It's difficult to stay objective in this topic.
Many of us upvote with our hearts not using our brains at all. We will always disagree about quality of some posted content, so our opinions about what those posts deserve are different. I've seen many flags lately waving across the network. Some users will claim that those were justified while others will support the flagged one. People categorize the quality very differently so we have a big messy mashup on the trending page filled with always the same names. I am sure that some of those "regular winners" could post a blank page and get the same reward as always.
It was interesting to watch these days, when Steemvoter didn't work, how many real upvotes you could get from people that actually scroll their feeds. But it seems that those who were at the trending page remained there with only slightly less upvotes.
Now, we must understand that Steemit is much about curation and those who have a little bit more Steem Power than an average user, play that curation game because it can get them good earnings. Those above average users actually decide where the rewards will go. While they struggle to get those curation rewards, they must act wisely and upvote those posts that they know that they will get great rewards.
How to recognize those posts?
In order to predict the rewards of some post, you have to check the author. And you don't have to be so smart to predict it. If the author got nasty rewards yesterday, on the day before and on the before, he will get it and today! So, if many stronger users run curation race, always the same names will end up on the trending page.
I was always against of upvoting author, so I upvote content. It is very hard for new users to get some attention. First, they have to learn keep up with all, learn a lot new things and adjust themselves to the new type of social network. I this "adjusting" period some could get a bigger reward from some supporting trail or a guild, but if you get it, be sure that you won't get the same amount again for at least one month.
Many Steemit users have already decided about the percentage of their voting power that they will give to some (always the same) users before they even opened the post! For newer users who still don't know, when you pass 350 Steem Power, you will get a slider that gives you the opportunity to chose with how much you will reward some author. Your voting power battery recovers for 10 of 100% upvotes every day, so if you are below 350 Steem Power and you don't use eSteem, you can give only 100% upvotes so don't get too wasteful. Use Steemstats to monitor your own account and any other account that you want.
Let's get back to the question in the title. Posts with 500$ reward... What they should like?
When I asked my friend for his opinion, he told me that the 500$ post should be made of gold. Well, I wouldn't be so strict about it, since we all want opportunity to have some success from time to time, there gotta be posts with 500$ reward. And posts with 0.00$ reward, of course. If someone posted a random photo with few words about it and got 2$, there has to be a post 250 times better that it. But what "better" means at all! My "better" is not your "better" so we should make different decisions about rewarding someone and results should be an interesting trending page with different names every day. Everyone who took this seriously and uploads original and quality content deserves an opportunity to reach the trending page at least once. Unfortunately, the same names suffocate that list every day and that leads to dissatisfaction on the users, debates with bitter end and even network wars.
I already mentioned that our judgement about the quality is different from user to user, so I will just tell you my own opinions about what kind of posts deserves 500$reward.
- Efforts don't always mean quality. There are many 2500-word post with not particularly great content. An inexperienced writer should practice his new found skills and Steemit is a great place for that, even to improve your English.
- I like photography but if you posted one photograph of sunset with one sentence below it, AND IF I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU, I am sorry, but I can't give you more than 10% upvote.
- Posts worth of 500$ should be interesting and make me to think about it for some time. It can even make me to visit it and read it again.
- If your post is not friendly, I'm sorry, I'll skip it.
- If you make me piss my pants by laughing with an something clever and original, I will not hesitate to give you 100% upvote.
- And off course, in the spirit of originality, you should source all your images, screenshots, videos and quotes that you have taken from someone else.
IMAGE SOURCE
I avoid to upvote food, travel, announcements and other stereotypes. Also with crypto news, trading tutorials and predictions. If those traders were so successful as traders, why they don't decline their rewards? Of course there are great guys in those categories that I support every day.
But to get Steemit on the right road, it seems that we have to be blind, forget our friends, our countrymen, our regular followers and judge only the quality of the post without looking the pending rewards of the same. But that will never happen, so if you have blame someone for the mess on the trending page, blame me and yourself!