It never occurred to me to ask myself this question. It seems like an obvious one too, except that it isn't until you ask it.

Do you upvote content that has been bot voted?

In this context, bot voted means; the author purchased an upvote, whether it is done to make money, or to increase "exposure" by reaching the trending page or whatever.

The majority of the content that I come across on steemit isn't geared towards viewers like me. I can't actually say who they are geared towards given how poorly most are written (and that's putting it nicely). That's when I asked myself if I ever take into account someone else's use of upvote bots as part of my decision to upvote them or not.

I end up so focused on the content, that I never check who upvoted it first. I only check the current post value and then I run through the following thoughts (in no particular order):

1. Did they put in genuine work?

A lot of content is a regurgitation of basic ideas and concepts that can be readily found throughout the internet. I don't think there is much value in steemit if you can find information here, that's also everywhere else on the internet, especially if it's been forced to the trending page with a bot, so I don't upvote it. Instead steemit should be collections of information that would otherwise not be found elsewhere on the internet. That's what can give Steem more exposure on search engines, ultimately helping steem reach critical mass.

2. Did they add information that helped me validate them?

As much as steemit is a social media blogging website, it's also a path of financial transactions. It is only inevitable, that people need to establish identity since people will want to know who they are sending their money to and what their reputation is. You don't have to share every intimate detail about yourself, but giving us a snippet of who you are begins to create a profile. A lot of people may post information that seems factual, but no one has validated it.

This helps me judge who you are and you're content better. If you post information that you try to pass off as expert knowledge without going into details, I'll likely pass on the upvote, no matter how good the posting is (I'll likely check your previous posts as well). There are many post here that pass superficial information that is generic at best and I can't validate it because they don't provide enough proof to me that they are worth listening to.

Ultimately , people can post whatever they want, it's a blogging website after all. I just wont upvote it.

3. How much is it already upvoted to?

If the content is through the roof in terms of upvotes and $, I won't upvote it unless it's a breakthrough idea and the content is substantial in detail and depth. Of course each topic has its own variation on what's through the roof.

4. What category of content is it?

I mostly read about steemit, cryptocurrency in general, and tech related content. The reason why I typically only view these types of content is because I'm heavily into "edu-tainment". Content about traveling, daily blogging, is often dry and serve zero purpose in expanding my knowledge. But if they can entertain me and not "shout their story at me", then I'll throw an upvote their way.

I know there are people who love following someone because they are a great entertainer (such as Casey Neistat), but that level of persona isn't on Steemit just yet. A lot of people don't have the skill to entertain to such a level, but perhaps one day it will!

That's basically how I judge my upvotes.

The idea is that the steemit economy is an attention economy means only one thing. The type of content that appears here is the type of attention that is available.

I don't think it matters so much on steemit because the condenser (steemit front end) shows EVERYTHING on the blockchain. The only solution is to section off parts of steemit is by having the communities features. The good thing is that there will likely be publications that are powered by authors and are paid in STEEM.

Picture of the day!

By the brooklyn bridge is a giant neon sign that spins. It's about 50 feet long and 6 feet tall if I remember correctly. It just spins. I'm not a giant fan of this because it can send mixed messages. To me it means that you "accept" and do not "do".

I could also see it from a social way of accepting people, but not necessarily doing because you genuinely do.

What do you guys think?