Hey all,
I am going to do something that we have been talking in the curie lounge and do a post on "My Curie Story". A lot of people on Steemit have a story on how a curie upvote or involvement with curie has had an impact on their lives. This is mine..
The beginning
It was May 2017 and a good friend of mine, @jamesashton introduced me to Steemit. I posted an introductory post and a photo (as you do) and then didn't really think much more of it. Steemit fell out of my mind for a month or so while I went on a 3-week camping trip around Iceland. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have come back onto Steemit at all if it wasn't for James convincing me to post a video of my Iceland trip on the blockchain.
The video
I was in a small group chat on Facebook with some likeminded people who were into Steemit and general crypto stuff. I posted the video up on Youtube and then on Steemit after showing those guys and apparently they pushed it on various discord/ Steemit chat channels. Unknown to me, a curie curator at the time noticed the video (not sure if that was through my friends pushing it on Discord or not - they like to think it was) but in any case, I went to bed with a zero reward post and woke up to a post with over $350 of upvotes on it.
The feeling
There is a certain feeling that you get when you receive a curie upvote for the first time. Shock, amazement, gratefulness. Those feeling are usually followed by a certain element of confusion. Who are all these users who have upvoted on my post? Who is "hendrikdegrote"? Wow, he has a lot of Steem power. I did a bit of research and found out about curie and what they do (check the bottom of this post for more info) and was quite frankly amazed that a group like that was responsible for not only my reward but the reward of hundreds of people on a weekly basis. From that moment on I knew that Steemit wasn't just already for the super-rich whales and that there were people looking for the minnows and for quality content at any level. I was pretty much hooked from that point on.
The Next 6 Months
I spent the next 6 months posting everything that I could on Steemit; photos, videos, blogs. Most of the time, id get a small reward of a dollar or less, but every so often I would get a small curie upvote (which I have later learned is from a direct follow curator - a member of curie who can upvote posts that they like with a small percentage of the curie voting power). It's thanks to these direct-follow votes that I kept my motivation and continued to post. It's great to know that after a "big curie" if you continue to produce great content you will often get rewarded. That's the main goal of the direct-follow curator as you tend not to get multiple big curies once you are pretty well established.
The chance meeting
I'm a developer/ engineer by trade and in November 2017 was knocking together a front end that allowed the searching of the blockchain using SteemSQL in the background. Nothing really fancy, mostly as a way to help me find good posts on the blockchain. I did a post on it and a certain @carlgnash commented. Turns out he thought it was a great idea for curators and the blockchain in general and we got to chatting. Coincidentally, I was looking to call it "Steemsearch" and had registered the user @steemsearch here. Carl had also had similar ideas, and totally independently had purchased the steemsearch.com web domain. We ended up formulating a plan (which has since somewhat fallen by the wayside - but will be resurrected), but part of that plan was him helping me get involved with curie as a curator.
The Curator
So my first few weeks as a curie curator went pretty well. I ended up being one of the top curators in 5 of my first 6 weeks, mainly thanks to the use of my own searching tools (yes I'm giving away trade secrets here). Somehow I picked up a sort of "alter ego" of being some kind of robot. From this developed "The Curator" which I linked to the @steemsearch blog. I even got a friend of mine, @jameshsmitharts to draw me an avatar for this character. He even got a curie upvote for the concept art for The Curator!
In the 3 months that I have been a curator for curie, I have submitted and had over 100 posts approved and upvoted. The feeling that in some cases you are potentially changing people's lives is something else - something that I believe only curie can offer. I'm heavily involved in the wonderful community of curators, both old and new, as well as helping out potential curators and getting them involved in finding quality content.
I also recently gained the honour of becoming the witness operator for the curie witness and I hope to do as good a job as I possibly can.
All in all, curie has not just changed my life for the better but has also benefited thousands of authors and creators with votes amounting to over 2 million SBD on 100,000 individual posts over the couple of years that it has been operational. It is, in my opinion, benefiting people in the way that Steem was originally intended to - by rewarding great content creators and the people that find it. "Proof of brain" can only be a valid concept if the brain is rewarded fairly and that's exactly what curie does.
Thanks for reading
Mark
Learn more
- 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
How to help
If you would like to help Curie's mission to promote undiscovered but exceptional content you can:
- Follow our 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).
Thanks for taking the time to write out this post. I find it very interesting. I'm close to 30 days in Steemit and somehow got fortunate enough to get a Curie up vote, or at least I think I did. I also wondered who @hendrikdegrote is. I would agree that Curie is helping fulfill the best part of the Steem blockchain in helping reward good content. I am curious how creators fare after receiving one or two big Curie votes. Do many of them go on to be more successful as long as they keep creating good content? How likely is success, and what other factors beyond producing quality content help to achieve success here? I've been receiving between $0.50 to $2.00 on a lot of my posts, but have had a few that made it much higher. Do I change up my strategy, or keep plugging away? Will it be worth it if I follow my current strategy? These are just a few of the thoughts and questions that this post inspired.
Hi Justin :) I am a Curie curator and in fact did submit one of your first few posts to Curie for review and eventual upvote, a post on portrait / vertical composition in landscape photography :)
Engaging with the community and making friends is probably more important to success here than posting quality content; or rather, quality content still certainly helps, but is not typically enough to guarantee success. Most of the people who "make" it have become active in one or more of the communities that have sprung up on Steem blockchain. I have been doing some analysis on user retention, authors voted by Curie certainly are more likely to be active users and less likely to drop off, but correlation here does not necessarily equal causation. Either the Curie upvote is helping to keep authors engaged; or Curie is doing a good job finding engaged authors in the first place; or both. And in any of those cases, I think the below numbers speak to a job well done by Curie curators.
*Posts or Comments**All accounts with at least one post or comment (n=416,379)Aah yes! Now I remember your username from your comment on my vertical landscape post. I didn't have a great idea of what Curie was at the time, but noticed others posting to that community with the Curie tag.
That is interesting data you're citing. I'd agree that whether Curie causes continued engagement, or simply identifies existing engagement and quality, it's serving a valuable purpose. All very interesting to me. I noticed there is a Curie white paper. I'm off to read that now.
Thank you for your uninhibited sharing! @markangeltruman 😉
Since joining steemit about 3 weeks ago, I kept hearing a lot about @curie but I never understood what it was. I only knew that @curie is a witness to the Steemit blockchain.
So in summary, @curie is a handle owned by a person or a group of persons whose sole purpose is to help curate quality content in the Steemit blockchain.
When coming onboard Steemit, it was clear that there are rewards for content creators. But I find it most interesting how this blockchain makes it a rewarding experience for curators as well.
I would like to learn more from you. I am right now still a beginner but I envision a near future where perhaps I can start my own curation trail to help encourage and reward young starters who write quality content on the topic of renewable energy, climate change and adoption stories.
What is your advice?
my advice is to join the PAL and or Homesteaders server, where you will find interesting people to network with that share your interests. There are already a few curations going, however if you are doing solely malaysian starters thats a great initiative. :)
PAL invite
Homesteaders
I should do one as well; they have really changed my life a great deal.
I was trying to be a @curie curator for a while but my little brain could not hold that many rules and I think maybe one or two went through. I tried again recently and I guess I could not do it any more.
Hi @twirble, I would love to see you write one! RE curating, Curie is no longer open submission but if you want to try your hand at curation please join us on Discord - we have a channel there #curation_links for prospective curators, and it is kind of a "training grounds" for Curie curators. It is a permission required to post channel so just state your intentions in #general and someone will assign you the role of prospective curator (they will also probably tell you to read the pinned notes in #curation_links so you could read them first and state that when applying). I am a big fan of your art btw :) Much love - Carl
https://discord.gg/G6RPUMu
Thank you, that is very very helpful. And thank you so much for the support.
Perhaps this is obvious, but are there rewards for being a Curie curator, other than the feeling of helping others find success?
Yes Curie curators are paid a finders fee for approved posts
Aah ok. I figured they probably were, but hadn't found that out yet. Thank you!
A curie upvote changed my perspective on steemit and encouraged me to work harder. It was no hardship voting curie as a witness. They stand for what i believe, the right things.
We would love to see you write a #mycuriestory Vanessa!
Would love to, but aren't I too 'young'?
Don't know what you mean by that but you have received a Curie :) I would personally love to hear what that meant to you. I have absolutely loved being a part of Curie primarily because it feels so good to make a difference in people's lives. In strangers' lives. Hearing your story would be awesome :)
I thought it would be more 'meaningful' when I'm a couple of months in. But I would gladly write it. It's a positive story and would affect how newbies sees steemit and Curie's role.
Actually I think it would be very meaningful coming from a newbie. I don't mean to pressure you though, of course :)
Thank you, for sharing your story with Curie, @markangeltrueman.
@Curie kept me on Steemit, and Steemit is changing my life, slowly; so I owe a great deal to Curie, too, and Carl Nash, in particular.
As an author of 7 books, with a wide social media following, I came somewhat spoiled to Steemit, with all sorts of expectations.
It was humbling to be ignored and have to prove myself in a new town, where I did not speak the language and no one knew my name. Thanks, to Carl's tough love and discernment, I got a Curie or two (maybe a few?) and they kept me in the game.
4-5 months into Steemit, I am writing more and differently than I was accustomed to -- partaking, for example, in d-pend's stamina-building 100 day poetry challenge, I who never wrote, daily, and especially poetry (unless the Muse was upon me).
It's good to find oneself out of their comfort-zone & collaborating with other creative spirits, including Carl, as well as most recently rok-sivante.
Here's our latest--my words, his beats:
https://steemit.com/dsound/@rok-sivante/20180331t185437360z-dawning-feat-yahia-labadibi
Wishing you, Curie & US ALL continued success on this promising, generous platform, which has been a kind of rebirth for me. <3
Happy Spring!
Glad to see you are still here. Thanks for commenting! I owe a lot to @carlgnash also :D
I'm glad I'm still here, too :) Inspired by your post, here's my small contribution to the Cause, #mycuriestory: https://steemit.com/mycuriestory/@yahialababidi/the-story-of-my-4-curied-posts-and-what-curie-means-to-me I hope you enjoy it.
_/|\_Interesting story, sometimes these little things (currie vote in your case) make us commit to something in a big way.
pretty cool story, I had a similar (but not as dramatic) upvoted post from @curie and a massive @hendrikdegrote vote was part of it. I posted a pretty detailed post about the hobby I do that my son, @jakeybrown, convinced me was the reason I should be on Steemit. It took a few months but one post I made (out of a three part storyline) got over 250 votes and around $75 (which dropped like a rock as it was the week crypto took a major loss. But anyway, that got me pretty excited. however, I then was back to my usual less than a $1 posts so the enthusiasm waned a bit, but there has been one or two other minor curie supported post ( around $5) and @carlgnash has been the main contact from curie for my posts. The frustrating part for me is, how the posts are determined to be selected, I may post an awesome post about something, only to see peanuts and a dozen votes with the randomly picked post getting some minor attention. All in all, I have to admit, it is a pretty cool group to do the supporting that they do, so great to see this post. Thanks
Hi @bigskycustoms, if you visit us on Discord you can read the guidelines (pinned notes) but one relevant point is authors are unlikely to receive multiple Curie votes on the same subject. It is of course a reality that Curie cannot support every author and every post, even if quality :) We would love to expand operations farther but are currently operating at a deficit.
https://discord.gg/G6RPUMu
thanks for the clarification, that is good to know, I will try to get to the discord page for Curie. I really don't have a lot of time to spend on discord but I will make an effort for this. Appreciate your support for my posts. thanks again.
But I have seen people who get Curied for every post they make. I wonder what the criteria are for them to get those?
You can read the whitepaper that I link to in the bottom of the post, but the short answer is those are not "real" Curie votes. They are not votes coming from a post submitted by Curie curator and reviewed by Curie reviewer. Curie supports many "sub-communities", interest or regional specific communities of curators (e.g. #steemstem is one famous sub-community that Curie supports). The @curie vote trails behind the sub-community curation team's vote at a reduced %. When you see an author receiving a number of small Curie votes regularly, they are receiving support from one of those sub-communities. Often you can tell which one by checking the tags, e.g. #steemstem tag and small Curie vote indicates support from SteemStem community, #nigeria tag would indicate support from the Nigerian sub-community, etc. These sub-communities are independent operations, Curie is supporting their curation efforts but is not directly responsible for them.
Oh ok, I guess it's the subcommunity then. I think it was indeed a steemstem tagged post. Thanks for the info.
Do u have a list of subcommunities?
Yes the list of sub-communities and sub-community leaders is published every Sunday on the @curie blog's Weekly Update.
Oh i see. Ok thanks.
Hey Carl, not sure if you want me to keep alerting you to post about custom figures or not, let me know but i made a new one today
Inspiring story. I goes a long way to explain that persistence pays off on steemit. For so many minnows like me out there who are almost giving up, your story will help them get back on their feet
Im still a minnow just like you, but i worked hard and after a year, im finally getting my voice heard and starting to have a very small influence on things.
Very inspiring story for me as I am still learning ways to interact with the platform more actively. I am not a big blog poster but try to comment and engage with the community given some of the experience I have in the financial markets. Look forward to learning more about @Curie! Thanks!
Nice story. I believe curie has made a huge impact in a lot of lives on steemit. I've gotta friend who recently registered on here and gets most of her well-researched posts upvoted by curie.
I believe it's a great thing you guys are doing to keep steemians motivated.
Huhu she must be amazing. What's your friend's username?
I think I got hit with a Curie upvote last night. I didn't realize it until I read this and checked the upvotes on my post. I don't know who to thank for it but I am greatful to have had my content chosen.
Thanks for writing this.
Interesting perspective, enjoyed your post. Just got my first Curie upvote.
Congrats!! Looks like you got a steemstem upvote (which is a trail that curie follows). Great article.
Thanks! I'm getting better. You may have noticed I'm a retired scientist, and I have tons of experimental data that I never got to publish. I'm having to go back to former employers and get backups if I don't have them myself, and that's taking some time & effort. I'm going to post a few foundational articles so readers can refer to the details later when I tie it all together in the "big enchilada."
I made some harmless but uninteresting posts early on, primarily to practice on the platform. Trying to get my grown children and my wife to join.
I was working extra hard to get a Curie upvote one time but I think I've given up on that. I'll just stick to writing whatever I can and hopes it gets something.
Yeah I know the feeling. It just comes when you least expect it. Sucks but it's nice when it finally happens.
Just produce exceptional content and eventually your time will come. By all means drop into our discord channel for a chat. The guidelines there are not only for the benefit of curators, but also help people to produce quality content that benefits the steem blockchain.
Ok thanks.
Won't give up just yet.
So I finally received a Curie upvote and I'm so happy. Even though the the monetary return is not so high now I feel high up with the legends.
Curie officially has my first witness vote.
A great inspiration tale! Looks like you've learnt alot from your journey and I'm sure alot of people like myself read this and get inspired and motivated to go that extra mile to work harder and spread the steemit love.
Thanks for the share!
Thanks for sharing your story. I have one that is fairly similar (I guess anyone who has gotten a @curie vote will be in the same ballpark) and I will try to get it posted soon. I also have one burning question: so who is “hendrikdegrote??!”
He is just one of the big supporters of curie. He follows the curie trail - that's why you always see his votes on curie upvotes (along with the hundreds of other followers)
I'm so thankful that I was curated before sir, and you're the one who noticed one of my post... A big gratitude to you and your team for chosing my post...
You are more than welcome. Keep up the good work!
Wow from curated to curator!
Now I know why I only get a small Curie upvote after the big one. But I've seen some people who still get Curied big for almost every post! Such a thing to envy.
It's very unlikely indeed that people will get a big curie for every other post. One of the curie guidelines is that it is unlikely that an author will get multiple big curie rewards in succession, especially if the type of content is the same. The exception for that rule is if the content is truly exceptional which could be the case. Or they could be getting a relatively large curie upvote from a steemstem upvote (as curie follows steemstem) or through a direct follow/community vote (which are usually considerably smaller votes).
I'd be interested to see which authors you think are regularly getting big curies.
Thanks
Mark
Yeah I think it was steemstem tagged. Maybe I should write something steemstem related. 😂
I haven't ever been curated by the curie team :( Maybe some day one of my poems/stories might get selected :)
you've been amazing on Curie and its always great to know whenever i rant on the channels due to my timezone, you are there to responds. lol . Cheers buddy !
Thanks dude, pleasure to be involved.
Wow. Great story.
I'm very new on steemit, I believe I'll get there soon.
It's anchor on determination and hard work.
Yeah, its all about hard work really.
Such an inspiration reading I must say, great story! 🌝
Thanks :)
Thanks for taking your time to write out your story with @curie. I think I got one of their votes when I was just starting out here. I post about music on here and it was about my relationship to Brazilian music and that big upvote certainly changed my life too! I've always wanted to write and that push from Curie early on was encouraging enough to have me post here almost every day. Your article shed some light on a lot of things, I too wondered who the hell hendrikdegrote was hahaha.
I've made account in Steemit since January 2018, then I never open it and it's only the first post on March 24, 2018. It's been almost a month since I was active in Steemit, but I have yet to get a visit @curie. Your experience was amazing. Apparently not only life and women, Steemit is also a mystery 😀
Cool backstory Mark. Glad you are part of the team!
Holy thread-resurrection Batman.
It was resteemed and showed in my feed. I only noticed after that it was a super old post. I stand by the comment though.