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Yes but optimally only if yours is the first vote.

Which the likes of which for trending authors are.. slim. It's best to discover new content OR just stick with trusted Steemians (but you'll get less reward). In the end, curating gives little reward, it's more so for just supporting content you like.

Ish. I'm experimenting with 15 on famous and 27-30 on the rest

Thanks... what about voting very late on a post, like 6 or 12 hours later. Is that a waste of a vote?

Not if the post is still alive or the author deserves it...it shouldn't only be for personal gain

Agree... just trying to figure out if the Steem system has incentives for that. If not would be a good change.