Maybe I don't have the right imagination, but it seems to me like paid adverts in Google search... I would actually be quite happy if you landed on the "New" filter via steemit.com. I also find the distinction at upvu.org between "Trending" and "Hot" quite interesting...
I understand the comparison with Google Search - I suppose the difference is that if users don’t like the promoted posts, they have the ability to change it (by promoting their own post).
One bonus is that every promoted post helps STEEM due to the additional burn.
I believe that “Hot” is in the core codebase, just turned off on Steemit.com for whatever reason.
If I recognise the difference correctly, "Hot" sorts by the number of votes and not by the total amount. Votebot earnings may also be omitted.
I’ve just remembered that I tested the URL after I saw it in the code -
https://steemit.com/hot
It still works, it just doesn’t display in the drop down. You can do this with any community too, just replace “trending” or “created” in the URL with “hot” 🥳
Cool ;-)) Thanks!