Decision To Manually Curate Content

Greetings Steemian's,

Some of you may have reached this point, the point where you've amassed the amount of Steem Power which brings you from plankton, to minnow, the point in which you realize your vote has actual monetary value, and with this value, comes responsibility.

At this point, you may also come to realize that not only do you obtain the ability to pay others for their content, but also, earn money yourself by voting other's content.

If you care at all about the implications, it could be a bit to digest.

There are a host of things you can do with your Steem Power at this point, and the decisions you make, have an impact on the economy of Steem. Knowing, and understanding this, adds to the burden of responsibility, and I personally take it very seriously, because after all, I believe in Steem, so it's my moral responsibility to protect it's intrinsic value to the best of my abilities.

I like the idea of automation as a means to support quality content creators, but I also feel that manual curators are a must for the blockchain, and I also feel I am a good judge of quality, with an aptitude, and ability to maximize the use of my vote, in a positive way for Steem.

Does it sound like I'm trying to sell myself for a job position? I suppose it might, but this is ok with me. I like others to know my intentions for Steem, and my role in it's economy. Let's look at the pros and cons of automation for a minute.

Pros:

• Efficient consistent support for content creators.
• Set it and forget it style appeal.
• Less waste of VP during downtimes.
• Maximum potential for curation rewards, due to set vote times.
• Circle jerk style support (This is a reality) (could also be considerd a con)

Cons:

• Less available VP for manual curation.
• Harder to manage VP because of posting inconsistencies.
• Some users stop posting (human nature, inconsistency)
• Expectations are not met when technical issues occur.
• Jealousy, anger, resentment can occur with users.
• Abuse of auto's can occur at times.
• Constant tweaking of auto's becomes a chore, and time consuming.
• New members feel they have less chance at success, because automation takes from the potential to reward growing user base.

I feel these are very real, logical, and sound as far as pros and cons are concerned, and I think often about this.

I want Steem to succeed, and I feel my role in this, in one capacity, is to manually curate, much more so, than autonomously.

I've decided to cease autovotes, but for a couple of accounts. No need to discuss my reasons for this, as it's mostly personal choice, and due to my relationship with them, as well as a very strong propensity towards feeling they are deserving of the automation.

I cannot however, continually support as many accounts as I have been actively supporting with my VP with automation. It's become too difficult with the low SP that my account has.

So the decision is final, I will now manually curate, manage my VP according to my schedule, and hope that my decision is good for Steem in the long run.

That is all, good day Steemian's.

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