Great post, thank you! I was also added to a bot list, and it made all the difference for me. Prior to that, some of my posts would get a dollar or two (which I was thoroughly grateful for as it's more than Twitter or Facebook ever paid me!) while others might get lucky. The bot bump makes all the difference as to whether or not a post catches some attention and moves up. I still find really great posts which have been missed or great authors who have more than a few hit articles while most of their posts are unnoticed. The curation bots are an important part of the ecosystem, one in which people trade risk to their reputation based on trust for time. The more I think about it, the more I think maybe even I should get a bot at some point and support the authors I'm seeing who consistently put out great content, but I miss due to lack of notifications. I'm using steemstats.com and my follow list (which is how I found this post, in fact), but I still miss so much great content I'd like to vote on. As you said, the "What is Steemit?" question is still being answered every day. It's an exciting time to be here.
to CLARIFY the reason WHY you have been put on the bot list:
You have been producing QUALITY, VALUABLE content.
I recognized that from the first posts of yours I saw, and was supporting them with my upvotes. You've proven you're an asset to the community, and such have reaped the rewards - while also being held accountable to continuing producing such quality content and serving well with the opportunity you've been granted.
and as was referred to in another comment with the reverse-crabbucket dynamic... with the higher rewards you're earning, you now have the opportunity to pay it forward by supporting those under-recognized authors you come across. you also have the opportunity to do some curation posts - like a "Top 10 Rising Stars / Top 10 Must-Read Underdog Posts Of The Week" type thing, helping using the spotlight shone on you to direct attention to where you feel it is well-deserved.
Truthfully, I don't want to be writing and spending hours per day on Steemit a year or two from now, the same way I am at the moment. I recognize there are contributions to be made to the community which I am in a position to make now - though I want to use my success to pass on the lessons, guidance, insight, and wisdom that will help new talent rise - passing on the torch, so the natural stars can rise to the position they deserve as they put in their work developing the skills and producing quality content to better serve the community, at which point I can invest my top talents elsewhere, where need at that time.
so yes, I agree that a bot to support the voting on users I'd like to invest into would indeed be an amazing thing. If you figure out the technical details of how to pull it off, lemme know... :-)
Thanks Rok. That means so much to me. I just spent the last couple of hours helping someone on the chat and going through new posts in different categories, feeling the thrill of voting up some $0.00 posts to $0.15 while also calling out the occasional plagiarist Cheetah somehow missed.
Normally I'd be focusing on my next post, but tonight I enjoyed just using the site, leaving comments, and voting for stuff I hope others find as well. I think an under dog post entry is a great idea. I was really, really happy about highlighting this post about the latest Steem Whale updates. It was about to pay out at less than $2. I used a connection who has the ear of a whale, and we got it up over $200. That felt really, really good. I use that site every day, and it's a great feeling to see them rewarded.
Thanks for putting out such great content and for connecting so many people together. You are truly gifted at this.
I am also greatful for the consistent quality you put out and am happy you have been put on the bot list to promote your content. People like you are the ones that have the idea of the system correct. You have a bit more time than some of the whales, so you are able to invest that time finding and supporting new people trying to create valuable posts and comments. It really is a pay it forward system. And by promoting other great posts within your own, you add visibility to them while also maintaining your status as a great curator. Many thanks for all you have done so far.
After the payout window switched to 12 hours ive also been considering this. I miss a lot of content by a few authors i regularly want to vote on due to the time difference (im in Australia).