Why I won't be using bidbots again
bidbots·@natubat·
0.000 HBDWhy I won't be using bidbots again
A month ago I ran a little experiment – a very unscientific one, as I was the only participant in this research project. I decided to try using bidbots. My thinking was this: as a plankton, writing what I consider quality content, bidbots might help me promote my posts, which might then be seen by more Steemians and thereby attract more upvotes. <br><center>https://media.giphy.com/media/mIZ9rPeMKefm0/giphy.gif</center> I decided not to use bidbots to boost posts that were getting a lot of views but not many upvotes, as these posts were probably not going to be popular anyway. (The "eyes" feature seems to have disappeared from Steemit posts now, so I can't actually tell how many people have viewed my posts.) I had already done a bit of research into a few accounts that regularly use bidbots. Some Steemians regularly spend a lot on them, but I didn't find any accounts that regularly make a lot of SBD profits this way. The accounts I looked at appeared at first glance to be earning hundreds of dollars from their daily posts, but my laborious calculations of how much they had spent on bidbots compared to their actual payout indicated that despite spending 50SBD or more on bidbots, they were making profits of about 8 or 9 SBD per post at most (and often making losses). I compared that with some other popular accounts that were regularly making from 30 to 150SBD simply by producing quality content and sticking at it. What these bidbot using accounts were getting in addition to their 8 or 9 SBD (or sometimes they were making a loss) was: 1. Increased SP 2. More followers and comments. ## But was it even worth the effort? ## My own experimental use of bidbots was very unimpressive, and I've not used them since. Unlike the accounts I studied, I only spent a few SBD per post on bidbots – never more than $10. My strategy was to get my posts trending in niche categories like #climbing and #uk. But I found that even if my post reached the number one spot in these categories, that in itself wouldn't bring me many more views, or upvotes. Maybe those categories were just too niche.  [Source](https://pixabay.com/en/arrows-trend-businesswoman-woman-2167840/) I also started to notice that some of my posts would be trending in those niche categories _before_ I'd spent a single cent on bidbots! Ultimately my expenditure on bidbots over eight posts netted me an overall loss of 8.47SBD, and every single bidbotted post made a loss. This was a great surprise to me, as several times after I spent on bidbots my post seemed to "take off", but then over the next few days it would flag. During that time period, I wrote two unbotted posts – and they earned me a total profit of 21.71 SBD; 11.66 SP, mainly because one of them was picked up by Curie. Thanks again Curie! ## Patience ## This very unscientific experiment taught me that Steemit is a game – a waiting game. You need patience, to stick at it, learning all the time. I have a strong feeling that Steem and Steem Dollars will rise in value over the next few years, so even if we feel we're not making much from our work, I think if we "hodl" we will reap the benefits over time.  [Source](https://pixabay.com/en/money-finance-business-success-2696229/) I haven't posted much since running that experiment – but that's not because I've got fed up or decided to throw in the towel! I've just been absolutely run off my feet doing DIY to get a flat I rent out into shape for letting it again after the previous tenant left. I've been too exhausted to think, never mind write! ## New bot transparency drive ## But since I finished doing the DIY and started blogging and vlogging again, I've noticed a cluster of great new initiatives from @byColeman and others: • @Transparencybot adds a comment to bidbotted posts, gently and non-judgementally alerting readers to the fact. • @botreporter posts daily summaries of the largest net transfers to bidbots. • The #nobidbot tag was introduced by @whatamidoing in this post(https://steemit.com/nobidbot/@whatamidoing/why-don-t-we-all-protest-the-trending-and-hot-page-nobidbot), and it's being supported by @transparencybot with random upvotes. I don't have a massive ethical antipathy towards bidbots, because I see them as tools. We are adults. It's up to us whether we choose to spend money on bots or not, and it's pretty easy to find out if someone has been using bots. Some very good creators who bring value to the community choose to promote their posts with bidbots. But in my case, bidbots profited from my work, while I made a loss. Hmm… <br><center>https://media.giphy.com/media/URmJvPe1VXIUE/giphy.gif</center> I don't think I'll be using them again!