My readers know of my history with bots. Starting out on my Steem "journey" on May 14th, my initial impressions of them were definitely not favorable! For my first two monthly updates, they appeared in the 👎 section.

This post is about a bot which has changed that all around!

TrufflePig

Before I get started into my "Adventures of @TrufflePig" post, I first want to give a big "shout out" and a sincere "thank you" to @smcaterpillar for his efforts to create this bot. Without all of his hard work, this post would not have been possible.

After reading this post, I hope you will seriously consider following both of them!

Introduction

On 16 July 2018, @trufflepig entered into my Steem "journey," by dropping in on one of my "monthly report" posts and upvoting it since ...

"Your post has been selected as a daily Steemit truffle!"

... and ...

"I upvoted your contribution because to my mind your post is at least 9 SBD worth and should receive 101 votes. It's now up to the lovely Steemit community to make this come true."

This made enough of an impression on me, that I did some serious "homework" by reading up on the explanation link it provided and then composed the following reply:

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Good evening @trufflepig! This is definitely a first for me. Getting a nice reply from a bot!

"I upvoted your contribution because to my mind your post is at least 9 SBD worth and should receive 101 votes. It's now up to the lovely Steemit community to make this come true."

Yes, you did upvote my post @trufflepig and for that I am grateful. To learn more about how you reached your conclusion, I went and read through the link you provided.

"Steemit can be a tough place for minnows. Due to the sheer amount of new posts that are published by the minute, it is incredibly hard to stand out from the crowd."

No doubt about it! In reading more about your "mission," I have to say a lot of it was a little over my head. But, I did note this:

"I search for quality content that got less rewards than it deserves. I call these posts truffles, publish a daily top list, and upvote them.'

Far be it from me to argue with you @trufflepig! 😉 So ... How did you come up with this "opinion?"

"This week I got a training set of 74508 contributions."

Wow! That is some serious homework @trufflepig!! Impressive stuff ... Well, gotta go for now, but thanks for letting me know I ended up in "the truffle bag!"

Upvoted you in return (so, you "broke even") and I am going to start following your work @trufflepig (and your manager, @smcaterpillar), as it looks very interesting.

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P.S. You may note in this post that I don't have a particularly high opinion of bots (nothing personal ... 😉), but from what I see of your work, definitely have to chalk one up for the "good guys!" 👍 👍

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While this was my first encounter with @trufflepig, it was not my last. Here in my most recent "conversation" with it, I said this:

"As I've said in the past, I like the way you (were programmed) to think! It will be a "red-letter" day when my future posts reach or, hopefully, exceed your expectations ..."

You may enjoy reading the rest of my latest exchange with this little bot. It is a lot of fun.

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So ... What is a truffle?

"a type of fungus that grows underground and can be eaten. Truffles are expensive because they are very rare."

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Image Source

And ... What is a truffle pig?

"A truffle hog is any domestic pig used for locating and extracting the fruit bodies of the fungi known as truffles from temperate forests in Europe and North America. Pigs have a great sense of smell, and are able to identify truffles from as deep as three feet underground."

Source: Wikipedia

Wow! Three feet underground!! I think it would be a fascinating experience to watch ones of these "do their thing" and actually find a real truffle in the forest. Who knows? Maybe someday it will happen!

So, here inside our Steem blockchain, what exactly does this great little bot do "for a living?" Each and every day it turns out two great content posts of its own!

Let's take a closer look at each of them ...

Today's Truffle Picks

Every day, @trufflepig gives a full report on its findings. The heart of its daily report is its "top ten" listing, with photos, stats, etc. from the "latest, greatest." In addition, it lists an additional 15 "honorable mention" posts.

If you are trying to find great content to support, you would do well to look over its daily report on ...

"... another round of truffles I found digging in the streams of this beautiful platform!" "

Steemit Trending Page

Every day, @trufflepig gives a full report on the Steemit Trending Page. In this post, @trufflepig covers ...

"Trending Posts Without Bid Bots and Self Votes"

"In the last 24 hours alone people spent at least 2645 SBD and 9303 STEEM on post promotions using bid bots or vote selling services. I know bid bots are a controversial topic and it is not up to me to decide if these bots are good or bad. Heck, I'm a bot myself, so who am I to judge? However, I can help you with your own judgment by providing data."

So ... Stripping away all of the bot and self votes, what do we have? All of the remaining posts who Steemians, other than the author, have valued very highly. Again, the reader is presented with a listing of posts with great content.

Summoning @TrufflePig

Now, if you wonder why you've never "met" or seen @trufflepig, there is one final "trick" it has in its arsenal.

You can simply "summon" it, by simply typing '@trufflepig' in a reply in your own post. It will come by, within 24 hours (yes, it does!) and give you its assessment of your post, as you see above. How cool is that?

Try it out and see what you think!

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So, there you have a good introductory look at the hard work of this great little bot and all it is doing ...

Image Source

... to discover great Steem content and bring it to our attention!

Image Source

^{(If you would now like to find out more, here again is the link it provided, for an "in depth" explanation of its "inner workings.")}

Closing

I hope you've enjoyed my "business review" of this great little bot, the brilliant work of @smcaterpillar. I think he deserves a lot of credit, not only for conceiving of the idea, but also for the creativity shown in how he "packages" his little bot. A truffle pig! Constantly "rooting out" and gathering his precious posts in a bag and bringing them to our attention ... 👍

Again, I would encourage you to follow both this little bot and its creator. As the trusty @trufflepig continues to "roam far and wide" across our Steemisphere, if you like what you have learned about this bot, you may also wish to consider delegating some SP to it, so the upvotes it delivers will be an even bigger boost of encouragement to its recipients!

Until next time, all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! 👍 😊

Respectfully,

Steemian @roleerob

Posted using Busy.org and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Wednesday, 19 September 2018!

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P.S. Well, @trufflepig, this is going to be a real test of the WIIFM [What's In It For Me] section of your programming. Will you "root out" this post? And, if you do, will your "code of ethics" require you to give it a pass, due to a "conflict of interest?" 😊 I'll be watching and waiting!! 😉

Source: Glowtext.com

Interested to know about my Steem "journey" over my first three months and how I have "evolved" in my view of bots? Here are my "monthly reports:"

• Update, Month 1: Engaged with a 4-Figure Stake in the Future
• Update, Month 2: Still Engaged with an Increased Stake and "Growing" ...
• Update, Month 3: Still (Somewhat) Engaged with an Increased Stake and "Recalibrating" ...

Other business reviews, which followed my original post on what constitutes good business:

• Essential Foundation for Good Business
• Business Review: Great Maker of Backlit LED Pictures
• Business Review: Great Creator of GIF Images - @skyleap!
• BBC 2017: Lifetime Memories from IIBA's Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida - Covers my amazing experience, last November, at a truly international conference, about the future of AI, machine learning, etc.

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