![](https://s13.postimg.io/qcgvtiukn/steem_voting_patterns.png)

Looking for answers and insights in the voting patterns of whales, dolphins and minnows.

# How many authors are using all of their voting power?

[![](https://s16.postimg.org/uslq17rqt/steem_voting_patterns.png)](https://s16.postimg.org/uslq17rqt/steem_voting_patterns.png)

Answer: Only ~2.3%.

# What data is included in the analysis?

* The period spans 28 days: from 2016-08-15 to 2016-08-11.
* Accounts created after 2016-08-14 are excluded in this analysis.
* Author categorization is done using *current* vesting_shares values.
  * Whales are defined as first 69 accounts with log(vesting_shares) > 8.5
  * Dolphins are defined as next 197 accounts with log(vesting_shares) between 7.5 and 8.5
  * Minnows are defined as next 866 accounts with log(vesting_shares) between 6.5 and 7.5
* Analysis is not totally accurate due to the rolling nature of voting power depletion (over 5 days). This model uses simple daily vote averages. This means that the results show upper bound of % used voting power and the real number is likely lower.
* Disclaimer: I'm not a data scientist and this data may contain errors.

# How many accounts use X% of their voting power?
[![](https://s12.postimg.io/74iv4ufct/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_21_52.png)](https://s12.postimg.io/74iv4ufct/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_21_52.png)

Note: accounts with zero votes are excluded from the graph.

Answers:
* Voting power is not being fully used by an absolute majority of Steem accounts.

# What is the distribution of used voting power among whales, dolphins and minnows?

[![](https://s13.postimg.io/kw12om679/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_02_07.png)
](https://s13.postimg.io/kw12om679/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_02_07.png)

Answers:
* Most whales and dolphins are not using their voting power and are missing out on possible curation rewards.
* Whales voting patterns are quite similar to dolphins.

# What would be the distribution of used voting power among whales, dolphins and minnows under hardfork "5 votes rule"?

[![](https://s13.postimg.io/vx0t7dntx/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_02_42.png)](https://s13.postimg.io/vx0t7dntx/Screenshot_from_2016_09_15_18_02_42.png)

Note: likely change of user behaviour due to hardfork does not allow to apply these insights directly.

Answers:
* Hard fork voting power change would increase influence of less engaged authors across all marine species.
* Steem payout changes would be mostly influenced by voting preferences of less active whales.