What is curating?
There is a lot of material here and some people want to help show that material to a bigger audience. Even still, they don’t do it for the credit themselves but as a means of giving back. I’d like to tell a bit of what this week has been like as a member of the @acidyo led curation team known as @OCD (Operation Curation Delegation). Anyone can take notice of something but the questions are does it matter and if so to who and why? This week’s roundup has been brought to you by bribery, inspiration, quality over quantity, awareness and of course patience.
The Old Quid Pro Quo
When I applied to become a curator one of the requirements was that someone would not take bribes and other such things. I laughed at the bullet point because I didn’t know how much was at stake and thought is it really that bad. Well I found out just recently it is that bad as someone found it necessary that I should take their work and move it to the front of the line. My retort was that hard work and perseverance will lead them to a greater positioning.
Inspiration
I’ve been inspired by a lot of what I’ve seen from the awful to the amazing. The inspiration has come from knowing I could and should be providing better content regardless of how many people are watching. As curators we have 24 hours to find good material, get it approved by the author, the material is put to a vote and the compilation is posted for the masses. 24 hours may seem like a lot of time but it really isn’t because not everyone in the steemit community is in the same time zone. Also, some people just pop in every now and again or just aren’t active for one reason or another.
Quality > Quantity
In my findings more often than not I will see an amazing photo, tagline and first line of the post only to see it is plagiarized. Pumping out tons of articles even if not your own may seem like the fun thing to do but eventually you'll die from an overdose. Also, I’ve seen great posts that someone put up and they don’t respond to comments. Usually this tells others that you don’t have any knowledge of what you posted even if you do. Otherwise why post in the first place as the block-chain is a place to get something off your chest and others can throw in their two cent.
In Closing
Besides myself there are 18 other curators who work tirelessly to bring to you what they feel is the best of underrated material. If you weren’t selected or feel you are being overlooked don’t feel that way. Instead, feel motivated to know that you can always put out better material. You can always set out to have better outreach. No one on this platform or IRL is ever going to be perfect. The only thing we can do is better ourselves as we move forward. Be sure to check out @OCD and its curators for great finds or even my own page. Regardless don't get bogged down in the unnecessary which put bounds on other platforms. Don't forget that as steemians we're here to share our stories with people who are actually willing to listen instead of given useless, spiteful and unwarranted feedback.
Just my two cent and to everyone out I'd like to say steem on!
You really have a good thing going on. I hope your group will grow and continue with a good job
Thank you!
Curation is very hard on this platform, with so much good content every day. I've been doing my series on my own, and it takes a long, long time. The upside is that I get to read a ton of really great material. The downside is that it can take over your life.
But I think it's necessary. The bigger the platform gets, the more there is need for separation of the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Anyway, thanks for doing this, and I'll be following along.
I totally agree and think that curation in general is hard. This platform is both a gift and a curse for its authors. It's a gift because there are so many unknown authors who can be discovered and the curse is trying to discover those unknown authors...lol.
It's always a problem, how do I get noticed? The good news is that not everyone has to notice you. The bad news is that someone does. But here, there's good incentive to notice. I love Steemit for that very reason.
meep