We have an important and exciting announcement to make today! Effective immediately, the teams behind Steemvoter and MinnowBooster are merging together to create one single unified business structure, which we call the Build Team.

Practically speaking, this means that both projects will be operated by the same people going forward, leveraging synergies & sharing resources between the two to allow for an overall better user experience. Steemvoter is a useful tool for improving curation abilities, while MinnowBooster functions both as an upvote bot for hire and a marketplace for renting delegated Steem Power that takes your voting clout to a whole new level. Taken together, they are two sides of the same coin, a veritable Swiss Army knife of tools to give any Steemit user (not only minnows) a welcome boost on their way to success.

So how does this affect me?

For the most part it won't, at least not right away. Ordinary users can keep right on using both Steemvoter and MinnowBooster. You probably won't even notice there's been a change in the management structure unless you are reading this post.

But there is one highly visible immediate impact:

A new tech support model

Steemvoter support has been migrated to the MinnowBooster Discord Chat. Discord is similar to Steemit Chat, with several different chat channels covering various topics of discussion. But we believe it's a superior system, less buggy and with a rock solid mobile app for getting help on the go. We look forward to seeing you on Discord in the new steemvoter-support channel!

Also, there are several other channels such as general for discussing anything related to Steemvoter & MinnowBooster, and mb-support for getting help with MinnowBooster specific issues. You can think of Discord as a new place to hang out and interact with a community of fellow Steemvoter & MinnowBooster users. Don't just use it for tech support; pop in and say "hi" whenever the urge strikes you!

Note: the old steemvoter.com channel on Steemit Chat will stick around for a few more days to allow for a smooth transition, but after that it will be closed. So we urge everyone to migrate to Discord at their earliest convenience.

Self payment votes

Another immediate impact is in the way our revenue model operates. Steemvoter users will be familiar with these snippets from the Terms of Service that every new user agrees to upon signing up:

STEEMVOTER uses customer votes as payment for “FREE SERVICES” by way of 1 (one) vote per day or a maximum of 7 (seven) votes per week. By subscribing to our services, customers nominate STEEMVOTER as duly authorized, limited proxy and cede the aforementioned vote(s) to STEEMVOTER to be used in accordance to the payment terms.

STEEMVOTER can use the payment votes in any way, shape or form; typically, but not limited to being used to upvote Hive account@steemvoter or associated company accounts.

Up to now, we have mainly been doing self votes on Hive account@steemvoter posts by convention. But now that both products are operating as part of a single business, we will also be using these votes on Hive account@minnowbooster update posts, and possibly other team related accounts from time to time. There is no change to the Terms of Service; this is merely a different way of exercising the rights expressed above, and we're mentioning it here in the interest of transparency.

Introducing the Build Team!

Our expanded business now has an expanded team as well. Here's a list of the movers & shakers that put in a lot of hard work to keep things operating behind the scenes:

Hive account@thecryptodrive - CEO of the Build Team

Our CEO is a Steem blockchain serial entrepreneur, with nearly a year under his belt as the first Steem witness in Africa. His diverse real-world experience in property, finance and business management serves him well in spotting new business opportunities on the Steem blockchain and putting together teams to capitalize on them.

Hive account@thecryptodrive is the idea man; he handles all the business related aspects of Steemvoter and MinnowBooster, smoothly charting a path forward through the minefield of Steemit politics so our tech people can focus on doing what they do best.

He has been involved in numerous other Steem related projects, including founding the Hive account@steemdrive billboard campaign and Hive account@steemsports, which currently has a team of writers and developers working to create an alternate front-end for the Steem blockchain with a global sports community appeal. He was also one of the first thought leaders around Delegation Lending over eight months ago, going on to develop a practical business model for the Hive account@minnowbooster Delegation Leasing Market (DLM).

Hive account@cryptomancer - CTO of https://steemvoter.com/

Hive account@cryptomancer is from Issaquah, a small town near Seattle in the United States. He graduated from the University of Washington in 2003 with a B.S. in computer science and a minor in mathematics. Seeking adventure, he immediately moved to Japan, and has been living with his wife & daughter in Tokyo ever since.

His day job: a software developer for a big global investment bank. But his real passion is cryptocurrency investing, through which he hopes to escape the rat race and secure a life of freedom for himself & his family. He joined Steemit in August 2016, looking at the platform as a promising new investment for his portfolio.

In addition to serving on the Build Team as the Steemvoter technical expert, he is also a major crownholder in the VIVA project headed by Hive account@williambanks. He has been providing early liquidity on VIVA's new TradeQwik exchange and helped draft the VIVA whitepaper.

Hive account@reggaemuffin - CTO of https://www.minnowbooster.net/

Our main developer & technical expert for MinnowBooster, Hive account@reggaemuffin is a German student of Computer Science who is passionate about approaching the Steem ecosystem from a social perspective. He wants to support the good work other users are doing and help onboard as many new users as possible.

His many Steem based projects certainly align with the above goals. In addition to running his own witness node, he manages Hive account@welcomebot which greets & provides helpful resources to new users, built the current version of http://whaleshares.net/, and serves as the CTO of Hive account@steemsports.

Hive account@reggaemuffin brings a lot of dev talent to the table. He is proficient in many programming languages including Java, PHP, Python, Javascript, and Ruby, to name a few. A potent mix for tackling the challenges of the blockchain.

Hive account@coinhawk - system design consultant

Hive account@coinhawk is advising us on a number of matters, utilizing his vast financial trading & business experience. He was a restaurant General Manager for over 12 years, overseeing 7 successful new store openings during that time, and is now a Regional Manager. He also spent the last 5 years developing https://coinhawk.com/ , a unique auction platform for cryptocurrencies and precious metals.

He specializes in data analysis, project management, business management, website development, and consumer trends.

Hive account@tech-trends - moderator for Steemvoter support chat

You'll find Hive account@tech-trends hanging around the steemvoter-support channel in Discord. Always eager to help out and answer any Steemvoter questions you may have, he enjoys keeping people updated with the latest trends in technology as well as helping Steemit newcomers. He has only been on Steemit for barely a month himself, but has already earned a solid reputation as an outgoing people person in the community.

We also have a few more staff who wished not to be listed here, but you might have a chance to meet them if you stop by the MinnowBooster Discord Chat!

The future's so bright, you gotta wear shades!

With both Steemvoter and MinnowBooster brought together under the management of the Build Team, we hope to be able to better serve our customers and make using both products a more pleasurable experience. To all our loyal veteran users: thanks so much for your continued support, you guys make all the hard work worthwhile! And to all our new users, discovering our services for the first time: welcome aboard & we hope you enjoy the ride!

So come along with us, onward & upward, as we work toward empowering Steemians everywhere to realize their full potential.

3... 2... 1... blast off!

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What is Steemvoter?

Steemvoter is an automatic voting service that votes on your behalf according to rules you set. You can control who the service votes on, how much voting power is used, and when to vote. Steemvoter will work for you 24 hours a day, so you never miss voting on your favorite authors! Sign up for free at https://steemvoter.com/

Steemvoter review & introduction:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@cryptomancer/steem-voter-review-bringing-bot-power-to-the-masses

What is MinnowBooster?

MinnowBooster is a collection of tools for boosting your voting. It currently includes:

1. An upvote bot that offers a predictable upvote return in proportion to your spending.
2. A Delegation Leasing Market (DLM) where Steemians can rent Steem Power on a weekly basis from investors who have extra Steem Power they are looking to make passive income from.

Check it out today at https://www.minnowbooster.net/

The DLM is the first of its kind on Steemit. Demand from renters has been so high we are having trouble keeping all the delegation orders filled. We are actively seeking new investors who wish to participate in this brand new market. If the idea of a risk free return of 40% APR compounded daily on your spare Steem Power sounds exciting, then head on down to the DLM and start filling some orders right this very minute: https://www.minnowbooster.net/market

For an idea of potential returns, here is how much Hive account@cryptomancer made yesterday from his DLM investments:

That's some pretty decent passive income, no? If you'd like to get started with DLM investing, check out this post for more details:
https://steemit.com/minnowbooster/@thecryptodrive/investors-earn-up-to-49-apr-with-minnowbooster-net-delegation-leasing-market-dlm

Latest MinnowBooster update post:
https://steemit.com/minnowbooster/@minnowbooster/minnowbooster-update-log-3

MinnowBooster introduction (this is only an overview, some details of the service have since changed, see update post above):
https://steemit.com/minnowbooster/@minnowbooster/introducing-minnowbooster-beta

Image credits: graphics in this post include screen shots from Hive account@cryptomancer's desktop PC and sun clip art taken from Pixabay, which is used under Creative Commons CC0.
Steemvoter and MinnowBooster logos courtesy of the Build Team. MinnowBooster footer banner created by Hive account@ryivhnn. Team bio photos were provided by each respective team member and are used with permission.