Steemitblog just announced the release of Steemit's newest feature, the "Promoted" content section. Read all of the details below.
The Promoted content section isn't quite live yet but it is already displayed next to Trending and Hot sections on the navigation bar. The Promoted content section will sort articles based on which articles have received the most SBD (Steem Backed Dollars) from Steemit authors.
Here's what we know so far:
In order to be featured in the Promoted content section, authors will need to transfer SBD to the @null account by clicking at the bottom of the post that they'd like to promote. The amount to be deposited is up to the authors, however, I'm guessing that the higher the SBD amount deposited, the more exposure a promoted post will receive. Once the SBD have been received by the @null account, the SBD will then be added to the total received by the post and increase it's ranking in the Promoted content queue.
If you're wondering who will be getting the SBD from the @null account, in short, the stakeholders, which is us. The @null account is a special account that Steemit has created just for the Promoted content section, and no one has control over the account, including Steemit. Once SBD are transferred to @null, the SBD are put away for the time being. Steemit plans to eventually remove the SBD, Steem, and SP (Steem Power) held by the @null account from the supply.
Removing the SBD, Steem, and SP from the @null account could be a great advantage to the community because it means that the SBD will be distributed to all stakeholders (us). Now because all payments on Steemit are made in SBD, it means that they are in fact similar to the debt of the network (Steemit), which means that all payments made to promote posts will serve to reduce the debt load on Steem which theoretically will increases the value of Steem (Hooray!).
Because the promoted content is self-curated, readers should hypothetically be able to discover new authors, and authors should be able to build their followers. The more users read, upvote, and follow authors who promote their content, more users will be willing to spend SBD to promote their content as well. This is in fact good news as well, because the more users spend to promote their content, the more Steem should grows in value and boost capital into the platform and stakeholders (us).
However, the potential good news comes with a disclaimer from Steemit. Read the full disclaimer below before pressing the "Promote" button on your post.
The @null account is a special blockchain level account and does not belong to Steemit, Inc or any other individual. Sending money to @null does not constitute a contract between you and anyone else. Steemit, Inc can and will change how it chooses to display, filter, and sort posts in the promoted section at its sole discretion.
Now what remains to be seen is what will the quality of the promoted content be. Because after all, the promoted content will be self-curated, which means that this opens the door to all content on the network.