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Have you Updated or Cast your Witness Vote(s) Lately?

(Vote now right here: https://steemit.com/~witnesses)
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I never really understood the importance of voting for Witnesses in the past - that is until I recently became one.  I also did not fully grasp the importance of keeping my votes up-to-date, especially as witnesses come-and-go.  Like your vote for elected officials of our respective governments, your vote determines the future success and direction of Steemit.  The Witnesses that you vote for make important decisions about changes in code, new features, and policies regarding the economics of the platform.  

There are several other posts and documentation that outline the importance and the process of Witness voting.  You can check out the <a href ="https://steemit.com/faq.html#What_are_Steem_witnesses">Steemit FAQ</a> which outlines what a Witness does and what their responsibilities are.

My Witness is currently ranked #122 and I was recently lucky enough to get my first block and with all of your help and votes, hopefully I can increase my rank and not only get more, but increase the frequency.  As you can see from most witnesses, the earnings allow us to give more back to the community in terms of tools development and support for projects either by the witnesses themselves or users of Steemit.

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Every Steemit user has 30 votes - meaning you have the ability to vote for 30 different different Witnesses once.  Most people rarely use any of these votes and even less people use all of them.  I myself have only voted for 8 witnesses to date - I recently removed a few of my votes from inactive witnesses.

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This brings me to my next topic - <b>Frequency of voting</b>.  It's not enough to vote just once and then forget about it.  Like most cases where voting is required; members of the community should always revisit the list of Witnesses they are voting for.  They should always consider how frequently the witness is providing updates, helping the community grow, and overall - helping to make the Steemit ecosystem a bigger and better place.  If you look at the current list of Witnesses, You will see that there are a number of Witnesses who are no longer active, no longer updating their software, and overall no longer providing a service to the community, yet they are still on the list due to the number of votes they still have cast for them.

This is a waste, because it uses up resources, causes more work, and takes up valuable votes that could help raise the ranks of other witnesses who are truly interested and still committed to supporting the ecosystem.

Below, you can see that above my witness rank, there are several Witnesses who are no longer active.  Some for very long periods of time.  

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You might be saying to yourself - the list is too small to read, which i did on purpose.  My goal is not to call any specific witnesses out or cause conflicts.  I just wanted to show how big of a concern it is.  It's not just a handful of people.  These are votes and positions that can be filled by witnesses who are actually still active in the community.  You can see the full list for yourself <a href ="https://witstats.steemliberator.com/witness_list">HERE</a>.   Just a note of caution - not all Witnesses on the list are inactive.  Some are simply away, updating their servers, or taking care of other things which are preventing them to be active.    Many - more then we would like however, are just plain inactive and should no longer carry votes and are a disservice to the community.

I have only been a witness for a little over 3 weeks now and I still have a lot to learn, but I have enjoyed serving the community and will continue to do so even at a loss - this because I still see a ton of potential in this platform.  I am always looking forward to future enhancements and the many great things that the community can bring.   I still have 22 votes remaining and I plan to re-allocate those votes to Witnesses who I work with, collaborate with on projects, and see as valuable servants of the Steemit community.

If you know of a Witness that I have not come across yet and feel they deserve a vote, I would love to get your recommendation.  I want to do my part to help Steemit grow and even more, help the people of Steemit be more successful.  If you are interested to see what projects Im working on and supporting, feel free to visit my site and check out my weekly updates - https://steemit.com/@cloh76.witness

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Steemit is only as good as those people who are supporting it.  This means the witnesses, the users, and You determine how great and where this platform ends up.  Don't take that responsibility lightly.  As @lukestokes mentioned in his <a href ="https://steemit.com/witness-category/@lukestokes/steemit-is-free-but-your-witness-vote-determines-its-future">post</a> "Steemit is free to use, but we have to take care of it to protect its future."

Thank you for taking the time to read.  Please spread the word by sharing, upvoting, and resteeming this to others.  I and the other witnesses would really appreciate your support and if you feel like I can be of value and support, please do honor me with your witness vote.

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<b>How to vote?</b>

- Use the witness page https://steemit.com/~witnesses
- scroll down the page until you see the vote box below and enter <code><b>cloh76.witness</b></code>
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- click <b>VOTE</b> and accept my Appreciation and Gratitude!
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