | 148 |
| oflyhigh | 845.047 | 14 | 22 |
| krnel | 677.396 | 31 | 174 |
| thetroublenotes | 632.07 | 8 | 51 |
| deanliu | 531.851 | 11 | 84 |
| hivewatchers | 432.301 | 7 | 12 |
| milaoz | 419.775 | 14 | 9 |
| gabox | 400.196 | 12 | 10 |
| strawhat | 341.411 | 10 | 10 |
| joythewanderer | 339.494 | 11 | 79 |
| theouterlight | 334.517 | 7 | 14 |
| lifecoma | 330.543 | 12 | 5 |
| kommienezuspadt | 312.102 | 7 | 36 |
| maxwellmarcusart | 307.739 | 21 | 138 |
| jaguar.force | 288.759 | 7 | 42 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | 285.931 | 9 | 12 |
| samgiset | 280.553 | 12 | 26 |
| bchainbastards | 268.771 | 4 | 30 |
| cheetah | 258.23 | 7 | 0 |
| doitvoluntarily | 240.147 | 17 | 66 |
| thranax | 233.665 | 10 | 7 |
| activistpost | 225.66 | 8 | 3 |
| wartrapa | 223.202 | 9 | 19 |
| timsaid | 218.368 | 4 | 53 |
| lukewearechange | 214.525 | 7 | 4 |
| dbroze | 214.277 | 5 | 10 |
| honeybee | 210.125 | 6 | 21 |
| rivalhw | 206.07 | 10 | 17 |
| d-pend | 200.833 | 5 | 33 |
| sonki999 | 197.264 | 7 | 2 |
| tonality | 193.463 | 6 | 2 |
| ecotrain | 188.087 | 4 | 9 |
| pinmapple | 186.238 | 7 | 64 |
| leguna | 179.711 | 8 | 6 |
| meepins | 178.99 | 5 | 1 |
| dannyshine | 173.066 | 8 | 7 |
| z3ll | 167.262 | 3 | 9 |
| barbarabezina | 164.362 | 17 | 25 |
| lorenzopistolesi | 162.484 | 22 | 23 |
| miguelmederico | 159.36 | 7 | 61 |
| hufflepuff | 155.835 | 5 | 1 |
| cuvi | 152.839 | 6 | 2 |
| rafarosado | 152.379 | 7 | 8 |
| johnjgeddes | 136.707 | 12 | 13 |
| ybanezkim26 | 135.218 | 3 | 13 |
| inature | 129.96 | 11 | 8 |
| lockhart | 127.929 | 5 | 4 |
| hadley4 | 125.824 | 4 | 12 |
| freddbrito | 116.569 | 7 | 7 |
People will have their own opinions on what seems like a respectable amount of comments and so I'll not make any other comment than that farm (names in bold) has it easy eh?
Opening the query up to include all authors who have pending payouts totaling over $300, it's not hard to work out whos content is more engaging than others / who is responding to the comments they receive:
| Author | Pending Payouts | Posts | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| taskmaster4450 | 851.0970 | 14 | 148 |
| oflyhigh | 845.0470 | 14 | 22 |
| jrcornel | 717.8230 | 21 | 361 |
| tarazkp | 644.8830 | 14 | 385 |
| krnel | 636.3320 | 21 | 119 |
| thetroublenotes | 632.0700 | 8 | 51 |
| claudio83 | 589.1280 | 35 | 46 |
| deanliu | 531.8510 | 11 | 84 |
| themarkymark | 525.3040 | 7 | 225 |
| emrebeyler | 500.8170 | 5 | 113 |
| acidyo | 463.0770 | 8 | 186 |
| hivewatchers | 432.3010 | 7 | 12 |
| lyubovbar | 429.9400 | 14 | 17 |
| milaoz | 419.7750 | 14 | 9 |
| galenkp | 404.8400 | 14 | 396 |
| madushanka | 391.6500 | 20 | 100 |
| gabox | 378.3330 | 9 | 9 |
| nonameslefttouse | 366.9080 | 7 | 215 |
| justineh | 361.0130 | 2 | 290 |
| quochuy | 350.7910 | 3 | 47 |
| edicted | 343.5200 | 10 | 187 |
| strawhat | 341.4110 | 10 | 10 |
| holger80 | 336.5660 | 3 | 23 |
| theouterlight | 334.5170 | 7 | 14 |
| priyanarc | 334.0090 | 14 | 66 |
| joythewanderer | 332.7980 | 10 | 72 |
| hafizullah | 315.2890 | 20 | 58 |
| abh12345 | 313.3700 | 5 | 507 |
| kommienezuspadt | 312.1020 | 7 | 36 |
| lifecoma | 311.5350 | 8 | 5 |
| adelepazani | 309.0010 | 9 | 43 |
| naturalmedicine | 305.5930 | 6 | 54 |
| jaguar.force | 284.0440 | 6 | 34 |
| cryptoinvestsvk | 281.4110 | 8 | 12 |
| maxwellmarcusart | 281.1850 | 14 | 98 |
| samgiset | 269.8230 | 9 | 18 |
| bchainbastards | 268.7710 | 4 | 30 |
| derangedvisions | 267.8130 | 7 | 95 |
| coruscate | 266.3650 | 5 | 75 |
| slobberchops | 264.6480 | 5 | 84 |
| eveuncovered | 258.2970 | 11 | 125 |
| rok-sivante | 257.5150 | 10 | 109 |
| papa-pepper | 251.7980 | 13 | 41 |
| penguinpablo | 249.3170 | 8 | 102 |
| azircon | 248.4730 | 2 | 66 |
| hiveio | 247.0400 | 4 | 292 |
| certain | 246.7330 | 12 | 15 |
| atnazo | 246.2080 | 13 | 8 |
| joshman | 243.9150 | 2 | 54 |
| hiveyoda | 242.7900 | 11 | 23 |
| cheetah | 239.9860 | 5 | 0 |
| offgridlife | 238.0940 | 11 | 92 |
| steemer-sayu907 | 235.0720 | 14 | 25 |
| armandosodano | 232.5690 | 6 | 47 |
| qurator | 227.0670 | 10 | 84 |
| activistpost | 225.6600 | 8 | 3 |
| cryptofinally | 224.8570 | 9 | 26 |
| wartrapa | 220.6160 | 8 | 19 |
| timsaid | 218.3680 | 4 | 53 |
| alexa.art | 215.4120 | 11 | 35 |
| dannystravels | 214.6620 | 7 | 4 |
| lukewearechange | 214.5250 | 7 | 4 |
| dbroze | 214.2770 | 4 | 10 |
| honeybee | 210.1250 | 6 | 21 |
| midlet | 210.0870 | 4 | 43 |
| xxxxxxxxxx | 206.6420 | 4 | 294 |
| ezzy | 206.2540 | 7 | 19 |
| isaria | 206.1360 | 7 | 59 |
| doitvoluntarily | 204.5320 | 9 | 36 |
| mnallica | 204.3350 | 11 | 19 |
| d-pend | 200.7660 | 5 | 33 |
I'm not suggesting engagement metrics should be used to order a Trending page, as that will certainly be gamed. A bit like if I produce this list too often.
It would be nice though to see a list of posts that have genuine interactions taking place near the top of the pile - new visitors could see that as more of a positive than the number next to the hexagon.
Cheers
Asher