This challenge will cost at least 0.1 SBD to participate, but you have the potential to earn FAR more than that. Read on, and I'll show you how we can all make this New Year's great for everyone involved!

2017 has been a great year for Steemit!

But 2018 is going to top the charts! We've seen explosive growth, both in terms of active users, as well as the recent boom in the value of Steem and SBD. We've got nowhere to go but up, and you can be a part of that change! Here's a challenge to all Steemians to let us know what you plan to do differently or better when it comes to Steemit? How will add lasting value to the platform, and help our beloved community reach new highs?

Before I get into the rules of the challenge, I want to give a short brief on my own resolutions before making a post for this challenge myself, because they will tie into the rules.

In 2018, I resolve to improve the functionality and value of @steemgigs. As many of my regular readers know, I feel very strongly about the steemgigs initiative, and will do everything I can to help the freelancing community here on Steemit.
I also resolve to encourage the ethical and scrupulous use of upvote bots. We have an amazing opportunity here to spread love and support around the network, but for the most part, these services are only used as a means to profit.

And now... here are the

• Write a post about how you will make 2018 different when it comes to Steemit. What will you change about your blog? What can you do to add lasting value to the community?

• Mention and link to this challenge in your post.

• Make #steemitresolution your first tag.

• Put a link to your entry post in the comments below.

• Place at least a 0.1 SBD bid with any of the upvote bots listed below on an entry from SOMEONE ELSE (When you do this, be sure to reply to that person's comment stating that you have voted, and with which bot. This will prevent multiple people from sending bids to the same bot for the same post.)

So the challenge costs at least 0.1 SBD to enter, but imagine how much you'll earn if only a couple people place bids on your post. Let's show Steemit that upvote bots can be used in an altruistic way which shows support for fellow bloggers rather than be a tool to see how much one can turn a profit.

When all of the challenge criteria have been met, I will personally place a 0.1 SBD bid with an upvote bot on your entry post. I'm not asking for upvotes as a rule because I would rather you upvote the entries of other users first, and if you've got a bit of VP you can throw my way after, it would definitely be appreciated.

BONUS: Resteem this post for visibility, and I'll increase that bid to 0.15 SBD

That will get you a 50% bigger vote, and might also bring more people into the challenge, increasing your chances of getting extra votes/bids on your post!

Here are a list of upvote bid bots with a minimum bid as low as 0.1 SBD, ranked by their total SP including delegations:

@booster (727K+ SP)

@postpromoter (510K+ SP)

@sneaky-ninja (298K+ SP)

@minnowhelper (90K+ SP)

@lovejuice (16K+ SP)

@votebuster (13K+ SP)

@discordia (7K+ SP)

@nettybot (2K+ SP)

BONUS:

The bots below have a bit higher of a minimum bid. Show big support for someone, and I'll increase my bid on your entry by another 50% on top of the bonus for Resteeming, so if you do both, my bid would stack to 0.225 SBD! If I really like your entry, at my own discretion, I will increase that bid as high as 0.5SBD.

@upme (1.5SBD min. bid) (2.9M+ SP)

@buildawhale (1SBD min. bid) (1.9M+ SP)

@appreciator (1SBD min. bid) (1.9M+ SP)

@randowhale (0.5SBD min. bid) (661K+ SP)

@upmyvote (1SBD min. bid) (402K+ SP)

@boomerang (0.2SBD min. bid) (281K+ SP)

@randofish (0.25SBD min. bid) (1K+ SP)

By using upvote bots in this manner, you can potentially attract other people doing the same thing on your posts. I'll be starting a weekly post series talking about a new social experiment. I'll be placing random bids to upvote posts that I come across in my feed that I believe deserve more support than I can give them just by upvoting. I hope this experiment will result in a reciprocation of that support.

I would LOVE to see some of my favorite Steemians (and community projects) participate in this challenge, and let Steemit know what you have planned for the next year of blogging, earning, engaging, and supporting.

I'll run this challenge through the month of January, and I'll post a new round each week.