Some days the hot and trending pages feel alien to me. Today is one of those. I get into my curation jam for the afternoon, but none of the potential risers I come across strike me as bringing the value that I'm looking for to the network. I'm a type three curator at heart, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about it.

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The Three Types of Curation

For me, there's three types of curation. The first type of curation is the one that has you devising optimum strategies, voting at the 30 minute mark and banking on a post you 'know' will trend. This has the biggest direct payoff in so called 'curation rewards'.

The second type of curation is the one that has you voting on content you just 'like' or on the people in your closer network that you want to help. I call this the Facebook Curation.

The third type of curation is an elusive beast indeed. It's my favorite type, but it's hard to quantify at times. Basically, it comes down to you voting on posts that you think will 'help' the value of STEEM and Steemdollars in the long term. This can be anything from a guide on how to get into Steemit aimed at a complete newbie, to a viral marketing campaign that you decide is worthy of your vote.

Sometimes, this type of curation overlaps the other types, so it can be hard to spot! A post that may greatly increase the value of the network could also be gamed by those after their curation rewards on the optimum voting moment! Alternatively, that influential post that brings so much value could have lots of friends voting on it as a baseline, regardless of the value.

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Percieved Value and the Bandwagon

One thing that seperates Steemit from most other networks is that users will be easily swayed to post, vote or comment on things they don't even like. Why, you ask, would people dedicate their free time on a social network doing things they don't like? The answer: $$$$$.

Sometimes when a certain post or topic does really well, this derails the wagon. And nobody wants to see a derailed wagon full of people jerking each other off for pocket change.

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Tying it all Together

Vote on what you love. Vote on what you will see as a benefit to Steemit even months from now. Try to restrain yourself from merely milking quick bandwagons and trends. It's been done before, and it's probably been done bigger and better. This is the realm of creation and decentralization. Protect it. Have some fun.

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Any recent bandwagons you'd like to discuss? Stumble across anything that made you really passionate and happy to see on Steemit? Share your experiences in the comment section below! As always, for more great content follow my blog @spookypooky :)