Both are definitely interesting services; whether they are "good" for the community is hard to say-- as a newcomer, it's certainly nice to be "seen" by someone with major voting power; on the other hand it also sounds a bit like "buying favors."

I realize advertising is everywhere in a free-market economy, but this kind of thing also seems rather open to abuse... someone can post utter garbage and then pay the equivalent of 2SBD to get an 8SBD boost. Sure they only get a little more, but in a system with a fixed rewards pool, that also means money OUT of perhaps more worthy pockets.

Although there would be not serious way to verify it, it might be a little more equitable if you couldn't buy yourself such an upvote... it could only be someone else who gives it to you as a reward for excellence.

Of course, that brings up the whole ball of wax of whether we're purely here "to make money" or we're here to "create worthy content."