Yeah, sorry I haven't replied yet. I agree that the mere concept of upvote bots is weird. They have helped me to reach more people but they also did cost me tons of my earned SBD. In general I prefer if they wouldn't be necessary or even available. But I rather think that we have just seen the dawn of all kinds of bots like this. It will probably grow into a proper market. Depends on what Steemit is delivering next.
The Power User is someone who posts daily and with a certain strategy to maximize success. You can see some patterns for what works well for that.
That is exactly what I have found out also! My value is not growing at all since I use the boosters too much, only nice payout numbers but not really a win. I have now reduced the use to a minimum of 2-4 $ investment.
Hi @joe.public, I created the bot tracker site featured here and I made it because I personally find that the upvote bots can really help new / small users grow an audience here more quickly.
For one, if you have some patience, you can get positive returns directly using the bots - which is what my site aims to show. But additionally even if you don't get a direct positive return from the bot's vote, it gets your post more visibility which gets you more real votes and more followers which I think will easily generate a positive return in the long run.
You may use it to boost your reputation, then use only bots with high reputation numbers, that makes sense with a 40 reputation.