This is pretty kickass:

Vote for the witnesses who you share the most value with!
Vote for the witnesses who put Steem to good use!
Vote for the witnesses who support the Steem project you support!
Vote for the witnesses who support the authors you love!
Vote for the witnesses who support you!

Yep. One of the most empowering things about this platform is actually having a say in who secures the network and makes influential moves regarding the ecosystem here.

I thoroughly enjoy voting for voluntaryist witnesses and those with a solid grasp on sound economics. There are some on your list I hadn't considered, and since I have quite a few unused witness votes it looks like I will have to get busy!

After attending @ned's talk in Tokyo recently and hearing his thoughts on "proof of brain" and the upcoming development/implementation of SMTs and customizable, "account-based voting" it seems critical to have the most capable, grounded, and principled people possible in witness roles to really make the most of the tech coming down the pike!

Without a clean playing field and sound, Austrian-econ-based free "playspace" Steemit can only grow so far. With freedom, however, I think the perceived "limits" are virtually non-existent!