A little while ago I began to support a small community called Shadow Hunters by sending some hive for the weekly shadow contest prize and through upvoting and curating quality posts for @curangel.
Not long afterwards @melinda010100 asked if I would be interested in formalising my involvement as a moderator and curator for the @ocd project; I said yes because I like supporting the community and since then I've looked at the community a couple times a day with the view to selecting some of the more quality posts for curation and the often hefty votes handed out by @ocd and @curangel.
But there's a roadblock and it's that I wish to discuss a little today with the view to removing it, or at least mitigating it's effect, through a few hints to help people get the best from their posts.
Lack of passion, personality and effort
I mentioned to Melinda that I struggled to find enough good quality posts to send to curate and considering my name is attached to what I curate I'm not willing to promote something that doesn't meet a certain criteria. Ergo, a blurred image of tree branch with no supporting text or explanation will get nowhere. The same with an awesome shadow image with nothing in support, no explanation or story.
No, that's not going to work at all...Users need to apply more effort if they want rewards. I've always been a man who has offered reward commensurate to the effort expended and no effort will get exactly what it deserves.
I don't specifically need to see a thousand words, just passion, personality and effort, in-focus and interesting photos and a supporting story, thought or explanation of the images. You can add in the details of the camera of course, but that on it's own isn't enough, not for me, and so people that could be gaining great rewards from curangel, ocd and myself will not do so.
I simply expect people to work a little harder for what they earn; It's not just for monetary reward, but for self-respect and to promote yourself to the community. Trust me, the passion, personality and effort things really works and will attract people to your account.
Here's links to my last four posts in the Shadow Hunters community; Again, I don't suggest you need to write like me or be a super-great photographer, I certainly am not - Just inject some effort, which I think is what I show here: Shadowed scent, Billabong reflections, Same reflection | Different result, 18,628 fragments
A few helpful tips
- Photos should be in focus and clear. Humans think in pictures so the initial impression you leave with the image is likely to be the one the observer is left with, no matter what you write. Leave a good first impression and it will last.
- If you have put zero effort into the image it is likely those observing it will see that; I certainly do. The walked past random shadow and blurry-photographed it post is going no where, trust me. Keep the photos interesting.
- Note: Single-photo posts are considered acceptable for contest entries however are unlikely to be selected for curation.
- Camera details may be great for a photography community but I'm pretty sure the curators here don't care what phone or camera you used - Sure, add it in, but don't make it the text body. It's actually not all that relevant.
- Try different things with your shadow hunting; Don't be one-dimensional. Try a few effects, but twenty seven different filters on the same image isn't very legit; I get bored and click away and that's not what you're trying to achieve. You want to keep your audience interested and engaged. Anyone can apply filters, but you need to stand out!
- That's where text comes into it, the story, explanation or simply just your thoughts...It can add a lot of interest to your post and keep people engaged. It doesn't matter if you don't write well or English isn't your first language we'll take all of that into consideration if you're showing the big three! Passion, personality and effort.
- You can explain where you took the photos, how you got there, what the shadow or location makes you feel, why you're there, how often you go there. It doesn't matter too much what you say as long as it is relevant and keeps the observer engaged.
Presentation is important also. It's amazing how many users do great posts but they seem to lack in the presentation area which shows lack of effort or care-factor I suppose also. If you don't know how to centre images learn, I'm happy to help you it's quite simple really:
<center>your image here</center>and makes a huge difference. Spell check your text, don't over-use emojis and bold or large text...Keep it simple and your posts will look more appealing and capture more interest.Respond to comments left on your post with relevance and validity. Simply saying thank you to a comment left is polite, but it doesn't really open up much in the way of conversation. Remember, it's relationships that will help an account grow and a user gain profile. I know a lot of people around the place and often call up a few to do some additional voting on what I feel is great work; That's how relationship-building works, and it can work for you too. So, respond with effort and personality because you don't know who is looking.
Tagging everyone...I'm not a huge fan of people doing this although I know why they do it; To draw attention to themselves...I've always felt it's a little desperate though, and intrusive. It doesn't need to be done in the Shadow Hunters community, or any for that matter. Let your work speak for itself - Trust me, it will get seen without the tags. Do your contest entry and drop the link into the contest post, that's all you need to do. Of course, this doesn't mean you can't thank people for their support and effort which I actually encourage - Just be a little careful about over-use of the tag thing.
Lastly I want to suggest consistency. I've been here since the 13th of June 2017 and have posted daily; Sure, some have been better than others but I've been consistent in my posting, done so to the best of my limited ability and have engaged with the community a lot. Doing this will pay dividends in time - This isn't a get rich quick scheme, just a blogging platform, and consistency, building and nurturing relationships along with passion, personality and effort will help put you on the community's radar which is exactly where you need to be.
I don't speak for the community leader or admins here, it is not my place to do so. I speak from my own perspective and with the hope that someone reads this and takes the opportunity to create some great posts in the Shadow Hunters community and that also spills over into every post they do and every interaction they have.
The community in general is pretty easy to get along with and most users will interact with you in a good-natured manner. Starting with the whales is probably not advisable though, nor is spamming people. Just have some fun with it, find enjoyment in the posting and engagement and the rest will take care of itself.
This goes for all of your activities here, not just for the Shadow Hunters community. Applying a few simple principles will bring great results if done consistently...And doing the same thing expecting different results could be the definition of madness in my estimation.
I hope to see you all in the Shadow Hunters community at some stage; It will be a pleasure to send your posts to curangel or ocd and to see you get some rewards commensurate to your efforts...And don't forget, reflections are welcome too!
Feel free to comment below if you like, I'll be sure to get back to you.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
Discord: galenkp#9209
This was an excellent write up!
I have had conversations with several curators and they feel rather exhausted from trying to help and explain things like these over and over again. I myself had made several posts like this over the course of 4 years. I always say
There are many new users joining daily and I think they each deserve some good advice/explanation on how to get their posts well curated. This is one of the reasons I am working on the current project you are familiar with.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up as I see it has helped several already :)
Passion, personality and effort have always been things that have guided me in my writings and publications. This isn’t an overnight success type of blockchain. Each of us have been here gaining trust, reputability, putting in work and effort to be where we are today on the platform. It does take time and work but doing it this way is always the best way.
Keep up the great work. Thanks for all you do here on Hive ~
It's going to be a constant battle I think, and one worth fighting. I see it as my responsibility to set a good example, post well myself, engage and interact and provide posts like this from time to time or even answer direct questions. It's our responsibility, the
oldermore experienced users.I look forward to your post on the topic and to see what elements of my responses you quote.
Thanks for commenting and for your efforts on behalf of the community.
It is definitely one worth fighting.
I wholeheartedly agree :)
It’s certainly a pleasure being here and involved in the growth and sustainment of this community ~
There's many different types of people and all have their own ideas. Some work hard, some do not and some care when others don't. I'm the guy who has always lifted heavy shit. That means worked, physically, mentally and emotionally knowing rewards gained in that way are preferable and more valuable than those gathered through no effort.
If there's something I can do to show others how to do so, apply effort, personality and passion here, then I'll do it, as with you. So yes, let's lift heavy shit and help others do so also. Many hands make light work and in respect of hive, a community all pulling together in the same direction is preferable to one that does not.
#liftheavyshit
Right on to heavy lifting! Together as a community we can achieve so much!!
Very inspiring words here :)
Grazie mille.
I'm new on Hive since December 2020. I love seeing posts like this because they are so helpful for someone like myself who is new to Hive and also new to blogging. This is a particularly well written post and it clarifies many things, as well as showing me a very helpful perspective to learn from. Many thanks! 😄
Hi there and welcome to hive. It can be hard to know how much effort to inject here as sometimes low effort/low quality posts are rewarded. For me it's always a lot of effort as I write for me and find enjoyment in it. With that in mind I'm also not inclined to reward posts that show no effort, passion or personality. It's just how I am.
We are each able to do as we please here and people do...So, I suggest to people that they have fun and enjoy their time here.
I'm glad you found something of value in my post and look forward to seeing you around.
Thank you. I agree with what you've said and I share that perspective. For myself, there is no point in my posting anything unless I've done the work and brought my best to the table. I've always been this way, so it's not new. One thing I appreciate on Hive, are the amount of people who contribute like you do. It's very helpful and I appreciate it.
Cheers!
You'll do fine with this attitude.
Attract others to your post-feed through outbound commenting on theirs and you'll be ok. It's like being in a bar or at an event with strangers...You can take the right steps, be open, smile, friendly, engaging and strike up some conversations and open relationships...Or you can stand behind the plant in the corner waiting for everyone to come over and see how awesome you are. I know what works best.
Thank you. The deciding factor for joining Hive was the community. I really enjoy meeting people. 😄
Fantastic post. Of course you had my attention just with the picture (is that a 6.5 creed round by chance?). Isn't this what the whole premise of Hive was about?
I for one follow a similar pattern when voting. While I'm not on any of the larger curation teams, I do manually curate my dolphin sized votes every day, and adjust my voting power accordingly to the quality from 10%-100%. I mainly stay to the communities that I have interest in, and folks that I know make quality posts often and I follow. I get really tired of looking at spam and garbage. I don't really care for the one picture posts, as you said unless it's really, really, really good, or has at least some story behind it. I generally quickly un-follow people that just slap a garbage post up every day for whatever reason.
As a photography buff, I do like to see the camera and settings detail if it's a photography type photo.
Six-five yes, well spotted. A slinky svelte looking projectile huh? That's what gives it it's ballistic properties though I guess..
I'm with you Kris, I get it...I spend a lot of time manually curating and voting and of course the OCD and curangel projects add some weight to my own voting power so I work hard at being consistent and to look for quality. Scrolling endlessly through feeds is something I do, have done a lot, and it's not fun. A little effort goes a long way and that moment I drop the link to OCD or curangel feels good.
I'm not against the camera settings either, it has a place...But a single photo and text body made up of camera settings isn't going to get curated. It's not hard to add 150 words and a little story to a photo right?
Thanks for your comment...Also, you'd make a good curator I think. Just saying.
Yes, totally agree on the single photo and only camera settings. I also don't like when people try to milk out a trip or outing that would be a great set with a little story, and instead post one pic a day from obviously the same area/setting. Just a pet peeve, I've had a few of those folks I stopped voting on completely or just give a minor bump. They waste their efforts on a few one or two dollar posts that combined would likely have generated ten or twenty.
...and not necessarily against curating a group/community, just don't know the details, commitment required, or how to get started.
Nutbaggery! Also a pet peeve of yours truly. (I have a few Kris). 😀
On the curator thing...I'm not in the servers on Discord much because I hate that space, but I'll keep my eyes open for anyone looking for curators. Maybe @acidyo might be able to point us in the right direction. I'll ask him on Discord.
There's not much to it...Scour feeds, look for quality undervalued posts and drop the link into the appropriate place on Discord within the rules and guidelines of the project. Consistency is the key, keeping quality up also, in my opinion at least. I'll ask Acid.
EDIT: Message to Acid sent.
Effect achieved from good thought out photography not necessarily expensive equipment, entertaining in descriptive writing is something all should strive toward.
Picture tells the story the devil is in the detail.
Informative post with good tips to help anyone struggling to understand what most communities will look for.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 84/112) Liquid rewards.
Thanks Joan, I hope a few read it and take note. I was whining to Melinda that I didn't feel comfortable promoting much from the community so I hope that this makes some difference. As you say, it doesn't matter which community it is, there should be some minimum standards, especially if the expectation of promotion is there.
Thanks for your comment.
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STOPExactly! While a single photo entry is all that is needed to enter the contest, it will never receive great curation rewards. Thanks for taking the time to write this, @galenkp. I hope everyone, not just the ShadowHunters Community, takes it to heart and we can dazzle the OCD curators with our nominations.
Those are all wonderful shadow photos and edits and fit perfectly with your post. Right on target!
Hey Melinda, I'm glad it's suitable...A little more effort is always welcome huh? I took these pictures today, I guess to demonstrate that it's not all that difficult to do, add some interest I mean.
Edit made to add a note about the single-photo contest entries. 😉
You mean make an effort? Like how dare you man?
Lol, it reminds me a bit of the photography contest when people would literally choose any random photo they had and submit it. No text, no background and often no relevance to the topic.
A little effort goes a long way really
Quality is subjective I guess man, but it certainly shows when no, or little, effort is put into it right? I don't care if people show no effort or relevance...It's not going to get curated though!
I hope this little guide reaches a few who give it a read.
The sad bit is that it can often be unlikely to reach the worst of those as they don't care, it's a money grab and that's it. But it will reach some and might encourage a bit of better thought out posting.
Quality is subjective but shit is also shit and your can see shit a mile away :0D
You speak the truth for sure...I considered that when I set out to write what I knew would be almost 1500 words or so...But it felt good writing it and I have the hope someone who needs it will take a read and deploy a new strategy.
If they don't we will hunt them down and they will surely die
That's what I have been saying to the little boom these days for just about everything, he loves shouting and they will surely die!! In his 3 year-old bellow, heh heh
Ha! Reminds me of the time my 3yr old granddaughter shouted 'We are all going to die' on a crowed metro train in Chicago.
The train was underground and she and her brother were pretending they were inside a giant worm. They were discussing what could happen when the train came above ground and a bird spotted the worm. 🐦
Hahahaha, oh wow. That is exactly the kind of scenario that my pair world dream up too!!
Haha! That's gold...Little Boomy, a.k.a William Wallace! I can see you're bringing him up right.
Oh aye. Gotta strike fear into the hearts of the infidels when he does to nursery school!!
Excellent work having standards and rewarding good creators. Awesome job man.
Thanks mate, looks like doggo agrees too! 😬
Yes he does!
Don't tell me what to do, this is supposed to be a free blockchain!
Actually, I sometimes feel like giving up on offering advice like this, because when I do, this seems to be how it's taken. Especially when I advise against practices which I know are likely to attract the attention of HiveWatchers. When I try to give tips like this to help them improve their chances of getting a bigger curation, it's surprising how many say they aren't posting for the rewards when their recent actions and comments tell me they obviously are.
Anyway, sorry for that little rant there. There's some great advice here and I hope lots of people take it on board.
It's funny, I have a post ready to go live about what we do when no one is looking and you sort of make this point. People say one thing but do another. People's actions there are never secret, and there's always someone looking.
I don't mind giving this sort of advice...I mean people need it I think. A reminder. It's funny though, that sometimes people take it personally or the wrong way. It's just advice, no need to unfollow me because if it. Oh well, it speaks volumes to me and those people are free to do what they wish. Won't be the last, were not the first, to unfollow me.
Some will take the advice, some will not...Some will gain, some will not. It's pretty simple.
I understand your point though, it gets a little tiring to keep producing guides but for me I'd rather do it and have some better work to curate than scroll through a feed in despair of finding something suitable. My biggest concern is other curators looking at what I send and thinking, that? He curated that?! So, I keep my standards high, show no favouritism and hope people get the quality message.
Yes, that's the clincher as a curator. We're all going to have different opinions, but there's still a reputation to uphold.
Having this guide written up, you've always got a link you can give people if they wonder why they aren't getting curated. Perhaps I should save this link too.🤔
I'm not sure any guide would help some people...Their expectation-ethos gets in the way. Let's hope this one helps a few though.
You said it all and your tips are more than helpful.
Thank you, I looked forward to some great posts and to curating them for some nice rewards.
Love this post so much! It’s awesome to constantly get good input from the experienced Hivers. Thanks so much.
Hi there, you're welcome. Of course, you always do a great job so can probably largely ignore this post although it would be good to see you hit the shadow hunters community with a post or two! Shadows or reflections...Either will work. 🙂
Hello @galenkp, I appreciate the time you have invested in this post, you give us a clear vision of where our failures lie, I appreciate the points you have touched and the advice you issue
I take this opportunity to wish you a splendid afternoon and a happy start to the week
Hey mate, not failures at all, that's not what I meant. It's just that to get curated more effort must be injected, we need to see more. The curators name gets attached to anything they approach and I'm not inclined to have my reputation sullied by promoting the wrong posts. I want people to get promoted, I just need them to help me promote them!
Have a good week, Monday morning here for me. 🥴
It wasn't failure that I meant, the word was mistakes. It is something with the google translator, I really appreciate your time, and the good advice
happy start of the week, enjoy it a lot
first as a sh member let me express my sincere thanks for your efforts to support this community. frankly when melinda010100 mentioned she was working to get a curator i was happy of course but actually much more surprised. i expressed to her that i didn't think the community was ready for that due to the general quality level of the posts compared to other communities. i certainly understand your concern about wasting time and effort looking through a myriad of mediocre posts for something which stands out.
now our new curator has given us something between a hint and a warning shot. let's meet the challenge.
there is plenty of unexplored territory for shadow hunters. there will always be a place for interesting patterns, unusual shapes, etc but these aspects are already well covered. shadows create microclimates- just ask any gardener or architect how shadows of stationary objects impact the physical world they appear in, shadows portray meaning and emotion- just ask any author or film maker about the symbolism of shadows. not to mention the human understanding and even more so, fantasy of what shadows are and what they represent. there is no lack of dimensions to probe or stories to weave after the hunt.
Hi there and thanks for your comment. I wrote this as a guide, to offer some direction to others here, and probably other communities also, as there's curators looking for something to promote in most communities. I'd draw the line at warning shot though, I mean people are free to do as they they wish here and can post on any format they like...But I'd like more people to benefit from curation and additional voting and therefore they need to make some extra effort.
No effort, or very little, will be rewarded in kind.
I try to help people, offer some direction, and some will respond, others will possibly take offense and unfollow me, as has happened, but it's ok because that's all a choice and one each must make for themselves.
As you say, there's so many opportunities that exist in respect of shadows and reflections and with some accompanying text, a small story, it should be quite achieveable for any who post here to put forward something worthy of curation.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate it, your kind words and involvement in the SH community.
just quickly regarding warning shot i was following through on your bullet reference, the "warning" being that if there is nothing worthy of curation then there is no point in having a curator. nothing more. your post was most appropriate and i hope it helps inspire the community to start raising the standard. so thanks again.
Oh ok, sorry...I just don't want people to feel I was having a go at them as that wasn't my point. Some people are touchy you know?
I really want to send people's work to OCD for better rewards, they just need to help me do so.
Thanks for clarifying. Much appreciated.
Feedback is everything.
"Stop being bad" might inspire motivation, but it doesn't contain much direction.
Clear, simple, considered feedback like this is worth it's weight in gold.
Thanks mate, I appreciate it. I've done this before as you know but sometimes it takes time for the point to sink in, and with so many new people here, I thought it might be worth having another try.
Do people really post blurry pictures and hope to get massive excitement for that? Interesting, I am glad that this kind of posts are not being encouraged
They do...I get it I guess, some people have phones that are not as good as others, but focus is something I value in photographs. Unless they are posted in THE BLURRY PHOTO community.
Hahahha you're funny G.
I try.
Gracias por esos importantes tips, @galenkp, La fotografía es un arte muy bello y poder aprender más de ella se va a reflejar en las imágenes que capturemos. Gracias por compartir.
You're welcome, thanks for commenting.