The Case Against Unmonitored, Automated Voting

One erotic story.
Multiple poems (I'm not really a fan of poems).
One plagiarized recipe.
A story that was mostly on tomatoes. Seriously, tomatoes. I've never liked tomatoes.
Some tattoo art that was... okay? Or... maybe not. Let's just say I wasn't a fan.
A random YouTube video about ISIS recruits and another about turkish girls... I tired to watch one of them. Couldn't get through it.
Some pornographic art (at least it had the nsfw tag by the time I saw it).
A drunken binge story.
A post about different kinds of poop. Yep. I voted for poop.

Early on, I got an invite to Streemian and was interested in trying out the curation trail functionality. The basic idea is, you find a Steemit user you trust and when they vote, you also automatically vote for the same thing. Seems simple, right? For stuff like the @robinhoodwhale, it makes a lot of sense. Let's spread around the new content rewards. What's not to like?

Well, over the past few days, I had Streemian running on a few accounts I think have been doing a great job curating valuable content. Soon my voting strength starting going down, and I figured I should pull back a bit. As I was deciding who to keep following, I happened to notice a vote (of mine) for an erotic story. That got me thinking, what else have "I" been voting for?

Here's the list:

https://steemd.com/@abudar/follow-the-story-of-the-women-career-success
https://steemd.com/@acidsun/my-pokemons-collection-3
https://steemd.com/@acidsun/star-knight-sketchdaily-6-acidsun
https://steemd.com/@acidyo/wang-what-is-this-sorcery
https://steemd.com/@affrikanin/gods-of-bali-island-part-1
https://steemd.com/@aggroed/aggroed-s-antidote-treating-your-news-feed-october-6th-2016-edition
https://steemd.com/@albensilverberg/vericoin-the-currency
https://steemd.com/@alexft/art-wires-flowers-of-wire-and-nail-polish
https://steemd.com/@alexft/mini-motorcycle-art-caps
https://steemd.com/@allmonitors/steemitphotochalenge-12-soul-of-the-city-entries
https://steemd.com/@anarcho-andrei/what-happens-at-the-gas-station-original-short-story
https://steemd.com/@andrew0/3d-fractals-with-animations-original-artwork-and-source-file
https://steemd.com/@aneblueberry/blue-wildflowers-oil-painting
https://steemd.com/@anwenbaumeister/deconstructing-obesity-connecting-the-obesity-epidemic-to-the-food-system
https://steemd.com/@arcange/mining-queue-the-war-is-over
https://steemd.com/@artist1989/steemit4free-my-contribution-of-free-images-for-the-steemit-community-to-use
https://steemd.com/@ausbitbank/bitcoin-rally-imminent-updated-charts-thoughts-and-suggestions-for-new-users-100-sp
https://steemd.com/@awit/2nd-customer-for-this-day
https://steemd.com/@awit/koi-fish-tattoo
https://steemd.com/@beowulfoflegend/short-story-the-cogtown-rag-luke-cage-meets-dieselpunk-science-fiction
https://steemd.com/@bigpchef/foodie-follow-hello-there-i-am-new-here-so-give-me-a-try
https://steemd.com/@bitcalm/the-internet-of-unsupported-things
https://steemd.com/@bkkshadow/life-s-guilty-pleasures-and-the-best-foie-gras-outside-of-france
https://steemd.com/@calaber24p/why-should-we-as-men-suppress-our-emotions
https://steemd.com/@carlos-cabeza/buy-amazon-with-bitcoin
https://steemd.com/@charlie.wilson/a-short-video-on-the-reality-of-wealth-distribution-in-the-us
https://steemd.com/@charlie777pt/the-5-axis-of-future-of-human-performance-insights-in-sciences-and-evolution
https://steemd.com/@charlieshrem/a-geek-in-prison-a-life-series-by-charlie-shrem-part-6-on-muslims-and-jews
https://steemd.com/@charlieshrem/announcing-steemaccess-enabling-third-party-apps-to-interface-with-steem
https://steemd.com/@cognoscere/happy-trails-early-morning-fog
https://steemd.com/@cryptos/a-bit-more-about-thermal-cameras-and-the-images-you-get-with-them
https://steemd.com/@cryptos/a-good-opportunity-and-time-to-buy-some-more-steem-and-power-up
https://steemd.com/@dana-edwards/large-hadron-collider-set-to-discover-fifth-dimension-and-doorway-to-other-universes
https://steemd.com/@dollarvigilante/announcement-the-dollar-vigilante-witness-proposal-tdv-witness
https://steemd.com/@dollarvigilante/is-this-how-world-war-iii-begins-in-almost-complete-silence
https://steemd.com/@edgarsart/cat-pencil-commissioned-drawing-part-3-by-edgarsart
https://steemd.com/@edgarsart/cat-pencil-commissioned-drawing-part-4-by-edgarsart
https://steemd.com/@elewarne/i-painted-my-pain
https://steemd.com/@elkesjulia/polnische-kloesse-mit-ausgelassenen-speck-und-brauner-zwiebeln
https://steemd.com/@elyaque/daily-steem-report-october-8th
https://steemd.com/@elyaque/daily-steem-report-october-9th
https://steemd.com/@emeline/5-things-i-love-this-week-less-than-3
https://steemd.com/@emeline/good-morning-followers-and-steemian-s-less-than-3
https://steemd.com/@emeline/photo-of-the-sky-tonight-less-than-3
https://steemd.com/@emeline/took-me-a-hike-today-although-it-was-a-long-night-with-friends-less-than-3
https://steemd.com/@eneismijmich/are-you-living-your-dreams-or-your-fears
https://steemd.com/@ezzy/slow-burn-part-3-my-original-stort-stories
https://steemd.com/@fishingvideos/sleep-in-bed-fishing
https://steemd.com/@forever-gala/good-evening-to-all
https://steemd.com/@future24/autumn-balcony-impressions-new-red-hot-chili-peppers-and-raspberries-english-german
https://steemd.com/@future24/collect-sbd-for-visiting-the-steemfest-maybe-with-friends-too
https://steemd.com/@future24/my-new-steemit-robots-list-is-out-now-and-ready-for-download
https://steemd.com/@future24/new-quick-and-easy-homemade-recipe-chicken-kofta-meatballs-noodles
https://steemd.com/@future24/tutorial-how-to-use-the-steemit-referral-affiliate-program-english-german
https://steemd.com/@gavvet/why-do-good-people-suffer-or-better-yet-why-does-anybody-suffer
https://steemd.com/@geke/re-lukestokes-re-dantheman-what-does-a-truly-decentralized-government-look-like-20161007t104457176z
https://steemd.com/@geke/re-lukestokes-re-geke-re-lukestokes-re-dantheman-what-does-a-truly-decentralized-government-look-like-20161007t154749726z
https://steemd.com/@giftedgaia/hide-your-helium-beer-steemit-talk-podcast-is-now-live
https://steemd.com/@good-karma/esteem-ios-iphone-ipad-v1-2-7-released-set-cover-and-profile-pictures-view-voters-and-payout-info-many-more-improvements
https://steemd.com/@hanamana/most-memorable-photo-of-my-adopted-parents-harvest-time
https://steemd.com/@healthyhappyhigh/re-matildapurse-re-kyriacos-re-lukestokes-re-kyriacos-re-lukestokes-re-dantheman-perception-changes-everything-is-taxation-really-theft-20161006t140140349z
https://steemd.com/@heiditravels/photo-of-the-day-cape-of-good-hope
https://steemd.com/@heiditravels/photo-of-the-day-epic-bread-maker-of-istanbul
https://steemd.com/@hisnameisolllie/steemit-statistics-week-11
https://steemd.com/@honeyscribe/the-yearning-part-4-nsfw
https://steemd.com/@inertia/mc-gamer-on-lapis
https://steemd.com/@ivand83/occhi-di-bue-cookies-english-italian-versions
https://steemd.com/@jacobcards/the-man-on-his-hands-an-original-nursery-rhyme
https://steemd.com/@jacobcards/windmill-an-original-poem
https://steemd.com/@jed78/the-ripe-report-what-s-going-to-market-this-week
https://steemd.com/@jesta/jesta-witness-update-full-time-begins-2016-10-07
https://steemd.com/@katyakov/my-secrets-of-feeling-good-addicted-to-matcha-tea
https://steemd.com/@kevinwong/past-present-and-future-a-personal-roadmap-56k-steem-power-1000-followers-90-blogposts-and-5-pounds-later
https://steemd.com/@kiddarko/tattoo-collection-mexicam-flag-logo-replication-by-kiddarko
https://steemd.com/@kiddarko/tattoo-collection-zombie-iron-man-design-and-tattoo-by-kiddarko
https://steemd.com/@kimal73/outlaw-android-wanted-but-he-is-innocent-original-artwork
https://steemd.com/@kyriacos/re-steemdrive-steemdrive-billboards-are-back-debut-of-new-logo-design-by-kyriacos-20161009t134447118z
https://steemd.com/@l0k1/dan-larimer-for-president
https://steemd.com/@l0k1/part-8-of-my-series-about-my-spacetime-expansion-hypothesis-the-end-circa-may-2016
https://steemd.com/@laonie/robinhoodwhale-09-10-2016
https://steemd.com/@lenatramper/european-girls-who-joined-isis
https://steemd.com/@lenatramper/turkish-girls
https://steemd.com/@levinskaya/well-steemit-let-s-get-to-know-each-other-i-am-an-artist-age-limit-16-first-post
https://steemd.com/@levycore/butterfly-latte-art-what-do-you-think
https://steemd.com/@levycore/latte-art-rugrats-chuckie
https://steemd.com/@lily-da-vine/lucid-dreaming-lucid-living
https://steemd.com/@localman/pied-piper-candidates-and-hillary-clinton-s-campaign
https://steemd.com/@lscottphotos/lscottphotos-self-portrait-series-anonymity-original-photo
https://steemd.com/@lukestokes/pokemon-go-at-bicentennial-capitol-mall-state-park-with-my-son
https://steemd.com/@luup/steemitphotochallenge-12-entry-2-moonlit-tracks
https://steemd.com/@maarnio/crypto-of-the-day-clams
https://steemd.com/@majes/silver-stealers-part-ii-j-b-wells-interview
https://steemd.com/@maryfromsochi/steemitphotochallenge-12-entry-2-the-greatness-which-we-lost-original-work
https://steemd.com/@mcahmet/pikachu-drawing
https://steemd.com/@mctiller/making-a-darth-vader-jack-o-lantern-on-a-rainy-afternoon
https://steemd.com/@merej99/the-banded-sphinx-eumorpha-fasciatus-original-photos
https://steemd.com/@mgibson/i-was-too-drunk-to-remember-anything
https://steemd.com/@mindhunter/there-was-a-perverse-logic-to-this-sign-held-up-by-a-homeless-dude-at-a-recent-london-carnival-g8-event
https://steemd.com/@missbinky/howdy-i-m-bianca-ex-yuppie-modern-hippie-lover-of-love-writer-reader-giver-nomad-chaser-of-dreams
https://steemd.com/@modernmama/hey-there-i-m-casi-i-m-relaunching-my-mom-blog-on-steemit-and-bringing-all-my-friends
https://steemd.com/@mrs.steemit/daily-writing-routine-2-3-the-urgency-of-creativity
https://steemd.com/@mume/hello-steemit
https://steemd.com/@neoxian/silverbugs-halloween-silver
https://steemd.com/@noelletwine/my-life-as-a-japanese-translator
https://steemd.com/@nonlinearone/slide-4-who-invented-blockchains-from-is-blockchain-technology-the-future-of-the-internet-featuring-bitcoin-ethereum-and-steem
https://steemd.com/@nonlinearone/slide-5-what-s-a-blockchain-from-is-blockchain-technology-the-future-of-the-internet-featuring-bitcoin-ethereum-and-steem
https://steemd.com/@nonlinearone/slide-6-what-makes-blockchains-useful-from-is-blockchain-technology-the-future-of-the-internet-featuring-bitcoin-ethereum-and
https://steemd.com/@nonlinearone/slide-7-why-mining-from-is-blockchain-technology-the-future-of-the-internet-featuring-bitcoin-ethereum-and-steem-steemit
https://steemd.com/@oecp85/growth-of-the-estimated-value-of-steemit-english-spanish-crecimiento-del-valor-estimado-de-steemit
https://steemd.com/@opheliafu/morning-in-the-city
https://steemd.com/@orcish/zombie-cat-my-most-popular-original-character
https://steemd.com/@p2g/what-different-types-of-poop-actually-mean
https://steemd.com/@padre/bionics
https://steemd.com/@papa-pepper/the-edible-outdoors-19-wintergreen-plus-a-bonus-the-partridgeberry
https://steemd.com/@peskov/the-story-of-a-windmill-featuring-vasily-peskov-as-author
https://steemd.com/@pfunk/forgotten-but-not-gone-a-wild-checker
https://steemd.com/@phantomart/artist-phantomart-on-steemit-my-introduction-post
https://steemd.com/@pickoum/how-steemit-made-me-insomniac
https://steemd.com/@positivity/positivity-challenge-2-update-06-10-2016
https://steemd.com/@profitgenerator/fiat-madness-looming-banking-crisis-and-bitcoin
https://steemd.com/@puffin/chocolate-is-a-joy-but-the-rising-consumption-has-negative-effects-our-insatiable-demand-causes-a-severe-deforestation-in-ghana
https://steemd.com/@puffin/steemit-cardboard-pop-art-drawing-1-ned
https://steemd.com/@quantumanomaly/title-steemit-talk-podcast-012-10-08-2016-lazy-bastard-coffee-art-onboarding-new-members-and-invisible-pink-unicorns
https://steemd.com/@raymonjohnstone/nation-of-dawn-history-rising-steem-nation
https://steemd.com/@redpalestino/finger-shaped-potato-pumplings-with-mushrooms-a-traditional-dish-from-germany
https://steemd.com/@redpalestino/new-sunset-photography-from-today-st-peter-ording-german-west-coast-heutiger-sonnenuntergang-in-st-peter
https://steemd.com/@redpalestino/stilt-house-st-peter-ording-germany-eines-der-stelzenhaeuser-in-sankt-peter-ording
https://steemd.com/@renzoarg/thank-you-steemit-thank-you-community
https://steemd.com/@roelandp/witness-roelandp
https://steemd.com/@rok-sivante/music-on-the-blockchain-an-overview-of-the-leading-crypto-developments-transforming-the-industry
https://steemd.com/@romanskv/fun-sketches-in-a-surreal-style-by-romanskv
https://steemd.com/@rubellitefae/how-to-wordwrap-your-images-like-a-boss
https://steemd.com/@sauravrungta/18-weird-things-we-all-do-but-would-never-admit-to        
https://steemd.com/@senseye/astronomy-day-really-what-a-boring-name-we-need-a-new-one
https://steemd.com/@shortcut/artwork-of-the-day-28-lost-and-found
https://steemd.com/@someguy123/anonsteem-has-just-hit-100-registered-accounts-thank-you
https://steemd.com/@steem-meme/steem-meme-round-up-3
https://steemd.com/@steemleak/wikileaks-publication-the-podesta-emails-highlights-reel-1
https://steemd.com/@steemleak/wikileaks-publication-the-podesta-emails-intro-by-julian-assange
https://steemd.com/@steemswede/film-review-beyond-the-clouds-1995-by-antonioni-and-wenders
https://steemd.com/@sterlinluxan/a-reading-list-for-liberty-lovers-freethinkers-and-anarchist-initiates-part-1
https://steemd.com/@steve-walschot/steempay-community-feedback-wants-steempay-to-continue-so-it-will
https://steemd.com/@streetstyle/how-i-turned-usd1-500-into-usd15-000-when-everyone-fled-i-dove-in-making-money-in-a-crisis
https://steemd.com/@streetstyle/peerhub-moving-ebay-out-real-world-example-of-bypassing-traditional-payments-systems-and-sales-platforms
https://steemd.com/@surfermarly/travel-photograph-story-lanzarote-one-of-the-most-beautiful-and-safest-travel-destinations-on-earth-production-place-of-hot
https://steemd.com/@thebluepanda/steemit-photo-challenge-12
https://steemd.com/@timcliff/exploring-monarch-type-mind-control-programming-warning-dark-post
https://steemd.com/@timsaid/the-steemit-crypto-challenge-7
https://steemd.com/@vegascomic/big-cats-lion-tiger-leopard-abstract-art
https://steemd.com/@virtualgrowth/steemprentice-spotlight-10-7-steemit-mentors-and-mentees-helping-everyone-steem-better
https://steemd.com/@voteinterestpool/vote-interest-pool-vip-feature-contentjunkie
https://steemd.com/@xanoxt/how-steemit-changed-my-life-in-two-months
https://steemd.com/@xroni/steemit-photo-challenge-12-xroni-original-the-best-way-3rd-entry
https://steemd.com/@yanik/74k7fj-figure-owl
https://steemd.com/@yanik/wolf
https://steemd.com/@zaitsevalesyaa/origami-art-modular-origami-sea-fish-in-seaweed

Whoa! That's a lot of posts. Some of these I voted for manually, most of them I did not. So tonight, I decided to skim through each one of them. Yep. each. and. every. one. of. them. It took a long time and as I mentioned above, I found a surprising number of posts I never would have voted for on my own.

Most of them were great. I really enjoyed reading through them and seeing what the community valued and what was voted on, but not really rewarded. I was also surprised to see how many posts... just weren't my style. Nothing against them, they just weren't me, ya know?

I'm torn here, because I like the idea of spreading the Steem Power around, but I also think about the blockchain as being a permanent record of my actions. Forever.

What if I were a whale voting for plagiarized content? People would be authoring posts about me and how terrible the equilibrium of power is on Steemit, how the voting rewards are broken, how the whales are out of control, etc, etc. As it stands, my little vote is only worth a handful of pennies, but it's still something real to me because I've worked hard to earn my Steem Power. Again, most of the posts listed above were great. Even the ones I wouldn't have voted for mostly come down to a matter of opinion and personal preference.

If automated voting were widespread, would an individual vote even mean anything? Does it mean anything now?

I want to believe it does. I also want to believe my "voting record" is an indication of my personality and my values (at least, my values at this moment, as we're all changing over time). I want to be significant. If my vote is lumped in with a bunch of other votes which were not directly planned by their Steem Power owners, what are we left with? Where's the "price discovery" in determining the real value of a vote?

I don't have answers, just questions. For now, I'm not going to follow any voting curation user or team unless I make the effort to track it in real time and correct any votes that don't directly fit my own personality. I enjoyed the higher-than-normal curation rewards, but are a few extra bucks a day worth even the potential chance of a permanent vote for something I don't personally think is worth voting on?

What do you think?