I did not know what Curie was when I woke up one morning to discover I had the #2 trending post in #art. I do know that I ran screaming into the bedroom to startle my wife @dillemma with the news. "MY POST IS AT $150 DOLLARS!!!"
"What?!?"
Yes, exactly. WHAT?!? I was so exhilarated. I had been excited about Steem before but had never had a post pay out more than a dollar or two without buying votes (yes, I used to buy votes. I am ashamed of it now, but it is true).
I stayed on the front trending #art page for a solid week with my collaboration with an artificial intelligence - the above image started as my own macro photography of bubbles, was run through the Deep Dream Generator several times with the neural network trained in the style of several pieces of my own art, and then the results combined in PhotoShop where I digitally painted on top to enhance things I saw in the AI's fever dreams.
The funny thing is though, I still had no clue it was Curie that had caused me to trend. The biggest vote that came through was @hendrikdegrote, and I assumed his upvote caused the rest of the attention.
I did spend a lot more time making quality posts after this experience, and I saw that pay off even if I didn't keep receiving $100+ reward; in fact, I shortly posted a lengthy and insanely detailed tutorial on the Deep Dream Generator that was well received. Fair Warning - the Deep Dream Generator is HIGHLY addictive! Read with caution!
My Curie story had a ripple effect - it got my wife excited about posting as well, and soon she created a detailed tutorial post on how she creates her photocopied demon mask self portraits. Lo and behold she got a Curie as well! This time while discussing her post on Discord with some friends I finally figured out that Curie was behind both of our large payouts!
Demon Face Self Portrait 6 by @dillemma - used with permission
As I began to research Curie I fell in love with the concept. What a selfless organization! I loved the concept of rewarding quality authors who were flying under the radar. I knew how much it meant to me to receive my own Curie, and I started looking into becoming a Curie curator myself. The rest is, as they say, history. I have been a top Curie curator since October and am a Curie Community Representative. I wrote a story about my experience as a Curie curator that I still consider my finest posting on Steem blockchain - check out "Tears for Steem" if you want to hear the kind of impact being a Curie curator has had on my life.
The Times Have Changed
I would love to say that a Curie upvote will still cause an author to trend on major tags like #art or #photography for a solid week as I did, but unfortunately the times have changed. I am not going to get into my opinion of bid bots and vote selling services here as I am on the record multiple times as firmly against them in all implementations. I will note though one effect these "services" have had is it is impossible to trend on a major tag without paying. If even the @steemitblog account, with a MAJOR update that should have been the biggest news on Steem blockchain by far, cannot make it to the trending page we have a problem.
If you have a Curie story yourself, consider sharing it so the community knows what kind of difference Curie has made.
I would love to see the #mycuriestory tag filled with your voices. The number of authors that Curie has reached is staggering when you get into the REP levels that mean consistent, engaged posting for more than a couple of weeks. I wonder how many of these authors are in the same boat I was in, not even realizing that Curie was behind the big upvote that changed their trajectory on Steem blockchain?
Learn more about Curie
- Read the Curie Whitepaper at curiesteem.com
- Join Curie on Discord chat and check the pinned notes (pushpin icon, upper right) for FAQ and most recent Curie guidelines
- Watch a vlog I recorded explaining Curie operations.
Ways you can support Curie
- Follow the @curie blog and upvote and resteem Curie posting
- Follow the @curie trail and vote for curated authors. If you are a SteemAuto user, @curie is an available trail to follow.
- Vote for the @curie witness (all witness payouts are used to fund Curie operations).
- If you would like to delegate to Curie you can do so by clicking on the following links:
50 SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
hi ,,, can #mycuriestory be written by other than curator @curie? because I also have a great experience about @curie who always give upvote on my blog. thanks so much ..
Yes that would be awesome @boyasyie! I would love to see #mycuriestory posting from you and anyone else with a story to tell about Curie! Please let me know if and when you post :) Cheers - Carl
Thanks so much..of course i will try it. i like you
First thing... I see no resemblance of "bubbles" in your art piece so I am naturally curious as to how that works. Second, you have me curious about this Deep Dream Generator and I will be crawling into that rabbit hole, I'm sure. Thirdly... I've been on Steemit for nearly a year and have never been "Curied" or have never heard of "Curie." Also I am anti-bot and have only paid for votes twice... both times loosing money. I do upvote my content while at the same time generously upvote those that comment on my posts - that has become the only way I get a ROI on my own invested money. I will definitely read up on this Curie thing and I will be heading to the rabbit hole now... thanks!
You have been an example of what a curator should be. Thanks to you I learned about @curie, not only because you proposed my first post voted by @curie, but for the help you have given me to also be a curator and the patience that you have had in this process. Now I feel curie and the rest of curators as a family.
Yeah it is a really great community to be a part of, and I am stoked that you are on board now :) You are a good guy
Good day sir, it was fun to read how you reacted on your first curie experience. Although I can not entirely relate since I haven't been curied yet, but still it was fun reading this little article. Though I am well aware how curie can change one's perspective towards steemit once they get that first upvote from curie, it not only encourages the author himself but also those who're in his circle (got a few online pals who got curied, and multiple times like @adamada.). Nevertheless I'm not hopeless to be curied one day. Thanks for the dedication you're exerting on giving small steemians something to look out for and providing motivations to those who loose their self confidence in this platform due to low visibility and influence (we all know how politics works in this platform, it's saddening sometimes that those bigger fish gets even bigger because of politics while small fishes with little popularity gets ignored even with noteworthy posts.). Have a great day ahead, cheers!
#mycuriestory
Much like you @carlgnash, the first time I was curied was a fun/confusing moment for me.
Perhaps unlike you, I knew (inherently) that I sucked and there was no legitimate reason for 100+ people and 100+ $ to land like magic on my post. I spent an inordinate amount of time searching around for bugs/problems with the steemit platform in an attempt to learn more about the mistaken votes/cashish going on with my post. I thought maybe if I could find the mistake, I could give the funds back. I never did find anything. So, I kicked my computer for being so stupid and not providing me with an answer.
Well eventually I started clicking through all of the people that voted for the post, landed on the curie page and read about it. A small army of people focused on finding awesome content and elevating it in order to help improve the quality of the first decentralized-social-network-bloggy-whatever-this-steemit-thingy-is? Fuck yeah! I'm on board. I immediately apologized to my computer and started working on another post. Go curie!
I've never had a direct encounter with @curie, but that doesn't mean I don't know how important they are to our blockchain.
Twice have I received your badge of originality, which honestly means so much, your work as a curator always astonishes me - I can't even think of how much time you must spend on the job.
Sometimes I find creators who are seriously undervalued and I wish I could somehow draw curie's attention to that post - would I have to be a curator to do so?
@carlgnash How great to read this! I identify a lot with you since I also received a vote from Curie, it was fantastic and I know the feeling you felt because I also jumped, ran and shouted of emotion! The work that you do in Curie is admirable and I also felt very praised when I saw in one of my post where I won a contest, your congratulations for my work.
I wish I could reward your work like Curie does. blessings friend!
The beginning of your story reminds me of mine, when I suddenly made 82$ for my art post: https://steemit.com/surreal/@patschwork/no-manipulation, thanks to @curie. That was the first and the last time. Since then it's hard work to get my stuff well paid. But for me, steemit isn't only about that,I found so many great people and artists, that it's always worth to create good posts. Thanks for sharing your experience, @carlgnash!
Thank you, Carl. For posting about this issue. Yes, Curie was my fairy godmother once and it was wonderful. I agree, bit bots have made getting to the trendy page solely on talent and even talent and networking pretty much impossible. The trending page is a promoted page. I think curie might re-esteem work and people could follow if they want to see quality. I don't go to the trendy page.
I saw this being resteemed by someone and I have always been curious on your curie story.
Life changing is a common theme that I get from people. To wake up to a post that you slaved away for hours before and see so many votes, comments, and congratulations.
You are left at awe at such luck that it happened. Sometimes lighting hits twice and even thrice to most people because they are truly talented to most it becomes a story of faded glory but nevertheless something they are proud of.
Steem has given me a place to be creative, to share my inner thoughts without fear of ridicule, a safe place for me to be the person I want to be. Curie unlocked a semblance of self-confidence in me that my thoughts and experiences matter and is worth something.
I have curie as one of my witness votes and I look at majority of the posts that get curied as I truly see how exceptional they are.
One thing that being around some curie curators like Futurethinker, Raj, Andy, Ruben and Awaken is that they are human too (not sure on FT, still thinks he is an AI from the future) and that human curators are needed in this platform to keep it being awesome.
Thank you Curie for everything.
I had a similar experience with @Curie and a few very generous whales. I will be forever grateful to these individuals who supported my Artwork here on Steemit. I also make Digital Artwork/ distortions from my original Oil Paintings..... some of them get kinda scary. Oddly.... Also some with fish themes ..... I will write a #myCuriestory too.
Oh cool I love these! The bottom one I am seeing some nightmare owl demon thing :)
Thanks... this post shows the original Oil painting I used ..... I use Instagram filters and PicsArt distortions
https://steemit.com/art/@offgridlife/digital-art-sea-creatures-from-the-gitchee-gumee
And from the fish one I made the owl one...
https://steemit.com/art/@offgridlife/digital-art-monsters
The fact that expert curators and reviewers found your post exceptional is what makes getting a curie extra ... magical.
And Curie's one of the very few community curation projects that really work, thanks to its transparency and curation diversity. I just love what curie is and does.
And thank you Carl for giving me my first Curie vote :)
This was a great read! motivates me to do things that I really wanted with utmost passion rather than doing stuff with only rewards in my mind. keep inspiring.
i remember when you made that. i recently got a second curie vote it got to like 30 bucks. but the first one i got, got to like 170 bucks, back when there were only like 200,000 steemit accounts.
Been waiting for so long for you to write a post. Resteemed!
That Dream Weaver thingy sounds like an amazing piece of tech. Gonna get hooked with it right after this comment is posted. Plus, your wife's got some epic PS skills man! Kudos.
Thanks a lot for doing whatever you do man, you don't know the happiness my elder brother had when you curied one of his posts - priceless!
It's a tiring work, finding quality content and curating. I got to know it very recently.
No more jokes of 'now curie my post'. Promise. ;P
Now for some serious talks.
I believe the chart right there is wherein lies the problem.
See the people being curied - 60+ users, majority of whom are already established and could do without a curie vote; which could've otherwise been used to support a 35 rep account who's actually posting even better quality content, but just hasn't been found yet. With more curators, I believe you guys will rock this platform and be the best kind of support there is, by finding these hidden 35 rep gems.
Your thoughts?
Nah you misunderstand that chart. That chart doesn't show you what REP the users were when they received the curie. It shows what % of authors in each REP range have received a Curie at some point in their history. Most of them received the Curie when lower REP. You could read it a few different ways - you could say that receiving the Curie upvote makes it more likely that an author will stick around and reach higher REP - you could say that Curie curators did a good job of finding engaged authors to reward int he first place - or a combination of the two :) In any case, I think it is a good reflection on Curie curators.
This one will be clearer - this is all Curie upvotes in 2018 to date (so we are talking recent upvotes), split up into broad REP bands. As you can see, the focus is definitely on the lower REP ranges but medium and higher REP do get some love as well :) The point is, Curie supports all authors who are creating quality content but not receiving significant reward for it lately. That is MOST likely to be the case when you are new, but even established authors with higher REP often are not receiving significant reward, and in that case Curie will step in :)
Oh shoot, I really have misunderstood stuff. Thanks for clarifying it Carl!
(@curie roxxxx 💯🔥👌)
Okay that new chart, that is impressive AF. Great stats!
Loving it you guys! 😱👌
Keep continue doing you then, no changes needed here. ;P
Also, I deeply appreciate the fact that you took time out of your busy schedule to post an elaborate reply to me, explaining what the chart was about. Thanks for that man. :)
Cya 'round~
Also,
Hi! This post has been found by yesaye to be of quality material; you've been yesaye'd.
Just had to say that!
😂
Hi @carlgnash! I am truly grateful to @curie and the people behind the community. When I read your post, I did not hesitate to write mine also. Steem on! :)
Oh and thank you, dear @curie Team, for the instant curation right after my comment here :D
Oh I did a post about it before... should I post about it again? :D
I got like two Curied article. One got like $100+ too. The other one was just less than $10. Haven't gotten any Curie upvotes in a while. :D
I got ocd'd and sndboxed but being Curied with a big amount is the best!
Curie gives a lot of people hope. The occasional boost has been wonderful for my self-confidence as a blogger.
I want to give some kudos to you, @carlgnash, for your commitment to Curie and to supporting great content on Steemit as a curator. You are an inspiration.
Thanks for sharing your (and dilemma's curie story) it's inspiring to see that we all started out in the same boat. And - as the wee mouse said - be on the lookout for my curie story ;>)
<3
Vincent
Congrats on these great Steemit achievements! Curating quality content is such a great example of a win-win! I would Love to get curated by Curie one day. I kind of got a bit addicted to the bots though :(
Here's a work of mine for consideration anyway :)
Cool art!! And Ah loved reading this as I can so relate! I wrote mine too at your encouragement! https://steemit.com/mycuriestory/@mountainjewel/my-curie-story-who-is-hendrikdegrote-or-steemit-obsession-solidified
I still don't know what the curie is!
Thanks for sharing your story and your passion. I am very interestes and will be checking out lots of posts based on today's experience of discovering that my latest post just got 'Curied'. I loved reading about your reaction to your first encounter - my reaction today must have been priceless - it would have made a great 'reacts to' video for sure!
As a result of being featured today in the Author Showcase, I went around surfing tag to tag and found the #mycuriestory tag. What a wonderful inititative— especially since delegations would help so much right now. I will make it a point to write a #mycuriestory post today after I finish this blog I'm working on. Sounds like a great way to spread the word. I love when it gets personal.
I'm thinking of an added initiative. Perhaps I will start devoting a portion of curied posts back to curie in the form of delegation. I will have to calculate it out, but I think I could do at least 10% for all curied posts and posts about curie. Although I really am trying to power up in any way possible, I think the gesture itself could inspire others to do the same.
If even half of the authors that get curied are delegating 10% of their reward back to curie, it would be a big help to the initiative. I have 3 other projects on the blockchain in development. I will think of ways they can benefit to curie also as I'm sure at some point (due to the content) they may get noticed in the future.
Now from me to you, I wasn't aware that you and your wife were such brilliant artists. Your style resonates with me personally. I did a whole piece on Jungs "shadow self" concept.
While my visual art (drawing, painting) I've yet to showcase on Steemit (only photos) I too love mixing traditional and digital art— especially with AI. Deep Dream is a great app/program and one of the best out there with great resolution. I love the ability to remix two of my own pieces together and see what results. It's inspiring as well, because I've even repainted in oil a tree that DD rendered after a photo of a tree and one of my paintings. So I feel an affinity with this piece and your process.
I especially appreciate in your rendering above the saturation levels on the fish and a few elements in contrast to other parts of the image. It poses a question about the significance of the fish in the body of the piece. The tired expression of the greyed man is strikingly genuine as well.
Thanks for sharing. Will post my story soon.
I am so glad that I came across your post today. You were one of the reasons that I got my first @curie vote. I am going start working on my curie story after I finish writing this comment. Curie is doing so much for this platform to help reward people for creating quality content and motivating them to continue. Thank you for everything you have done for me and so many others here on Steemit.