I think many of us can agree that Hive is a fickle thing. Just when you think you have it figured out, something happens that throws you for a loop.
Let me throw out a disclaimer before I get too far into this post:. This post isn't meant as a complaint. I am blessed by every single sliver of Hive that I earn on this Blockchain. I am lucky enough to do better than most and belive me, I dont take that for granted.
Alright, now that I have that out of the way, I noticed something interesting with some of my recent posts that caught my attention.
It absolutely proves that after five years on this Blockchain I still have almost zero idea whatbis going on.
These posts were done in the newly renovated @cinetv community. If you haven't checked it out, you really should. It is a pretty cool place with lots of great quality content. It has a dedicated group of bloggers with some awesome curation initiatives and some amazing support by the @brofund (Mancave) group.
So like I said, a couple of weeks ago, I posted these two posts in the community:
https://peakd.com/hive-121744/@bozz/what-ive-been-watching-part-1
https://peakd.com/hive-121744/@bozz/what-ive-been-watching-part-2
I'd like to note that I posted both of these posts in consecutive days, so one right after the other. If you jump over to those post and you take a look at the rewards, you will notice that they did quite well. They got picked up by both Appreciator and Trafalgar for a quite decent payout if I do say so myself. One of them even got noticed by Haejin and Ranchorexalo.
One was about 1600 words and the other one was just over 1000 words. That's pretty typical for my stuff. I like to keep my word count somewhere between 500 and 1500 words.
I'd also like to mention that each of the opening images were taken from Pixabay as common use images and sourced accordingly.
Now let's take a look at these two posts that I made last week:
https://peakd.com/hive-121744/@bozz/more-of-what-im-watching
https://peakd.com/hive-121744/@bozz/what-ive-been-watching-blockbusters-and-the-way-out-there
Again, images sourced and attributed to Pixabay. Both right between 1000 and 1500 words and both posted in the @cinetv community. If you take a look at the rewards though you will see they are much lower than the week before.
I'd like to note, I also posted the second two posts a couple of days apart from each other. I didn't want to fatigue my readers or appear to be "spammy", so I felt I should space them out a bit.
Of course, the rewards I am getting are nothing to be sad about, but I just find it interesting how big of a difference there is. I don't feel like the quality in the second two is any less than the first two. In fact, if anything, I feel it might be a little better because after the first two I was starting to get into a flow and really enjoy this style of post.
Obviously, the big difference boils down to the two (or four) large accounts that upvoted the first two, but not the second two. I mentioned them earlier in the post, but I didn't tag them because again, that isn't what this post is about. I didn't write it to call anyone out.
I am writing it though, to point out just how little I still know about Hive. Like I said, the difference is those handful off accounts, so I have to ask myself:
What did I do wrong?
If I even did anything wrong, but what was it about the first two posts that was better than the second two? Was it just the shows I covered? Maybe the curator was a bigger fan of the first shows I reviewed than the later ones?
Was it fatigue? Did I try to do too much too quickly? Should I have taken a couple of week break between the first two posts and the second two? I mean, I would have thought almost a week was enough spacing, but maybe I am wrong.
Did the curator somehow feel my content was not as good as the first two? Again, I don't feel that was the case, but this is all subjective, so what do I know?
Ultimately, this might just be one of those mysteries of the universe that we never know the answer to. I don't feel like those accounts comment too much, so even if they did come across this post, I doubt they would reply. Nor would I expect them to.
I just found it fascinating. It really got my gears turning. I'm actually shocked that I didn't start up a spreadsheet comparing and contrasting each of the posts to see if I could get some kind of clarity through technical analysis.
It wouldn't be the first time.
I do love my spreadsheets
Like I said, I know I am blessed to get whatever rewards I do get. Nothing is guaranteed on this blockchain and votes can be as fleeting as our youth. That being said, I know a lot of people see Hive as a game or a puzzle. Something that they are trying to figure out. Ultimately, something that we are all trying to grow at, excel at, thrive at.
I think analyzing these four posts and trying to figure out even a small reason why there was such a difference is a good exercise. It keeps you alert and on your toes.
It keeps us from recycling the same tired content or falling into complacency.
After all, nobody wants to visit a stale blockchain.
What do you think? Do you see any glaring reasons in the posts above that explain the difference? Have you found yourself in this same position? What conclusions did you come to?
I'd love to talk about it in the comments!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
I don't know, man, I think most of us would be happy to be rewarded as much as either of those two posts. 😜
The only difference really is one was hit by a big whale and one wasn't. Both are pretty well-written and interesting, and a few days apart I think is perfect for sharing to the same community. The thing is, I think curation is pretty much random for most of us. You somehow catch the eye of a curation account, you should be thankful, not expect it to happen again nor spend time wondering about why it didn't happen again. A good curator should be going through hundreds of posts per day. The chances they will look at the same guy twice in a week should be low, and it should be low if they are doing a good job sampling all the content on Hive. Like that post I wrote a few days about that got $50 in upvotes. I would love if that were the new normal, but I don't expect the whale curation to hit like that again. Back down to around $8-12 for me.
Some people seem to have managed to gain an eye of a curation account and they will be hit by those big $20 votes every single time, like whoever controls @appreciator. I notice them and I'm sure you do too. It seems unfair, especially when it sometimes feels like some of the accounts that constantly get those votes are just shitposting half the time. It feels not just unfair to you and me but to all the even smaller accounts on Hive that write amazing post after amazing post but never get more than a dollar in rewards. But....meh. It's outside of our control so not worth worrying about.
Anyway, that's my perspective on it. The only game you and I can play is writing good posts and trying to network, gain friends. Maybe through the networking and good posting we will start to expand our audience and our post votes. Maybe not, but it's the only option available to us. Trying to game curation is beyond me. Those people who have successfully gamed it (like some we both know in the LeoFinance world), well... more power to them.
I knew someone was going to mention that which is why I addressed it right away in my post! I agree with everything you wrote here. Your first paragraph raises some good points that I have thought about myself. Then you second paragraph was almost like you are in my head with me. I am willing to accept it is totally random and purely a timing thing, but then what about those accounts that get an upvote on every single post.
I think we would all be lying if we said that isn't what we are all kind of gunning for. I hope one day I get to that point. Until then, I am happy to take what I can get.
😉
I'm kind of mixed on this. On one hand—totally. On the other hand, I'd love to see those whales stop voting for the regulars who have somehow managed to game the system and for me randomly and start voting for all the small users who have been here for a long time but never make anything. That's Communism, I suppose, and even in this smaller community it would probably lead to problems eventually. But I do always feel bad for smaller accounts who write great content but won't even see more than a dime in votes, which is probably why the majority of my upvotes go towards them. Some of the curation projects do a really good job of this. Indiaunited hits smaller accounts much more than big ones. ocd and curie are also focus on the smaller guys. But some of the larger curation accounts don't spread it around nearly as well and often just go the lazy route of always picking the same people.
Anyway, that is to say I agree I'd love if I started getting the curation votes more consistently, but at the same time I think spreading the wealth would be better for Hive in general. It would get more new users anyway and keep them longer as they wouldn't burn out as quickly.
Curie is still around? I never hear anything from them anymore. I guess it's just because they stopped voting on my stuff a long time ago. I get what you are saying. A lot of those big accounts aren't purporting to be curation projects though, so they kind of have some room to get away with it. If you are advertising as a curation group then yeah, you should be spreading it around a bit more. I dunno, it's a rough slope no matter how you look at it I think. There will always be issues. India United seems pretty cool. They stop by my stuff every now and then even though I am about as far from Indian as you can be.
I have been doing the same to try to improve my content, comparing why probably one was better than the other, looking at who was the curator, because even though I write of whatever topic I feel at the moment I also would love to my post to perform the best, Im on the same camp as I truly appreciate whatever comes my way, btw I started watching The Patient because of you post, thx for sharing ✌️
No problem! How do you like it so far?
This is why I quit basically, it seems to be a bit of a circle jerk most of the time. I eventually got the feeling that it didn't matter what you wrote, it all comes down to who you know and how much stake you have.
Fun fact, I've been away for a couple of years and I still earn a fuckton on curation rewards. By that I mean I earn a lot, by doing nothing at all.
Long time no see Bozz btw ;)
Oh my gosh! I'm so glad to hear from you! I reached out on Discord a couple of times but didn't hear anything back. How are you doing? I have a bunch of reasons why I keep showing up here. There is definitely some quid pro quo going on. Some of it good, some of it bad. I'd like to be at a point one day where the duration rewards are enough to sustain me. I'd probably still blog though. It is therapeutic and it has become a bit of a hobby for me.
I don't think there is too much of a difference between the posts and nobody can predict how the whales curate. It does make a difference but you don't have any control over whoever votes. So it's better to just focus on what you can do and that would be posts/comments.
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Fair enough! Thanks for stopping by!
I think curation is often random and there isn’t really an answer or trend. That’s not to say that quality doesn’t count, etc. just that there isn’t a tried and true algorithm to hit.
While I agree with that, if you dig a little deeper you will notice some of those accounts always vote on certain authors. Which is their right. In some ways it is almost better not to get awarded too much because then you end up on the downvote accounts radar. I believe it is pretty random. Except when it's not...
I’ve had similar things happen with some of my posts where a half decent one gets piled on for 30$+ and others I put more effort into get 5$ lol
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Yeah, it sounds like it is just really good timing and a lot of luck based on the great discussion this post has generated!
Thank you for sharing 🥰🥰♥️💥💥💥The whole thing about curation/ votes isn't clear to me either on the blockchain, but I have learnt to do my best, in Writing Posts and engaging to my best, maybe someone out there knows the answer, I am happy that you write about this @bozz, I will be checking others people's comments to learn more I do not know about the blockchain.
Yeah, I am definitely not giving up and like I said, this wasn't a complaint. Just a curiosity that grabbed my attention. Plus if I was doing something wrong, I am all about improving.
You are right ♥️🥰💥
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While your complaint is valid, those rewards are rare, especially to newer Hivians. You never know what prompt the big rewards. I've yet to have rewards of that level on any post. Even the lowest of the four would get me excited. 12 Hive on one post, I'm lucky to get that in a week, even if I post daily.
The thing about rewards is that some of them are given & the post aren't even read. Or it's been browsed over & voted on especially by the big voters. They might didn't even see the second two posts. It also depends on the time of day you post & who is out there curating. It could have to do with your tags, if they're looking for certain tags to upvote. There are so many reasons that a post get upvoted & by who & how much. We will never know why some post are earning so much more than others.
It's really is a mystery!
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Ah, I was pretty clear that it wasn't a complaint :)
I must of read that wrong. I'm sorry, I read the opposite.
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Timing is very important because most of these whales and the community curators have specific times they curate unless you have proven them wrong and they auto-upvote you.
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I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure I posted all of these right around the same time each day. I usually get into work about 6:30 AM and the first thing I do is write my post for the day and then publish it. You could be right though. I will have to keep that in mind in the future.
I also think that it's a mystery that we'll never know. At the beginning, I tried deciphering how curation works but I failed miserably. There isn't any logical pattern to it. Maybe there are lot of different factors that are in play when it comes to curating.
Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it is a monthly thing and I had already hit my quota from them. Then again, we see those people who get upvotes on every post, so that doesn't seem the likely reason.
Yes, indeed. I think it's beyond logical reasoning. What's interesting about Hive is that although the sky is the limit nothing is actually guaranteed.
For sure!
I really liked the way you explained how you joined the community and how it has supported you ever since. I will also join this community and post here and hope I get the same response as you said.
CineTV is a cool place. Lot's of good people there.
Just curious , could the timing also be a factor ?? I mean the time that the post was made because it is possible the curators tend to be more active online at a particular time zone..
That could be. Someone else mentioned that too. I tend to write and publish my posts first thing in the morning right around the same time, but it could just be that the timing worked out better that first week versus the second week.
It is important for one to take note of such things..
I'm only new and haven't got much of a profile yet, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern that I can see. I've tried posting at different times of the day, but that didn't seem to make any difference.
I've seen really good quality content being totally ignored, and others where I didn't think that people spent a lot of time on something, but still getting big votes.
It seems a bit like a flock of seagulls coming in to pick up what they find, good or not, and quickly disappearing again.. When the next post comes up they're long gone looking for other food.. 😄
Yeah, that is an interesting way to look at it. Like I said, just when I think I have it figured out, something comes along like this to show me there is no rhyme or reason to it.
I think there are too many factors at play here to say why you were voted for one and not the other post. Some of those factors can be the tastes of the curator, timing and also what other content has been posted at that time too. (if there are more content fighting for the votes).
CineTV was newly relaunched and maybe they were getting some extra attention for that week even.
Great work with those rewards btw, with your consistent article quality, it is well deserved for sure.
Yeah, thanks. I guess it just might be one of those things that we never quite know about. You can't blame me for trying to figure out if I just needed a little tweak though!
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Interesting topic and analysis. IF you want my two cents (I wish, hahaha, but soon I hope I'll be there), maybe it helps to describe to you my curation habits (even though I'm no big fish).
There are days when I am pretty active on hive and then there are days when I read maybe two or three posts. In case of the latter I can not catch up on everything so sometimes posts I might have liked a lot do fall through. Sad but can not be helped.
In this case (your latter two posts) I saw them both and at first glance the topic did not really catch me. I quickly scrolled through it if something catches my eye to make me read through but it was not the case. The second one had a sub-heading that intrigued me. That made me read the complete posting and the result you know.
I think everybody has different schedules, different reaction times and not everybody catches up on what they missed when they were offline for a little bit longer.
Ultimately I think it comes down to what people like. I post every week on threetunetuesday and sometimes I hit over 500 upvotes and sometimes I barely crack the 1$ mark.
They style is always the same, it always includes three songs and it is always structured the same. Just the topic and the accompanying text changes and that boils it down to people's taste. Some like rock, some like pop. And who likes what can be really surprising sometimes.
Finally: People (especially those with a lot of power and longer on the chain) have a feeling of how much work you put in and how original your thoughts are.
In my opinion: Just be true to yourself, keep your quality standard high and over time those who share your taste and like your style will find you (or you them 😉) and mutual curation will develop into a steady relationship. That is (I think) the secret of hive.
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Yeah, sounds like a plan. After five years I don't let that stuff get to me as much any more, but I still find it interesting to analyze it. I stopped trying to keep up with everything a long time ago. I was on the verge of burnout.
Burnout is no fun, I know. Glad you stopped in time.
Have a !BEER and relax :-)
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