Good Witnesses Don't Beg for Votes

@goldenarms

Good day fine upstanding people of Steemit, today I wanted to take a minute to talk about your witness votes. I'm sure we all know witnesses are the people that keep the blockchain running smoothly. They're like the care takers of everything Steemit, looking out for and protecting what we love here on this platform. Many of us are heavily invested timewise and financially to Steemit and we all should want whats best for it. Witnesses are trusted members also looking out for and putting in work for the community.

I've been seeing alot of people begging for upvotes which I don't think is a good idea. Now if someone creates a post detailing what they're doing and explaining a little bit about the tech behind the scenes I do think that is great. Alot of it may go over my head but I appreciate the time and the effort it takes to lay it all out for us. Simply asking for votes blindly to me isn't a good strategy.

I've been on Steemit for a little bit over 4 months now and in that time I've only voted for 4 people. If I voted for everyone that has blindly asked me for my vote I'd have all 30 positions filled already. I take my vote seriously, I don't believe its just something you do to to help a bigger Steemian out or make another user happy. Just because you followed the link on someone else's post and voted for who their asking for you to vote for..I personally think that's irresponsible. I wont just select the most popular people who are already topping the list, sure they maybe doing a great job but if I'm not familiar with them yet or have any sort of repore with that person I find it hard to choose them. I believe you have to do your due diligence before you cast that vote.

There's alot of dead witnesses. People who were selected by the community who are no longer looking after or caring for the blockchain. These are wasted votes. I'd encourage anyone who has casted votes for these people to rescind their votes and save those precious selections for those still putting in the work.

I still keep my witness choices semi private. Its easy to see who other users have voted for, its readily available with a couple clicks. I just don't really talk about or encourage others to vote for who I've voted for. I expect every user to make their own informed choice for who they feel is the best for the safety and efficiency of this great platform. I wont be making posts and leaving links to vote for who I like at the bottom of my posts.

That being said, I will say the few I've voted for I have personally seen the work that they do. I feel confident in the selections I have made and I admit I'm probably naive to alot of the other great people that have been and will continue to do a great job. Going forward I promise to research and find out who else deserves my vote but I'm in no rush to fill out all of my spots just yet. Like I said I'm a new user and I personally feel it irresponsible to blindly select witnesses.

So to all the witnesses already protecting the integrity of the blockchain and looking after its safety I thank you for your work. Keep pumping out them blocks and doing stuff with seeds, like I already stated alot of it goes over my head but I am trying to gain a better understanding of the technical side of things and I'll be voting for more as I become more informed. I think this is the best strategy for everyone.

Thank you all for your time and I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

@goldenarms