Pretty Please!

My brain isn't braining. I have been glued to the screen for the past couple of days searching for good posts and articles. And I am also supposedly on a summer break. What was intented to be a fun hobby turned into a Herculean task. Yep, this was my third time curating posts from team XX and let me tell you, finding good posts was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I mean, I have nothing against diaries, food posts, or anything else you people want to write about. I have seen artistic masterpieces describing the riveting saga of buying an old car or the epic struggle of making a cup of tea.

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Please, be my hero and guide this lost curator to some upvote-worthy gems! Pretty please

But if it's a diary, please make it a page-turner. Give your readers a reason to drop everything and dive into your daily routine with enthusiasm. No one cares if you washed your face with soap or face wash. Also, why would we want to see pictures of your toiletries? If you insist on showing us your toiletries, at least make it so fascinating that we can't help but be intrigued.

I know, I know. It's not all your fault. The tags—the lure of tags being read the most. I know the feeling; I've been there. I was lucky enough, or maybe consistent enough, to secure a reader or two in the beginning. But yes, I know that feeling of a knot in the stomach when you have spent days writing a post, collecting data, editing, re-editing, going to all lengths to bring a piece of art to the table like XYZ, and yet it wasn't even noticed. And then one turns back to those old tag-secured posts. But, let me tell you, this approach will not work in the long run.

Turning back to the topic of my curation duties, I finally found a few posts that made me a little happy, but what... zero voting CSI, negative voting CSI. I am well aware of the new rules by the team but, the freedom given by the team to curate posts without considering club affiliations or voting CSI is both a blessing and a challenge.

Some contributors added literally nothing to the Steem ecosystem—not even their time in the form of comments and engagement, let alone 'power-ups' or upvotes. Give me one reason to curate other than your somewhat acceptable post! It was like they came, dumped something, and went away. Why should I upvote them? But I did! Why? Because if the rules have been relaxed, then there must be a good reason.

I curated a post like this today and a few earlier, but I didn't want to have a burden on my conscience, so I left little notes under the posts with my curation message. I don't know how much I can exercise this freedom without feeling the weight of it. However, I am pleased that the a few authors responded with an encouraging message and expressed their intent to heed my humble advice.

For example:

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And then I became a little more persuasive, and, well if you know me then you won't be surprised:

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What is the purpose of including these screenshots? I am not flexing or anything. It's just that while it's really easy to curate the posts of known authors (the authors already in our databases), it does take extra effort to find these hidden gems. A little encouragement, a little persuasion, and a small vote from these curation accounts can be a big motivation for these authors. Maybe they will make an effort to contribute more to this ecosystem.

I know I can be answerable for my actions. Both to the team and to the authors, some of whom might one day reply rudely and ask me to mind my own business. But that's the cost I'm willing to pay.

I'm still not happy with my curation job today. I kept looking for something more unique, something different—a post with that "wow" factor. It's not that I didn't look. I used @the-gorilla's tool (https://raptor.in.ua/steemit.php?tags=xyz,abc), dug into posts community-wise, searched for authors by name, looked into the comments of posts, and combed through the replies. I went through my followers, your followers, the following, and what not. Yet, I am still not satisfied.

Certainly, there are many other factors at play here. Some pearls had already been discovered by curation teams, while others had already been curated by SC01 and SC02.

I know it's really easy to go after the well-known authors, making the job of any curator very easy, but that approach won't let me sleep peacefully at night.

Maybe I am missing something. Maybe I'm still new to this curation process.

Every time it's my turn to curate, I cross-check with my colleague @event-horizon. Coincidentally, we both curate on the same day, and poor her has to reply to my numerous messages on WhatsApp. "Hey, Hira, where are all the good posts? What am I missing?" Sometimes she replies, "Every post I open, you have already been there." And sometimes I accuse her of the same. Then we have another competition with @patjewell. She is faster than us both!!! It's quite amusing. But we both agree on one point: it's really hard to find good posts other than the usual ones. I also keep bugging @o1eh for the same reasons. I don't know when his patience will wear out.

I have nothing against the usual good authors, but the problem is that they are already getting support from big eyes, one way or another. Most of the time, they have already been upvoted with much higher votes.

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You must be wondering what I'm doing with all this rambling in the Suggestions Club. I'm unsure myself. Who am I suggesting these suggestions to? Well, it's for everyone—the authors, the curators, the readers, and myself included. Yes, I need these the most. I should keep these points in mind when I write next time, when I curate next time, and when I open the Steemit browser next time.

I'm desperate for good posts before it's my turn in two days. This is such an eye opening experience for me. Before, I wouldn't give a damn about good articles. I would only be happy if mine was praised enough. Now, it has broadened my perspective, and I am all for a good read. Yes, I'm this desperate. A few points for your kind consideration:

  • Quality over quantity:

  • Please, please, please read your post once before publishing it.

  • Too many typos and grammar mistakes make everything worthless.

  • Please take the help of any number of tools to make your writings easier on us.

  • It's never too late to refine your language (expression) or a skill.

For us curators:

  • While it's easy to curate the known authors, let's leave our comfort zones.

  • Let's find something new, even if it's just one new person per week.

That's all from my side. This post is open for further discussion and comments!



both gifs from Giphy

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Welcome to the world of curating!

Your post means one thing to me... you are a flippen good curator or you would not have written this post.

Unfortunately, this is no easy task. I often wonder if Steemians realize what curators go through. It takes time and a lot of effort.
Not to mention the disappointment when you've found a great post only to discover that the basics, like you've mentioned, are not followed.

Then you get those posts that comply with everything you are looking for. By this time you have read it, you have checked the club status, the voting CSI, the delegations, and the support, and you get all excited just to discover after a good 15 minutes that the post is AI written, plagiarized, or not #steemexclusive as mentioned.
That break my speed for the rest of the day.

It takes me a good 8 to 10 hours to curate every time it is my shift, as I also look for authors who have never received a vote from me and from different countries. I get a thrill when I have to add the name of a new user to the database.

A tip: start collecting posts beforehand. I keep a schedule, and as I see a good post, I add it. When it is my turn, it often gives me a good start. Yes, some posts might have already received votes, but it still helps a lot.

Good luck!
PS: I've found numerous Steemians who just needed that little push and advice to get them going and who are now performing well on the platform. They are waiting for you. (•ิ‿•ิ)

Thank you so much for your feedback.

Now that I am in your shoes, I completely understand you. And I definitely respect you for your efforts. I can say with certainty that people like you are an asset to the chain.

A tip: start collecting posts beforehand. I keep a schedule, and as I see a good post, I add it. When it is my turn, it often gives me a good start. Yes, some posts might have already received votes, but it still helps a lot.

Yes, it comes in handy, but by the time I start my shift, most of the golden picks are already curated. I blame you for this also 😂

PS: I've found numerous Steemians who just needed that little push and advice to get them going and who are now performing well on the platform. They are waiting for you.

Learned this from you and @chriddi. I am trying to follow in the footsteps of my mentors. And yes, I agree completely. It's just that I am really unsure whether the user/author is deliberately not contributing to the system or if they are still ignorant. Some users are quite old/experienced. It becomes a dilemma then. And as I have mentioned in my post somewhere, I may get some rude responses for leaving little notes of enlightenment under their posts. Lol. But one has to keep their conscience clean... 😉😎

You know what? You will do just be fine!
I know the Steemians are going to love you too bits. 💕

PS: Thank you for the kind words.
You made my toes curl.

I hope I didn't ruin your summer break by encouraging you to apply for curation. 🤭

Curation is as difficult as creating content, only if you do it fairly. It's an experience in itself to see this side of the picture.

Huh! Curation challeneges. We have already talked about this topic off-chain and I told you how the curation was a little better when we had themed teams. But after reading this post, I have been thinking about what else can be done.

These little notes you share are a great way to send the message that you are doing great, we are watching you, and you will do better if you give back to the community.

Steemitblog clearly revoked all the rules this time (prohibition of plagiarism and AI is not a rule, it's content ethics). I understand it's up to a team to decide how they want to curate but it seemed like most teams shared the previous list of rules as guidelines. So, technically we are at the same place where we were last month.

Many interesting initiatives are going on in different communities but the posts are not searchable or every other post is under #thediarygame or contest specific tag.

I was hoping that community leaders encourage authors to use tags more wisely. Using #club #burn #steemexclusive or any other tag that doesn't align with the contents of a post is of no good.

Curators check your content exclusivity and club status anyway. No matter how boldly you convey your status.

If we ask authors to use #club in the first 4 tags or we share in the guidelines that we are only going to curate #club then we are sending the wrong message...'we prioritize your club status over your content.' Really???

Curators are equally responsible for low-effort content. Curators should check #club, by all means, I also check it but I don't evaluate a post solely based on it . The quality always gets higher weightage. We shouldn't highlight club as a rule and send the wrong message to the authors.

Quality of content is very subjective, if a below average author is a curator, he/she will curate accordingly. Maybe, next time, instead of looking at the SPs, @steemitblog should choose top authors for this role. 🤔

Thank you so much, Hira, for stopping by my post and further elaborating on my points. I owe you one ;)

Mine felt more like blabbering. I wasn't in the right state of mind. The Greens losing to the Blues in cricket last night made me so sad, and to top it off, I had a not-so-fruitful day at curation. Lol. I wanted to say so many things, but I had to limit myself so as not to give away my state of mind. 😂😂😂

I agree with you 100 percent. Although I'm not sure if authors would want to curate. It takes so much time, especially if you do it fairly. My mind, at least, stops making sense after a while with curation, and I need at least two days to come back to my senses. Apologies for the exaggeration, but yeah, you kinda get what I'm trying to say!

This experience will definitely help me improve my writing and posts, and I am eternally grateful to the team for this opportunity. It's not that I chose to rant and complain; rather, a few people have recently followed me, assuming I will curate their posts. I wanted to share my opinion with them and others. I hope it didn't come across as a complaint or a rant.

Thank you for your feedback really and also putting up with all my queries on my day of curation 😎

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 5 months ago 

I don't know when his patience will wear out.

Never 😀

Once I also wrote a post about my first impressions of curation. Then SC01 wrote me the words that I will remember forever: "Welcome to the world of great curation." 😁

Hahaha

I hope he lands with one of his "flash quizzes" here, so that my post gains widespread attention on Steemit. I still need to respond to the comments and replies on this post, which have further elaborated on my points of view.

But I think I have played a part, however small it maybe, fruitful or not... ???That's an other story!!!

Your post is already viral and hitting it where it should. The problem is the "authors" are so used to showing you their hobbies which should remain inside their bathrooms and laundry. But the problem is some users have no bathroom or laundry so do everything in the open and wash their dirty linen in public... so there!

 5 months ago 

Let's find something new, even if it's just one new person per week.

All I can say is good luck.

If you get my Discord off Hira, I might be able to help. No guarantees but I might be able to point you towards something you’re interested in.

Well, ¿Can I tell you?: Welcome! 😉

The people I have shared with in the groups can say that every time I tell them the same thing: Please let's nominate people who make good posts who are not well known or do not receive support.

This seems to go by levels, if you can't nominate someone new, at least try to nominate someone who is good, but has not received support in recent weeks.

It has happened to me that I have discovered a user but then for some reason, they are no longer supported.

I have also found very good authors but after a while they delegated to voting services, or went beyond the parameters that were requested.

It is true that there must at least be a minimum of interaction, which perhaps is why some remain anonymous. And I agree that giving them a little stimulus can encourage them, it's a matter of time.

But what all teams should agree on is getting out of the comfort zone and making that extra effort.🙂

This seems to go by levels, if you can't nominate someone new, at least try to nominate someone who is good, but has not received support in recent weeks.

Thank you for your feedback. And I totally agree on this point.

I saw some very good authors in this category!

And I agree that giving them a little stimulus can encourage them, it's a matter of time.

I am very hopeful. Ever since I wrote this post, I have been receiving comments from a few authors. Additionally, I have received some feedback from those where I left messages along with curation. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I am positive :)

I'm glad that's the case!

You're sure to get some good answers, it's just a matter of being patient.😊

Hello my friend honestly speaking i have learned a lot from reading this blog of yours, from now hence forth i will try and read my post before posting and also check my grammatical errors.

You're right when you said that good posts is difficult to find, i have seen that being a community curator is not an easy task at all.

I believe with time you will start enjoying your curation activities, as they will be improvement in content quality.

Thanks you sir for this wonderful blog of yours i wish you more success in this platform.


Thank you so much for your kind words. :)

I am grateful to you for listening to my little piece of advice. Actually, this advice is more for myself. I keep reminding myself that I should always pay attention to the quality of my posts in terms of language and content. That's what I shared with the community here.

My pleasure sir do have a nice day 😊

I'm late, but: a warm welcome to the club from me too! You're doing a fantastic job as a Community Curator. And you are facing the same problem as so many before and beside you.

However, I do see some hopeful approaches; it would also have been my recommendation to vote for these interesting, unique posts with a subtle hint that more interaction generates more attention. For years, some authors have seen no other option than to at least vote for themselves. It can and must be said that it could be done differently!

My suggestion: keep at it! And I suspect that this interaction will happen all by itself. If you are read, if there are reactions, you also want to present yourself. People are like that ;-))

Nevertheless, I fully understand if you leave it at a trial for a month. I couldn't imagine the position as a permanent task at the time either - don't feel obliged or coerced.

Thank you. In urdu we say:

دیر آئے درست آئے

Though late, it arrived just right.

For years, some authors have seen no other option than to at least vote for themselves

I would add, to avail "auto voting" services through "delegations".

How much I want to curate such accounts, alas, my hands are tied...

My suggestion: keep at it! And I suspect that this interaction will happen all by itself. If you are read, if there are reactions, you also want to present yourself. People are like that ;-))

I am, but trying. The factor of time is the only limitation right now. And to top it off; very patchy internet service in some areas. I think things will be smoother once I head back home. The timings though... This opportunity came during a jam packed schedule. Let's see how things roll further!

@soulfuldreamer

Der aayad durust aayad ! Right? دیر آئے درست آئے

Yes,
I think more correct translation could be

Better late than never...

My grandpa wanted to teach me Urdu but I couldn't go beyond Alif Be, Te 😕

How I understand you ... When I had to be "in your shoes", I used to collect posts in advance for a week. Of course, some of them were already marked by the day I was on duty. But there was always something left over. Sometimes it was up to 30-50% of the whole list for a shift).

I can imagine you'd be one hell of a curator. I didn't know you were one once! But I can say you would have been a really fine one!!!

I hope you are doing well. It's been days since we last exchanged words. I’ve started to miss that...

I've been a curator for a few months.
Yes, the hardest part was finding a decent post. Sometimes you just had to walk around the contests and look for something there. But that didn't always save the day either))

Yes, everything is good, but it's summer and there are busy days with travelling, relatives, grandchildren )))))

I wouldn't call it travelling... more like moving and transporting someone somewhere ))

Well done! This should help change the mindset of the authors to some extent but the problem is our planners are doing nothing to publish a guideline so things change for a change.

This post should go in the newcomer's community as a guideline! I have nothing against diary posts but these posts should be theme-based and not what most of them tell you in a fixed format with a change of photo showing you what vegetable or fruit they bought for the day.

Thank you!

I think every other person who writes for the sake of writing, is of the same opinion.

This post should go in the newcomer's community as a guideline!

This is quite generous of you. However, I believe this is more of an opinion rather than a set of suggestions because what anyone writes and likes is very subjective. Although the last four points can be considered as a sort of guideline, again, I think it's more of my opinion formed after curating three times. As I mentioned in my post, I might still be new to this curation, or perhaps I'm missing something. That's why I am asking for suggestions rather than giving any...