Personally, i would use the $500 worth of steem to power up...... That way my vote is worth more, that way the content i like gets more value added, that way the creator thinks "wow, people like my stuff. I will stay on steemit and keep creating great content"
Its no fun to make money unless you can take others with you 😉
I power up here and there but I cannot be in all places at one time. I would rather give it away to another steemian to do with as they please, maybe they can upvote content, or help out. Either way it is my way of saying thank you for getting involved.