![Open 0.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVXYKGTXAmaooqdyNHnkeG7bvvuLxpDmktzdWLB1XNHwQ/Open%200.jpg) Lately, I've found it rather difficult to predict which of my articles will catch fire. It "feels" as if many of them aren't getting a whole lot of engaged readership - if the comments are any indication of the level of reading comprehension, generally speaking. It's getting rarer to see a new commenter who is engaged and productive, rather than cut and pasting comments on any high-reputation blog. On the other hand, some of my articles that I think are better are getting nothing but my autovoter's normal attention, whereas some articles I expect little from are actually doing OK. There's definitely a large element of chance (who is online to see your article when you post it, etc) so ruling our normal statistical variance is not yet possible. I've also noticed a decrease in auto-voter usage - in general, I rarely see new users adding autovoters as curation seems to be in a rut overall, as that job has been handed off to bots wholesale to "varying" degrees of efficacy. ![Open 2.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdf59ntYKL81VJJt5AwJKKDeWksTkKzo3V9JxBSgNzmMj/Open%202.png) *That's a nice way to say...badly.* I suspect our new bot overlords have a lot to do with this. Since they have taken over curation, it is now almost entirely pay-to-play. The difference is particularly noticeable when one goes suddenly from paying to promote one's posts, to not doing so. I don't have data to back this up, but it seems to be getting increasingly difficult to get your post looked at without paying substantial post promotion costs. The bot owners have worked hard to eliminate any possible way to make profit with these things - ostensibly (and partially) because of the large amount of abuse that gets submitted to them, and the whining of those who don't understand how an auction works. Of course, getting every bot to provide a negative ROI almost every time also works pretty damn well for the operator's pocketbook... On the user's side, I've noticed more and more huge, money losing bids employed to force to the top of Trending. It's basically a set of billboards currently. You can see it right now - posts with over $1000 pending payout that took huge promotion losses plastered all over the front of Steemit. (Note that this may not be bad, and in fact could be very good, for our Steem investment - a different set of priorities than what is good for us as bloggers.) It gets interesting when bot operators are dumping (HUGE) bids on their own bots...you can't take a loss if you are paying yourself, right? ![Open 1.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdU4CzkYXavQXQdyhFgqyVvfjvYvLsNDmeoeGEfZQnSwo/Open%201.png) *Wait, you're telling me you're not only a no-name, but also have no accomplishments to list? AND you're #3 on Trending? Where do I vote?* I'm not implying any foul play, after all "Code Is Law"...but the rules of the game have been changed and only the bot operators are winning unanimously. At any rate, what was once (at least sometimes) profitable is no more. Bots are becoming a "toll" to get your content seen - another barrier to entry, rather than the "enabler" they often claim to be. On the "plus" side, I guess this is one good use for all of STINC's idle voting power - at least they can get their blog seen for SMT announcements without sending thousands worth of SBD to bid bots on payout-declined posts on their own website, lol. I'm concerned at the centralization of SP (and voting/witness voting power) provided by these bot owners. Eventually, the "bot cartel" will be able to influence witness voting substantially, particularly those at the bottom of the top 20. I wouldn't be surprised if we started hearing about backroom "offers that couldn't be refused," as many of these bot owners are far less honorable than ones such as Mark Mark. Let us not forget Zeartul and Bellyrubbank. I'm getting off on a bit of a rambly tangent here, and I'll probably break further thoughts on this topic off into their own article. Anyway, I figured it might not be a bad idea to ask my loyal readers what they'd like to hear about. Got a coin you want looked at? A philosophical issue you want a take on? Let me know in the comments and I'll take a look. I've got a wide range of expertise that goes well beyond crypto, so don't hesitate to ask about dog training, motorcycles, aquaculture - you name it. 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