@smooth - vote for what you think adds value? So, by your own definition, you deem that almost nothing on here adds value as you vote for your burnpost every single day and rarely anything else? Which you collect curation rewards for btw and is akin to self voting 10x per day, you just happen to burn the other half. Noble? Debatable, but you are earning curation either way and not upvoting anyone else.

Ignoring that and continuing with your recommendation of voting for adding value, recruiting new users etc... I have brought close to 20 people here Smooth, I am betting that is more than you have. Most of them have left by now, but several are still around. Of those users I have brought several of them have invested well over $10k of their own money into steem, something I have also done. Regarding voting, I tend to vote for crypto oriented posts and crypto oriented authors, which is exactly how communities traditionally form. You find like minded authors/people and content you enjoy and that is where most of your time is spent.

Regarding posting, I have actually spent time researching and posting high SEO related/optimized topics and posts trying to bring the most eyes possible to steem. Which is actually why my blog is structured the way it is.

If you look at my posts I have only ever voted for a handful of my top 30 votes or so each day, yet that is considered vote trading? If I like someone's content, vote for them and then they vote for me, that is considered vote trading? It sounds like there is no regard for content. If that is the way it needs to be so be it, lets code in the fact that if someone votes for you, you may not vote for them within a 3 day period or 7 day or whatever. But dissecting everyone's voting activity on here is not sustainable or going to be applied equally platform wide, which is what we are already seeing.