Thanks for providing a post so we can discuss this topic! :-)
I am all for this featured posts functionality in case of the wallet change and any other future 'big changes' on Steemit.com. I'm also happy to see you learned from that experience and are making sure that doesn't ever happen again. The way it works now (post on top, x to click it away once read) works fine, so I'm glad you've implemented that.
Other than that I would suggest to be careful or just not use it on other posts. Always keep in mind who Steemit.com's users are (and if you don't know, try some market research amongst your users): they often have fled from (content) manipulation and centralization. Having one or two people at Steemit, Inc decide which posts 'we have to/should see' is just more centralization on a platform that is filled with people that don't like that.
Selecting posts yourself is in my view a no-go, but having people pay for that very very special spot is maybe even worse. We now have: ads/banners, trending, hot, promoted, all places for promoted or 'not so much promoted' content. All these 4 spots still have their own challenges. Clean these up/remove/perfect these first before adding a fifth place with 'special' content would be my sincere suggestion :-)
(PS: The best way to get people to see content is if their favorite Steemians/influencers resteem a post. Making sure a resteem works like a retweet, with a personal comment from the Steemian that resteems would be my preferred functionality to add to Steemit.com in order to get more 'viral content' - people want to know why a person resteems a post so they can decide to open a post from an otherwise random author.)
Last thing I want to mention: the more this pinned feature is used, the less it will catch a person's eye. People easily get 'blind' for these sort of features, and if they had to click away uninteresting (to them) or paid posts a few times in the past few days, they will be less likely to see the actually important featured post where you announced a very important update on steemit.com - Yes, indeed, like the wallet change, the whole reason you as I understand it implemented the featured post.
Just my sincere input.
TLDR: Good job, but the less this feature is used, the more effective it will be.
Very well said! I second all the points you mentioned. Great & important input imo.
KA-CHING
the main point
That is why the top 100 witnesses should vote on which posts are featured in the limited amount featured slots that rotate every day or week or whatever. We all know that all the Steem users can vote on their favorite witnesses. The top 100 witnesses can then be rewarded with the responsibility of voting on featured posts. They decide. They vote. The top picks are then featured. And important updates should be kept on the sidebar.