_{There was an ad, trending, that mentioned how we don't have ads here.}
Enough is enough. The charade ends now. It has to.

Allow me to introduce myself:

 
_{First of all, I have the utmost respect for all of you bloggers out there who take you work seriously. I am not envious of your success if you're earning more than me. I do not think I'm somehow better than those of you who are struggling to get noticed or simply stuck between a rock and hard place.}

_{I've always been careful with my words(when I'm not performing). I don't enjoy criticizing anything. I've been asked to be a judge for contests and refused simply because I do not feel comfortable singling anyone out. I rarely give out direct compliments. That makes me feel uncomfortable too.}

_{I used to be a manager. Ran a tight ship. I didn't single anyone out then either. If they wanted a raise, it was based on performance. If they acted like sycophants, they wouldn't get a bigger raise. I'd see right through them. They would end up hating me, telling me I don't know what I'm doing, pouting, and eventually quit. That was good for business. I would hold the door for them on their way out. All I was left with were honest, hard working individuals who when they had a problem, I knew it was serious enough to address without wasting time second guessing their motives. I was surrounded by people I could trust; people I could depend on.}

_{I already told my story in previous posts. I already explained why I'm here as a professional blogger. It doesn't bother me that most people don't know that story. I came here with nothing and nobody. I made all this money. Kept nearly all I've earned locked in as Steempower. Haven't spent a dime and many of you know why. I don't need to brag. 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.}

---

---

I could easily buy every vote that is up for sale here.

^{In my business, we call that 'selling out'.}

In the arts and entertainment industry, we have a thing called ratings. If a program on television is popular, it is said to have high ratings. Unpopular shows get low ratings.

Trending. That is a word we use on the internet to describe content that is receiving high ratings.

Never, in the history of this industry, would we see an infomercial on late night television getting the highest ratings of all programs in existence. Never. Those things are so bad, they have to pay a large sum of money to purchase the worst possible time slot.

Never, in the history of newspapers, would we see someone purchase the paper so they could look at the latest, greatest, advertisements. The people buy it for the articles.

On the magazine rack, we see actual magazines. They have cover images, headlines, no advertisements in sight until we get inside and once there we begin flipping pages until we find an actual article.

Advertisements are designed to manipulate and brainwash the general public into thinking what is being said or printed is worth your time and money. They serve no other purpose.

Nine out of ten doctors prefer Camels brand cigarettes.

^{The advertisers lied. Nothing has changed. They still attempt to deceive people.}

So I must ask you why there is an advertisement promoting Steemit floating around the top of the trending page?

I must ask how it makes sense to make a claim about Steemit not having advertisements within said advertisement which currently floats around at the top of the trending page?

There is another promotion currently floating around the top of the trending page that claims to have Steemit's top 25 posts in the history of Steemit. Congratulations to everyone.

Unfortunately, those two posts and many others that make it to the trending page these days are there with the help of votes that were bought and paid for.

These vote selling services market themselves as promoters. Since those purchasing the votes know in advance the said purchased votes could potentially place their post in a profitable slot, that makes the post nothing more than paid programming.

Because these paid promotions are erroneously reaching trending status, many members of Steemit as well as outsiders looking in are misled to believe the post is in that slot because it is popular.

---

_{To be clear, I am not here today to judge the quality of content within any post on the trending page past, present or future nor am I questioning the integrity of any author.}

---

A Slippery Slope

^{I could prank Steemit, make us all look silly, and it would only cost me a few bucks.}

Never, would I intentionally do something that could potentially retard my neighbor's property value.

It is not unusual for us to see something on the trending page that could potentially be sending the wrong message to not only experienced and new members, but also those looking in through the windows. People cannot read the fine print from all the way outside. These new members and potential signups are unaware of everything I've pointed out here today.

Every time we see paid programming on television, it includes a message that clearly states we are about to watch paid programming. When we use Google, advertisements are included with our search results and stand out, labelled as advertisements. Steemit is missing this crucial element and our community is being misled.

Suggestions and/or Solutions

^{Please consider these options.}

Make it known to those viewing your post.

Indicate within the post your intention to advertise before publishing as a common courtesy to your followers and anyone else who may come across your promotion.
Minnows should not be lured into voting for your post on the day you decided it was eyes you wanted on your work and not votes. If you're buying votes, you are purchasing a portion of the reward pool. Every vote purchased takes potential rewards away from all other members who utilize this blockchain. Minnows could use their votes on each other which would only contribute to a thriving community instead of voting for advertisements. Nobody tips Wal-Mart for telling us about their huge sale. The ad lures people to the store and they look around.

Bot Detection

We have a promoted tab and a trending tab. The promotions are at the top of the trending tab. After the vote purchase transaction takes place, a promotion bot upvotes the post. That upvote should then remove the post from the trending tab and place it in the promotion tab automatically. When promotions are honest from the start, we can create a culture that is not afraid to look at the promoted tab. There's a good chance someone's best work might be there. There's also nothing stopping a blogger from creating a banner within their regularly scheduled posts that links to their promotion.

Final Thoughts

 
I cannot purchase a vote. As a combination of being a writer, an artist and an entertainer, I can only depend on my skills to succeed. If I'm buying votes, why would I need followers? If I don't have followers, who will read my jokes and look at the art? If nobody is looking, why would I bother? Why would I put so much energy into something just to keep it to myself?

It's difficult. Being here. Trying to push harder. Attempting to produce something worthy enough to trend. It feels like the Steroid Olympics. I cannot compete because I cannot purchase an advantage. I'm forced to ask people to share my Steemit links on other social networks in order to get more eyes on what I'm doing. That's not a bad thing either.

If I buy a vote, that is like me going out to purchase the best looking bowling trophy I can find. I've never bowled but the new trophy I'm constantly polishing says, "Best Bowler in the World." Someone might want to see me bowl someday. Then what? The jigs up. I faked it.

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.

I like to leave the door open to opportunity. If someone approaches me to offer a job as a writer, how can I deny their low-ball offer if I can't prove what I'm worth? They would laugh at me if I told them I bought my salary.

Think about these words:

---

Today, an artist revealed his latest offering to the world, free of charge. A patron of the arts was given a token of appreciation for the appreciation. The artist has done the exact opposite of selling out.

A busker sits on the street and strums his guitar while throwing change in everyone's hat. He goes home with a full stomach.

This changes everything. We've revolutionized the arts and entertainment industry.

---

Those are my words. They describe what I'm actually doing here, everyday.

We can't purchase that.

Have a good day.

Credits: _{All art and images seen here were produced digitally, by me. "We don't have to embrace a culture based on greed." [email protected]}

^{© 2018 Two Insanity Productions.}Follow @NoNamesLeftToUse^{(Click the link for previous posts!)}