Transparency Bot -- A good thing until YOU get caught! - a tale of woes
So today I did the unthinkable: I bid on @jerrybanfield and @buildawhale to boost one of my posts. And not just a couple bucks either. Like $30 SBD. No, I'm serious. I went kinda trigger happy with the bot votes. I just wanted to see a big payoff.
Usually my tutorial videos do well. I get votes from d.tube and others, but lately it's like no luvin. So I thought I'd give myself the luvin' I deserved, ya know? I was like "let's just do it" and I did!
And guess what, I earned it back in spades. Got all my money back in SBD and over 9 SP on top of that. To say nothing of the growth it will gain over the week (assuming it grows...).
So I'd say I fared pretty well. Then I did it again! Aaaaahh! I bought $13 in votes from rock1 on a different post. And that one paid out in similar proportions.
But guess what. I totes got "caught." I saw THIS below in the comment section of my post with the bigger bid:
So I did the only thing any logical human being would do -- I totally panicked. I was like, "What if people SEE this?" I totally wanted to downvote it! And then I was like, "That's lame. Don't be lame. They're doing a good thing."
And then I thought, "Hmmmm. This is actually a good thing. I'm glad I discovered it!"
So I did the next best thing, which was to go and upvote their initiative with my whopping .43 cent upvote. I think that makes up for the $60 in bids I stole from the rewards pool? Don't you?
Well, all I can say is, at least the transparency bot "is by no means a judgment of my words." Phew. Got that outa the way.
Honestly, I don't frown on little minnows trying to make their way on here. I think it's a good thing to want to self-promote and bot-vote if you've got to to start out.
Big honkin' bot-votes like mine? Meh. Probably not a good use of company cash. Probably going to create a bigger and bigger gap between the rich and the poor, and have little left in the way of voting power for the little people. I do think it's a screwy system, and I just completely ate my shorts. But all the same, can you blame the little guy for just wanting to make a dollar outa fifteen cents?
What are YOUR thoughts on the subject?
P.S. if you're curious, here are the two posts that depleted the rewards pool from all the orphan babies and homeless puppies in the world. (feel free to vote on them!)
Community Is Key - Learn how to fit in on Steemit
Steemtopia Party Wednesday - party on my discord channel; win prizes
Get FREE steemit coaching on my discord channel, STEEMTOPIA!
Very nice article that truly articulates both sides of this complex issue perfectly.
Thank you for taking the time to write this and you are correct, @transparencybot is not making judgements about the author nor their works. Just stating facts that lend themselves to self examination as well as fruitful discussion. I believe your post here demonstrates both goals perfectly.
It has been voted and reesteemed.
Seriously laughed out loud at that...glad I wasn't drinking my coffee.
Odd way I found you, was looking at the comment left on my Pay It Forward Contest Post and it sent me down a rabbit whole that led to transparency bot's page and notice your post was resteemed by them.
Anyways I got the exact opposite message from them:
Got an upvote for not using bots! Had sworn off bid bots some time ago after realizing the way it effected the reward pool and how it was just taking part of the reward pool and handing it to the whales who are being to lazy to create content or bother to curate content to earn their payouts.
Anyways think we are both trying to help the newer members out with what we are doing. Will be following you and hope to find some good content to share with my followers.
See, and this is why I'm torn on the subject. I swore them off too...and then I saw that in a lot of cases they are doing some good for folks. Especially if they get into the right hands. But, I must say, this is a cool message you got. And if they're going to upvote people to incentivize them not to use bid bots, then I think that's about as good as it can get to change the tide here. We'd literally have to have initiatives like theirs all over the place to bring things back to a more level playing field where people vote organically and actually get something out of it...
That would be pretty cool if that were the case. Then rewards would not be based on who has the money bags.
😂 lol only you are embarrassed by this reward pool "theft" (not rape) and there are soooooo many who do it regularly for complete Bs.
But since you feel do guilty... 😘 I fully endorse and encourage you to support @teamgirlpowa with a donation or a .43 cent upvote or two ! 😂🎉 we share the love to many minnows who also support women and other marginalized groups.
https://steemit.com/teamgirlpowa/@teamgirlpowa/welcome-to-team-girl-powa-or-bringing-intersectional-feminism-to-the-blockchain
Definitely more girl power.
I shall have to check it out! Do you have a discord channel yet?
As a side note, I do not feel marginalized on here at all. If anything, I've always had extremely enjoyable interactions on here. Am I a minority? Sure. But I don't feel like one. I feel like one of the gang. And I'm hardly technical, I'm not really an anarchist or anything, I have never been exposed to cryptocurrency until I found this place, and I am limited in my blockchain knowledge. But it's been a really rewarding place for me to express my writing and create a community all of my own. And I will say, when I started 2 years ago, it was a bit daunting to be surrounded by all the men. So it's great to see more women joining the group. We are underrepresented in the technical and blockchain industry, and we do definitely need more girl powa on this platform! I think we bring such a different feel to the place in general.
Uhmmmmm we DO have a discord!
Everyone has a slightly different experience however you kinda suit gender roles so i hope thats no offense but that makes it easier. That said, the people im talking about who have no shame ? They are men ;) i suppose its just a coincidence....
#teamgirlpowa will show you our posts
Ha ha! I'm sure. Well, I'll hop over there probably tonight.
In the meantime, feel free to head over to STEEMTOPIA for my Steemit Like You Meenit party in 1 hour!!! Grab a seat and make yourself at home! Free SBD, featured (new) artists and writers, games, and more!
p.s. I LOVE your logo. It's really beautiful. Who designed it for you? I like the lettering especially...
In my humble opinion. The bid bot should have a maximum bid of $2 SBD/STEEM so other will use it to get an extra boost for their content.
If the bid owner main objective is to help Authors with good content, this will not be a problem for them. It will be less revenue for them but more for Authors with good content.
Right now, the higher you bid the higher you get the reward back. Poor authors will not be able to compete for that cool "reward".
It's ok to bid vote but please, bid small so everyone can share the rewards.
I should post this on my blog :)
You should! I think that may be a good idea. But at the same time, the smaller bids do still get a reward. I just hate to think big ones like me could take it from them.
I'm still learning the art of bid bot votes. Perhaps you can bring your knowledge over to my discord channel, where we help noobs survive on steemit!
We're actually having a party at STEEMTOPIA in less than an hour!!! (8 pm UTC) Grab a seat and make yourself at home! SBD giveaways, new featured artists and writers, games, and more!
Let's begin the party :)
Thanks for coming to the party! It was so great having you on today! I'll be doing a weekly show, so stay tuned for updates from my discord channel!
Im still lost and don't understand how when you upvote a post you like yourself helps yourself out? Lol i have been watching your YouTube as well as reading so many other blogs and still a bit lost on how its working.. i guess for me when im giving my vote im just happy to help others where they vote back or not 🌺
I guess i dont want to try and make ithers feel like they have return a vote just because i gave them one so to say?
Wow! Thanks for following me! I hope you're able to learn a few things. I also noticed you on my discord channel. I can answer the questions you have. Just message me on discord and we'll talk one-on-one.
Be sure to head over there STEEMTOPIA for the Steemit Like You Meenit party in 1 hour!!!
Good on you @littlescribe I did the same thing a little while ago. I resisted bots for so long and ultimately decided to try them out. I lost out the first few times, now I know what to look for to make my money back in terms of voting power.
Don't feel bad or guilty, you're just playing the game like everyone else is. Until the Steem developers fix this broken platform, bots are the only way to be seen and heard.
Thanks for the support. I appreciate it!
I don't know if you got the message, but I'd like to help support you as well. I'm hosting party at STEEMTOPIA in less than an1 hour!!! (8 pm UTC). I'll have SBD giveaways, new featured artists and writers, games, and more!
Well, it seems like a shame to me that an active user who engages in the community feels bad about buying the voting power of someone who didn't want to use it. If your content is good and it always is, I don't see the issue.
I say, good practice.
The other thing I was thinking is that I really pride myself on helping really small minnows have a fair shake on here. My whole premise behind my discord channel and the show I do and the instruction videos I put out is an interest in helping noobs succeed and find their way around.
So when someone like me goes in and thunks down a wad of cash on a bid bod, it kills all the little votes and makes them earn a smaller percentage than they already were. Somehow, I know it's just "business" but it just doesn't align with what I'm trying to accomplish on here. So perhaps I should hold off on my big bot bids.
Then again, if I use bots to up my posts, and I have followers who are voting for me, it helps them grow. So I'm being loyal to them if I succeed......there seem to be two schools of thought.
I'm torn.
I wrestled with it for a while too. :)
I literally ground out my stake and I know you know it wasn't easy when we started either. I want to support hard working minnows, but I also want to do it with a stake that matters. It is a dilemma. At this time voting bots are responsible for less than 2% of the reward pool.
If someone is selling their vote and I like my content. I'm buying it, but I get there are different points of view.
Hmmm. less than 2%. Well, it FEELS like a lot more, as I remember I used to get gobs and gobs of votes, and money came a little easier.
But I still think I'll do smaller bids. I don't find any harm in it.
Hmmmmm. Now there's an interesting thought! You always got my back @whatsup.
The only problem is, the purchase itself gave a profit to the seller, as they cap their bids at 10% increase. When in reality, I actually had another $18 I could have earned from that bid, if we're looking at percentage of the pie. So I think the bigger issue is that these bot owners are making out like bot bandits. And the rich get richer. And the fact is, it's because of these bots that the minnows can't get a break unless they use them. I'm not saying we shouldn't use them, but I've been on here long enough to know it's not the best system. It's enabling a handicap by default. And me no likey.
Many of the bot owners are not rich. They are leasing SP and building their own stake, pulling it out of the hands of the original miners and allowing those who would like to invest in their account get a little more stake.
I want the whales to get richer the bot owners to get richer and you and I to get richer. .. :)
Like who, in particular? I guess I'm not up on the bot-scene. Maybe you could make an argument and post it. I'll promote it. :0)
Also, be sure to head over to STEEMTOPIA for the Steemit Like You Meenit party in 1 hour!!! Grab a seat and make yourself at home! Free SBD, new featured artists and writers, games, and more!
I think you misunderstand how the reward pool works. So I'll explain it.
There is a certain amount of steem generated each day that gets split between all users who upvote according to each user's vesting share. If bob has 9mvest and bill has 1mvest then bob will get 90% of the reward pool and bill 10%. If bob decides not to vote, then bill gets 100% of the reward pool.
So you see, you're not helping someone by buying their vote. You're decreasing the overall reward pool that would have been split up between the rest of us. Thus, thief!
I understand it perfectly. Each user is allowed to delegate the exact % of the stake they own, using their votes. By not voting and selling their voting power they are selling their stake in the reward pool.
Thus... Purchaser not a thief.
If you are buying your own upvotes then you are negating the consensus algorithm which is designed so that the community decides whether your post is worth the upvotes it gets. So you are stealing from the entire community, not only by taking from the reward pool, but also by taking away their power of choice.
Let's say whale A, says, hey I don't want to vote today, you can allocate my share of the reward pool.
That is exactly what is happening only he is saying, I will sell it to the bidders. It is his/her stake to do with what he likes.
Let's say employer A says, hey, I dont want to pay any of my employees today, i'm going to allocate my funds to a gambling pool. And have my employees bid to see who gets paid.
It is his stake to do with what he likes.
You are giving them the power to abuse the system. Stop being a scumbag.
Haha. You're arrogant and think your view of the world is better than mine. Nobody here is an employee.
I am not a scumbag, and I truly don't care if you think I am. Trying viewing things from a different perspective.
We are all employees. We are working for the blockchain to create a fair system that is sustainable and that provides value for each user. We are working for the stake holders to make their investments profitable. Not by buying their votes, but by increasing the market share of steem. Many of the investors have forgotten this fact. They will profit much more if the steem price rises, than they will if every minnow pays for their share of the reward pool.
I am arrogant. But my view is definitely better than yours. You are the same as those investors who want to make a quick buck. Whereas I am looking to the future of the platform. I believe in the vision that is set out in the whitepaper. Have you even read it?
But anyway. It is clear that I am not gonna change your mind about this. So carry on with what you are doing.
go ahead !!!
you are so talented...
https://steemit.com/information/@lafzaia/job-interview-for-writer-or-translator
@voted me too
I dont mind idea behinf @transparencybot but comments that it leaves are just awfully long and in my opinion this is one of the biggest problem with bots.
Using them is a MUST if you want to ensure that your followers and curators will be upvoting your posts. They need to feel that it's worth it. And they make comment section look like a mess.
As a user (whenever I read other people posts) it annoyes me more than it helps me. I think it would be great if this bot would leave short comment with link to "more details" for those who actually care.
That's very lucky of you. It's not that easy to earn on bots since demand is quite high and once there will be more members on steemit then it will be only harder.
Solution is simple. DO NOT USE BOTS within first 2-3 days at all.
Let people engage, comment, reply to their comments. Make sure that there will be number of genuine replies and only then use bots. 2-3 days after post is published hardly anyone will bother.
It depends on us. We need to learn to give and receive. Im using bots and I will be using them. I want my curators to get rewarded and if I make some $$$ then Im planning in the future rewarding personally those who engage the most with me by sending them some % of earning.
Those are my thoughts :)
Sounds like you have thought about it a lot. I appreciate hearing your perspective. I like hearing other people's approach to the issue.
Indeed. Im a social media marketer and I undestand that 90% (if not more) influencers / marketers and regular people keep making same mistakes: they care about getting new followers and do not maintain current follower base.
So we should make sure that all our curators are growing along with us. If I use bots and their rewards will be worth something then it will help them grow. And helping our follower base to grow is a must. Without using bots I cannot achieve it.
For that reason Im using them at least 1 day after I publish my post. Also comment section is not so messy yet.
I appreciate hearing your perspective too :)
So what's your method, then? What do you propose as the most effective way of bot bidding? And do you put down a lot of cash? And who do you usually go through? I'm still curious about the whole thing.
I feel like what @sorin-cristescu does is brilliant - He has made a promise to his followers to bid wisely and always post good content so as not to "rape" the system. And his value went up right away because his followers knew they'd be earning on curating him....
We should talk. Will you DM me on discord?
My method is to use bots 1-2 days after I publish my post. Plus I also auto-vote only 1-2 days after publishing post.
And to let all my curators know about it so they can auto-vote if they like.
This way they will be benefiting and receiving some solid curation rewards which will encorage them to keep following me.
Building awarness is important here. Plus I always recommend using bots on sunday (not that many bidders). Im trying to reach 100$ paycheck assuming that this number will not ever bring me to trendingpage and Im going to stay out of radar. And at the same time my curators will be happy.
Does it make sense?
@sorin-cristescu -> I couldnt find such a person
ps.
the problem is that I dont have discord yet. I tried to install it on laptop but I found it very confusing somehow. what about email or fb? Do you use any of it?
Yours
Piotr
I appreciate your inner dialogue and I’m glad to see that the culture of bot usage is starting to change :-) You are welcome to use and curate from our #nobidbot tag