It surprises us here at CommentWealth how many post authors leave their comment threads uncurated. We're not talking about the type of “curation” that's rewarded monetarily here on Steemit. We're talking about the broader definition of the verb, to curate: “to pull together, sift through, and select for presentation, as music or website content.” (dictionary.com) Steemit authors often fail to curate their comments, to pull together and reward the most valuable comments for presentation at the top of their comment thread, and to move the spam and bot comments down to the bottom of the thread, where they belong. These are simple but crucial habits for successful Steemians.
Comment curation is something all minnows should learn how to do, in order to build their following and create community here on Steemit. And in fact, comment curation is one of the things CommentWealth tries to do for minnows until they learn to do it for themselves. But we've been surprised at how many dolphins and even whales fail to curate their comments! To respond to this need, we've put together a quick guide on how to simply and effectively manage your comment curation.
This doesn't necessarily mean, identify the comments being made by your friends or even your consistent followers. You may have several of those, and they may leave polite comments. But if a newcomer has taken the time to leave a thoughtful, detailed comment about a point you've made, revealing their own thorough comprehension of your work, upvote that comment first! That is the kind of interaction you want to reward and move to the top of your thread!
We call this type of thoughtful, detailed comment a "big" comment.
It stuns us to see big comments rotting on the bottom of someone's comment thread, while that post author is busy high-fiving and upvoting their friends who have offered nothing more than a “hey.” Whales are often guilty of this; fine, they can afford to be. Minnows can't.
Remember, the first comment you upvote always receives a higher payout than the upvotes you make later down the line (until the next day, of course). So upvote the most powerfully connecting comment interactions you receive first.
Middle comments are the polite ones that aren't as engaging or detailed, but that also deserve your attention. CommentWealth believes that anyone taking the time to comment on one of your posts deserves the reward of an upvote! Just make sure you're upvoting these polite, middle comments after your powerful comments, or you can upvote polite comments at a slightly lower percentage than your most powerful comments.
Not all bots are bad, and the ones leaving automated messages after upvoting your content deserve respect and rewards, too. But they fall below the humans who have taken the time to interact with your post. Upvote your bot comments last, or upvote them at a lower percentage, if you use a slider. One possible sliding scale might be to upvote your big comments with 100% upvotes, your middle comments with 75% upvotes, and your bot comments with 50% upvotes. But those numbers are entirely up to you – experiment to find what works best!
This is crucial and should go without saying. But this is the single-most important thing any Steemian can do to build community, relationships, and a loyal following.
How minnows handle spam has a huge effect on how their posts are received. We don't recommend that minnows flag their spam. As a newbie to Steemit, you don't need to start any flame wars and your voting power isn't high enough to make a flagging impact. Flagging is best left to larger accounts that have more voting power. In fact, one of the stated goals of CommentWealth is that we want to help minnows by flagging their spam for them, and this is an activity we'll begin when our account gets larger.
But there are things minnows can do in response to comment spam that can actually help their posts and their visibility on Steemit. Make sure you comment on your spam! The more comments a post has, the more likely others are to click on it, under the assumption that the post author is someone who engages with their readers and followers. So get your comment numbers as high as you can! And that includes commenting on spam.
You don't need to be rude. You can be funny and mock them. You can be polite and helpful, letting them know you have a low tolerance for spam. You can develop a spam policy that you copy and paste whenever a spam comment is left on your work. But however you choose to handle it, make the spam work for you by upping your comment numbers!
And there's one more thing to keep in mind: we didn't discuss comment curation in the sense of curation rewards here on Steemit. But when you build your presence here and engage regularly with your followers, curation rewards from comments can become as lucrative – if not more – than your curation rewards for posts!
If you follow these five steps and keep the ultimate goal in mind, you'll build a following here on Steemit that will propel your account into higher visibility and monetization. Do you have other ways of curating your comments? If so, please tell us in the comments! After all, that's where community happens.
Thank you so much! As a newbie I have learned so much just in this one post! I, like several others have mentioned, simply upvoted in the order they were received. I didn't realize there was a strategy! Is there an amount of time I should appropriately wait before upvoting? Once a day?
Right now I don't have a slider, should I be upvoting every comment or being selective?
Also, just want to point out I just found the 'Replies' tab under my feed. I know most people probably know about this, but as a newbie it was a game changer in making it easier for follow my posts/comments!!
I'm following you now so I can learn more! Thank you!!
Probably best to reply as soon as possible.
I would say that since your voting power is not going to matter, voting on all (real) comments is a good way to show you read/acknowledge them. Once you get a slider, you can worry about being more selective.
Good point, @lexiconical! And happy to know the info is helpful, @fivepoints!
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this... just got here yesterday and luckily been pointed in the direction of some very valuable resources... thanks for putting this together!
Can I just ask...
How does one go about getting a 'slider'?!
Thank you!
Hart Floe
<3
After reading this I went through my last 7 days of posts and did exactly what you suggest. Of course it makes perfect sense. I had been doing it a bit but not in the most effective way as this post points out perfectly.
Sometimes common sense only becomes common sense once it's pointed out. Thanks for pointing out the common sense of this method.
I've been seeing the bots going about there business and doing a good job as far as I can see. I'll be joining your merry shoal today. So much good content and so little time. This is a great initiative and very helpful.
As a minnow, this post really does clarify a lot about curation for me. Bookmarked, upvoted and following.
Thank you!
You're welcome @oasis-in-arizona! We know how difficult it is for minnows to get going, and we want to be a help the way others were for us.
I truly appreciate your support!
Great tips and write up. I feel this is of paramount importance, especially to newcomers to the platform. In order to build your account, you need a loyal following. Spam comments will NOT do this. Concentrate on comments that add value, something incisive. And those who do the same to your posts, reward. Let's build a better community together. One grows, we all grow.
Thanks @gmuxx - one encouraging thing we've seen so far is that someone actually apologized for spamming, and another is trying to learn better ways to grow on the Steemit platform! It's one thing to fight spam, but entirely another thing to try to engage spammers and show them a better way.
These are some great tips, thanks. I try to keep an eye on my comments and upvote/respond as much as I see fit. It really helps too, engaging with people is one of the best ways to gather followers that are actually interested in you :)
It's difficult as a smaller user without the option to change the scale on my upvotes. If I upvote a lot of polite comments. I have no power to upvote powerful posts in my thread. I try to watch my replies window carefully, but it can be difficult to get replies wirtten to everything, especially when replies feel repetitive. And some of the comment bot like stuff... well, it's hard to tell.
Just remember, the more you comment, the better. There's nothing wrong with repetitive comments; if you have a spam policy you'd like to post every time you receive spam, it's expected that would be repetitive. If you want to say thank you over and over, that's repetitive, too, but perfectly acceptable!
Until you get a slider, you will need to budget your upvotes, but you'll probably do more community building by upvoting big comments than posts. The good news here is that you'll get relatively few big comments. But cherish the people who give them to you and reward them when you can. 😊
Thank you for your advice. This is definitely one of those articles that ought to be pointed out to new minnows repeatedly and often!! (Along with lectures that upvotes aren't like facebook likes and you need to use them sparingly and not on things over a week old) Because I am active on discord, I actually get big comments on more than one occasion, but you're right--my discord friends won't expect me to upvote them, as they know I'm a struggling minnow. I should focus on those outsiders.
Excellent advice. Thanks for sharing. I upvoted this and your other post on being a new minnow in this day and age. And now I have decided to follow you as well. I'm always trying to find what works.
I write fiction (erotic stories mostly) and I am preplexed to find some of my works earning 0.10 or 1.00 or something small, then a few posts hit 50, or 100. I can't figure it out. At first I thought it was that I added an evocative photo in the post, but that wasn't it either.
I guess I just have to keep trying. I have faith in steemit for now. I want to see how this pays out as my steem power, s l o w l y grows.
Be well,
Joe
Also wanted to add, that I have figured out on my own to respond to all commenters. I'm small enough to be able to do that. And I quite enjoy returning a thank-you or answering a question. To me, that's the easy part, and the rewarding part, too. Everyone should take the time to do that.
Only if, I had more comments to reply to.
You're right - even minnows can comment back and people who want to succeed in Steemit really should do that, as a minimum. If you like to write fiction, there's a fiction workshop over in the Minnow Support Project Discord channel. You can find out more about it here: https://steemit.com/fiction/@jrhughes/fiction-writers-wanted
When people tells me that it was a nonsense voting the comments with my current SP I always answer saying that I want the real comments to be in the top or sometimes I just want to push some comments up in some threads.
Now I will be able to show this post, so thanks for it!
Yes! One of the best things I have seen in a while!
I think curating your own comment stream is super important, and yet I often feel like I stand in some tiny minority for doing so. Really happy to see this post-- re-steeming for greater visibility!
Thank you so much for the re-steem!
Are you reading my posts and comments or is this idea just starting to become apparent to others at the same time? Anyway, Glad to see you spreading the good word and attempting to get people to actually do what this platform was designed for.
It must be synchronicity because no, we're not familiar with your account. But we'll definitely check out your work!
Thank-you. The good stuff is mostly comments on other people's articles, but there are a few good articles of my own buried amongst the games and contests.
If you (or someone you know) has issues with back pain, you can find a video that shows how you can probably avoid ever visiting a chiropractor again by scrolling all the way to the bottom of my blog list to the 1st or 2nd post I ever made on this platform.
Great article.
I'm big on 'comment curation' and do generally follow the methods you detail above.
My peeve is when users upvote their own half-assed, irrelevent comment to push it to the top of your blog, pushing down the best replies that you've voted up for most visibility.
Check out this example
So frustrating!
and now my comment isnt spam haha well every author should follow these amazing steps to upvote commentators the best is take a log on big comment and reward them bots at the last
Thanks for this, a very helpful guide as a newbie/ minnow. Now all I need is a few more comments!
Comments have a way of breeding comments... sort of like rabbits. 😉 You'll get there!
Not all bots are bad, and the ones leaving automated messages after upvoting your content deserve respect and rewards, too
I disagree..bots are a disease. I either mute them or flag them
Great and thanks for sharing.
I can see how the 'trickle down' effect of UPvoting, etc works a little more here.
And it all makes perfect sense.
Every day reading posts like this add a little more knowledge for me. One day soon, I'm hoping to have the platform understood.
Thank you this was very valuable info.that is essential especially for minnows like me I always feel that everything of mine just floats to the bottom or disappears & I am trying to change that reading all I can .... Knowledge is power & if u have all the tools success is right in your hands .Thanks again
I'm not going to lie; this never occurred to me. It makes a lot of sense, though. Thank you for education! Upvoted & Resteemed!!
Very good post.
I will eventually get to the point were I get more than 1-5 comments to respond to and will keep this in mind.
;-)
Give me a couple years and I might just learn how to use this site...lol.
Namaste
Me too!
There's a slight learning curve, but you'll get it, @jesse2you!
lol... curve my a__ , it is a hill! and I need some skills!
;-)
namaste
Thanks for this well-written post. It has really helped clarify some things for me as a new member of Steemit. I had no idea about this aspect of the platform. I have upvoted and resteemed this post, as it has been one of the most helpful articles I've read so far.
Wow - great to know. But, some spammers are hard to identify. While I don’t get much visibility / comments, I’ve actually replied once to find out if it was a real person or not.
Meanwhile, is Steemitboard legit? Randowhale?
I'm not sure about Steemitboard... not sure who is behind that. But @randowhale is legit, and it only comments if someone has requested its upvote.
Thanks
This post received a 5% vote by @msp-lovebot courtesy of @discordiant from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.
Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.
In my short time here, I've always know to reply to comments but it never dawned on me that the order I upvoted comments would make a difference. So much to learn about this platform.
Thank you for an informative post. I suspect I need to follow you, so I will.
This is a great post. As a new member here, the thought of curating a comment section never really crossed my mind. Total eye opener. Thank you so much!
from the bottom of this minnows heart, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yep I've been doing it wrong somewhat! Particularly with the spamish comments.
Great summary, many of the newer users of SteemIt really should learn how to clean up the comments section of each article. I've only ever rewarded the well written and long comments, but I should also be downvoting the super spammy comments as well.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by geke from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
Awesome points. I am in complete agreement.
I spend a lot of time doing this and I can confirm that it works.
PS - Resteemed!
Thank you for the resteem - you've been such a great help to us already, and we're only a few days old! 🙂
I'm happy I could help out. It was a great guide. It's exactly how I do it, but I can tell it's not second-nature for most users.
Minnows, don't be afraid to use that 1%-5% vote either, that's great for marking comments to show that you read them, and that's all you need to order comments. Remember that if you use the same power twice in a row, the second one will be slightly less and therefore below the first comment.
If you sometimes vote several hundred times a day, as I do, it's the only way to avoid having 10% voting power all the time.
Very great information, thanks for sharing this :)
Thank you very much for that! I was not aware that the order of upvoting affected the reward given... Important info that. Keep the good advice coming please!
A very good post. Taught me something new. I never realized you could change the account of upvote power. Now I have to figure out how. But either way thanks for the heads up
This post has been resteemed by @minnowsupport courtesy of @gmuxx from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.
Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.
@commentwealth, I really appreciate this article. I understand the principle of rewarding the big comments and middle comments (even though I probably would not have used that terminology).
What struck me was the idea of rewarding bots! I have never incorporated that idea into my Steemit reward payback system. You are right! Good bots should be rewarded.
Thanks for opening up my mind to something new.
You're welcome, and thanks for being open-minded!
Really helpful tips, thank you. I hadn't really considered "comment curation" to be a thing but now that you've spelled it out it makes perfect sense and I'll be implementing your suggestions! Followed.
Great tips. Interaction is king and speaking to the users. :-) Don't ignore them.
Wow, I've never considered what order to upvote them in. I usually just do it as they come in and adjust the slider accordingly. Perhaps I should rethink this.
Great post, very helpfully. Comments are primordially to grow on every social media and as well in this platform.
its really informative and help full for those who use bots for upvote
Really i like your work dear @commentwealth
It's good to follow this up article. Bravo @commentwealth keep going
Great work sir. As always. Thanks for your content
This post received a 5% vote by @minnowsupport courtesy of @discordiant from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.
Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.
great job @commentwealth Nice poste
Congratulations @commentwealth!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:
This post has been ranked within the top 80 most undervalued posts in the second half of Aug 24. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $13.68 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Aug 24 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Wow, This is so exciting because i spend so much time commenting and replying far more than anything else I do...In fact I probably never upvote without commenting....I felt that engaging others helps them check out your blog based on the heart you put into your comments...very confirming ..thank you for this project, just saw it after three posts, so I went to the blog...now following ...
Blessings,
Melissa
This post received a 1.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @jimitations! For more information, click here!
@jimitations got you a $1.68 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)
Want a boost? Click here to read more!
Congratulations @commentwealth! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPI found this post very interesting as guide to help new user like me to follow the right rules and ways to build a better community.
Thank you very much!!!