How do you choose who you delegate to (or if you delegate)?

If you delegate your Steem Power out, what is it that you look for?

• Do you want something back in return?
• Do you want your SP to be used for the benefit of a community or interest group?
• Do you lease it out without worrying what it is used for, as long as you're getting your fee paid each day or month?

Most of us would probably look for a balance between giving support to a community, and at least getting something back for the SP we could otherwise be earning a return on. We may therefore delegate small amounts to a range of community projects because we feel good about helping out, but also would like to make some gains in the process. This is one thing which makes Steem great; we can "invest" in projects without the risk of losing our investment.

---

How do I choose where to delegate my SP?

Honesty and Added Community Value

If there's one big thing I look for when delegating out my Steem Power, it is that the account I delegate to does exactly what it says it will do in it's mission statement, or its status updates, and that I support what the account is trying to achieve. If I have any doubts about that, I won't delegate, or will withdraw my delegation, and look elsewhere to support another community. If I lose out on return upvotes in the process, that's fine by me.

What I do want to see is that the gains made form my delegation to the account get reinvested into the account, and not drawn out for personal gain of those running it. I delegate to projects or accounts I believe are community focused first, and to some that I also see some benefit coming back to myself. It doesn't' have to be big; it can event be an upvote at the same rate that the non-delegating community members get. Anything above that is a bonus. My delegations are used to support communities which I am interested in or a member of and, through my engagement with other members, support me on a social level, and also an economic level.

---

What type of community accounts are there?

There are some really good community support accounts out there, which do a fantastic job of helping their communities, and encouraging engagement between members. You may delegate to an account which gives upvote to all members of their community, regardless if those members delegate of not. Some will upvote community members, and give higher upvotes to those who delegate to them. Others require an investment of some PS to be part of the community, and others require a certain level of quality posting and community involvement to remain a member and receive benefits form the community account.

There are also those where you delegate to the account, and only members who delegate to it get upvotes. Yes, it seem like a big "circle-jerk", and in many cases it is, if those members aren't also supporting the community in some other way on their own. In a way it is just like a curation trail for the community you are supporting, without having to setup your own auto-vote service account.

---

Leasing out SP

I haven't done this yet, and I'm not sure I will anytime soon (mainly because I don't have all that much SP to give). Here you get paid for delegating your SP to another account. This one carries the risk that your SP could be used for just about anything, and not necessarily what you would like your SP to be used for. I would recommend researching the account you are considering leasing to, and make an informed decision on whether to lease you STEEM POWER to it.

---

Lease Responsibly and Review Often

If you are leasing your STEEM POWER out, the first and foremost thing you should be doing is leasing out your SP responsibly to an account which you have looked at, and you are comfortable supporting. There may may come a time when an account no longer meets your qualifying criteria, or you just want to move on to other things. Some accounts may fall out of favor due to not living up to their mission statement, and you could find yourself aligned to a "bad" account through your delegation to it.

Always follow the accounts your are delegating to, and review your delegations to make sure you are comfortable delegating to them. If there's any doubt, it's your SP so don't be afraid to pull it back and move on.

We all have a reason for delegating or not delegating our STEEM POWER. Just make sure you are comfortable with what your STEEM POWER is used for, and support the projects which fit in with your own conscience.

Thanks for reading my post.

^{Team Australia, Team South Africa, and The Alliance banners by @bearone
My Awesome Upboks by @ryivhnn
All images source from pixabay.com - no attribution required}