You've done excellent work again Paula! I feel, that some sort of permanent UI onto this witness information would be invaluable, in the same way we expect information to be available for politicians so we know who their affiliations are.
Through your article, I have now learnt that I have 30 witness votes. Everybody screams go read the white paper, however I feel this information, and other details of how this whole platform works, remain "buried" and thus taken advantage of by those who figured out how it all fits together.
The average user who arrives at Steemit is looking for content, to create content and maybe earn Steem and beyond that have no real clue how the platform works. Is then any surprise that 60% have not voted for a witness.
Then on top of that, there are certain "shady" members who are out to win a popularity contest with their followers and have them vote them up to the golden witness circle, without really understanding what their chosen witness is supposed to do, or what they intend to do in that position. What is worrisome is when these aspiring witnesses conflate their self-aggrandising for serving and furthering the platform.
I am only learning so fast because I am studying the data, but the learning curve is well to big. Everyday I learn something new and I expect this to continue for some time