Great business man. Steemit is an industry of art and entertainment. Thanks for sharing

You are always very clear about the facts and you're a motivation to many working here. I second you as you mentioned 
> Being proud of my accomplishments is enough for me. I did what some say is impossible and accomplished everything by simply being a writer, an artist, and an entertainer. As you can see, I run a tight ship here as well.

This is the quality of a TRUE human being. Everybody has some specific potential and ability to do a thing but many of us don't have that courage or confidence to perform that thing/act in a best way. 
>Artists can't buy success. I take what I do here seriously. I take myself seriously. I don't just want to make money by placing words on a screen and pressing enter. I have a lot of potential. People have told me that my entire life and only now, once I came here to start up this blog, have I truly embraced this potential.

Since i followed you, you put a new trait inside me Seriously that is MOTIVATION.
For which i am really Thankful to you @nonameslefttouse

wow,,its very helpful and knowledgeable post for me. not only me but also all the people benefited here.

This is the right post for everyone who would like to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a fresh spin on a topic which has been discussed for ages. Wonderful stuff, just great!
This was a very nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to produce a superb article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get anything done. Thank You @nonameslefttouse

Great post, not funny, but great!
There are many people buying votes only, not that I complain, it’s not my place, but I’m trying to respond. 
You are different, You are an artist! 
Unfortunately my vote is not worth any as for now. 
Resteemed!

you write a great post man...best of luck

You're a cool dood @nonameslefttouse.  You're a leading example of a artist who has worked very hard and not purchased any upvotes.  You're showing to the community that there are other ways to become successful on steemit and I totally respect you for that.

You sure have a good point here.  I personally look only to my feed and occasionally head to the New tab, as there maybe more folks to follow.  I do think people will get fed up with promoted stuff... as Facebook, Twitter and others over use promotions and many are getting fed up with it.  

Hopefully here as well.

Here I sit, nodding my head, for two reasons. One: In shock of seeing a serious post. Two: Aside from bowling part, there was no pun/joke. I like reading that there are some who don't buy their way up the ladder. I'm  shocked that I'm still a minnow. I don't get seen much, but that's ok. I have not really worked hard enough, till now. I want to enjoy what I do. It makes me look for ways to improve, and earn my way up. You sir, are one of my admirers.

steemit is a wonderful platform. But every pure source eventually gets polluted.  Steemit is no exception. The fact that folks like you and me are aware of this helps to slow the process.  I find Steemit a good source to channel my creative energy and develop relationships with others.  It is also therapeutic for me to express the emotions of my heart.   As for pay it is a great way to diversify out of the dead dollar and build a future.   By the way 9 out of ten doctors prefer Camels cigarettes indeed. It pays them better to treat the symptoms of your illness rather than the cause.  There is a video/book out there "Dead Doctors Don't Lie." by Joe Wallach that goes into this.   I better get back to scratching those dangling balls of mine.  Later.

Well said, I don't think anyone can say better.

I can't say yet whether I agree or disagree with you, where and how. But it is certainly a thought provoking post with many implications.

So perhaps I will comment further in a day or two :-)

Your serious side knocked me out. I couldn't possibly agree with you more.

I am not trying to flatter you (like it matters really), or anything but this may be the most meaningful and helpful post I've read so far in steemit. And this comes from a newbie who doesn't have a clue how things work here yet. The only thing I've noticed so far, however, is that "Steemit" isn't  as meritocratic as I initially thought. I see posts that include a couple of lines and a handful of photos with bikinis generating a great deal of money and votes, while there are GREAT posts who totally get ignored. 

I am a writer myself and even though I am a very hard-working and optimistic dude, I see that making it big at steemit is as tough as making it big in the real world as well. Bikinis will always attract more than anything. It's human nature I guess ;)

PS. Respect for making it big while started from 0. I wonder if I ever make it big. I mean...I am 36, I studied law, I have a Masters Degree, I speak four languages, I've done a total of 14 jobs during my lifetime and I still don't have my own car. Not fair, but oh well there are people who have it even worse!

This is why most of the time I just stick to my feed and rely on those in it to find me amazing things.

Beyond that, it’s got to be one amazing comment for me to even want a look at things.  Either in my own blog or in a blog of another person who in my feed.

This is exactly how I found out about @nonameslefttouse. I was reading someone else’s blog and his comment made me go “WHO IS THIS GUY.” Ever since I’ve grown a mustache, gained an accent, and taken up painting on random toilets… 

I’m not sure where all these happy little trees keep popping up in my artwork. Must be a former life or something. I really wish they go elsewhere they anger my latest creation Googly Eyes Fish Hamburger. What does he look like you ask? I’m not done yet-- ask again in 3 years.

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQM8sCxAJeXxc275HbtALTLbe5qirmmJcMrK2bjSn2Tgg/image.png)
[source](https://brucelynnblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/dilbert-dogbert-for-president.jpg?w=533&h=169)
:)
FD.

It isn't true you don't give direct compliments. You can be quite a nice person sometimes :) 
About all the bots situation, I don't want to go into that. I think minions that are in deep shit can help themselves with it, for example I used bots a lot the first 2 months I was wondering around steemit. It took me time to understand that they were hurting me more than helping. 
Let people have the time to understand.

Well done. Congratulation . I can say you are a great artist. Continue so.

I agree, and it makes it that much more of an accomplishment that you have  46 votes here, and 112 views, and 29 comments, as of this moment. Congrats. It's getting harder to gain organic audience here. A year ago, it was easy, now, everyone jumps on the vote curation trails from day one to try and maximize profits.

Well said! well said!

But I'll admit... I do buy votes... it helps me grow!

I try to do it ethically though:
- no paid votes before 2 days post-age (allow my "real" voters their curation share and not distort "hot" for the tag)
- no paid votes after 5 days post-age (allow for disagreement)

I really think the "promoters" need to make something like that their TOS... because paid votes will not go away... and better it's done openly and ethically than under the table (think of mindhunter/snowflake)

I rarely look at the trending part of the feed. But sometimes it's good for a state of the world check.  

Mostly agree with you, but  some indication of where the world mind is moving is useful.

I thoroughly understand your concerns about vote purchasing. It's a topic I see you write often about.

You've made your stance on buying votes for your own posts fairly clear. Here is my question to you today: **How do you feel about buying votes for others?**

Let me explain. I still have relatively low SP. My upvote is only worth $0.07 currently, and that's only because STEEM is irrationally overpriced right now due to speculation. I'm getting some really crazy rewards for silly little comments here and there. But if I see more value in someone else's post than I am able to provide organically, is it wrong for me to use one of the 300% multiplier bots to help curate that content?

I completely agree with your views on promotions.  I <a href="https://steemit.com/steemit/@valued-customer/the-difference-between-promotion-and-curation-and-killing-all-bots">posted this</a> a while ago, in response to another's pointing that out on his blog.

We are not alone.

However, we are outnumbered, and by numbers I mean SP.  It is SP that fuels votebots, and that SP that fuels votebots is provided by it's possessors:  38 whales.

![2017-12-28-LevelShares-EN.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT9h6vjnosnCLWMCJYgnfXrLPYjygXJwk6vSw7PmeyDcE/2017-12-28-LevelShares-EN.png)

They totally control the witnesses, and they are the market Stinc serves.  The rest of us are merely a device that keeps the illusion of a market for Steem viable, preventing the price from crashing.

Given the ~10% retention rate for Steemit accounts YOY, this is a temporary ploy.

Thanks!

> Artists can't buy success. I take what I do here seriously. I take myself seriously. I don't just want to make money by placing words on a screen and pressing enter. I have a lot of potential. People have told me that my entire life and only now, once I came here to start up this blog, have I truly embraced this potential.

People pay for votes to get more cents in their wallet. Sometimes they may not be blamed because it hurts to see few votes after long hours of writing. This could be tiring when you don't get rewarded for your efforts. #OWB

Wow, what an unbelievably perfect post to follow up that last coo coo for cocoa puffs and root beer, lol. I'm serious though, anyone whose first foray to your page was that last post, who then decided to check out the next one, would find themselves reeling for the misconceptions they probably made, and then appreciating the hell out of that nutzo peeing post a hundred percent more. 

Excellent decision, glad you went this way, even if I didn't realize I would be glad--of course I'm talking strictly from a strategic and business point of view and not as your year long friend who already knows these different facets of you, your crazy hilarity as well as your sober intelligence. One of your finest features has always been in how you keep people guessing.

Edit: Jesus, even your parting words that not everyone always notices. You are a gorgeous artist man.

The mighty issue of the paid for votes. I hadn't looked at that tab for a while. I think they should tweak the algorithm to discount paid for votes or something. Gaar, who knows. Good post man!