Steem and Steemit Inc is at a critical junction, I am getting increasingly nauseated with the trend I see gaining traction and I believe its time we arrest the situation of "voting Bots".
First of all, I am not against voting Bots but I am worried that quality of post is compromised when your ability to pay a bot determines the likelihood of your post gaining any traction. The voting Bot started off on a fix rate system where you pay X amount and your post receives a random percentage upvote, now the system has adapted and much more players are involved. Some of the Bot system operates by rewarding those who bid the most and some observers has recognize how lucrative this model is and has since launch their own Bot base system. An while this benefits a few I believe its has reach a point where some form of leadership/ regulation is needed. The main reason why I say this stems primarily from the fact that Delegating Steem Power has taken off and now these players who run those Bots system can now tap into this readily available system. It ins't naive to say that humans would act in their best interest and not necessarily the interest of the community. It is my belief that if this system and trend continues, Steem can quickly find itself being labeled unwanted names where for examples "users pay for upvotes from large stakeholders that isn't reflected of quality" or "Its a system that enables the rich to get richer".
This post is by no means attacking "voting Bots", I am just a concern Steemian who sees the potential problems if this system is allowed to operate. I believe that the bidding process should be eliminated or those who operate it are mindful of the potential abuse. We have an excellent platform, one of the best blockchain around and the potential that it possess is still untapped. Lets go back to rewarding content creators and not develop a system where you first must pay. Let Steem reflect the theme below, the we all sign up for
Steem has tremendous potential, if we focus on making this platform a better place and respect each others views and opinion I believe we can easily achieve success together. I know economics matters and everyone would not operate in a system where their personal interest isn't eroded but compromise is needed if we are to move forward. It is my firm belief that the concept sell itself but we must promote a platform that is tolerant and isn't game easily and thus its time we have some reflection on the present system. We can easily see monopoly being created if this present situation continues and content creators now find themselves being "B.tch of these Pimps".
Thus I recommend Delegated Steem Power should be community focus and content driven. Community focus where that Delegated Stake revolves between community members. That Delegated Stake would revolve among members who upvotes content that is beneficial to the community and platform. This I believe would generate much more traction and content creators within those communities would be more willing to participate and encourage behavior that is beneficial to the platform. We still have people on the platform who are self-less, who actually take the time out to read content and reward the creators. The steemians who leave thoughtful comments, why not develop a system where those who leave thoughtful comments can be eligible to receive 100SP Delegation for 1 week. This would operate base on points they would receive from those who upvote their contribution to their post.
I believe once we have enough traction, this would cause significant buying pressure on Steem and help reverse bear trend it currently find itself in. These are just some of my thoughts, there is more, this platform should definitely be within the TOP10 and its really up to us as Steemians to make it happen.