Curating for Profit - Tip #2: Don't vote on posts that have been "WHALE BOMBED!"
This series is designed for people looking to curate for profit… If you don’t like profit, look away now!
Word of advice
If you are curating for profit, here is a new word to add to your vocabulary; Whalebombed. I was not planning to touch on this until later in the series. However it is so fundamental that I've bumped it up the list.
So what is being whale bombed?
Being Whalebombed is a bit like being Photobombed. You line up a post perfectly, get ready to vote on it thus maximising your Curation Rewards and then out of nowhere, BOOM... a Whale jumps in (far sooner then is logical) upvotes the post and messes up the rewards for anyone coming after them.
Let me show you in an example,
I spotted the above post by @cass as soon as it went up. You should always use tools that allow you to find good posts as soon as they go up. [Thats another tip for a separate post]
I read the post, then waited for the optimum voting window. You should always know your optimum voting window [Thats another tip for another day... Damn I knew I was posting this too soon!].
Anyway, no sooner had I seen the post than it was Whalebombed by @summon.
He had voted on the post after an incredible 18 seconds of it being upvoted! @summon has over 750k of SP. Anyone voting after @summon must REALLY love the post. Don't get me wrong. I like @cass's posts. Her designs and creativity are fantastic. I'd thought I'd got in early and was waiting for a sensible moment to vote. However I'd been bombed out.
To compound matters, two minutes later and there was a second Whalebomb by @rainman. The post hadn't ben up three minutes and it was already in treble figures... for anyone looking to curate this post for profit this was terrible!
I was out. There was no financial reason to vote for the post as all the Curation Rewards were pretty much zapped.
Counter intuitive
It might seem counter intuitive. I'm staring at a post that was clearly going to be successful. Attracting so many dollars in minutes. However my measly 35k SP would earn peanuts on a post that is had already accured over $100 in value. Even if it went to $10,000. There are richer pickings out there.
Don't get me wrong. It's fine to vote on a post that already has high rewards. However you should be clear that you are voting for pleasure only, you are not voting for profit. The name of the game is to get in ahead of the Whales. However anyone voting within 2 minutes of a post going out loses out to the Author for voting to early. It's was a no profit scenario a curator. Don't feel bad. These things happen. Move on, there are plenty of more posts to upvote.
Why do Whales Bomb?
The curation rules are designed to discourage Whales (or anyone else) from voting too early on content. Around 99% of any Curation Rewards due to @summon would go to @cass when he votes that early. Around 95% of Curation Rewards due to @rainman for this post would also go to @cass.
I guess they did it to show support to @cass. @cass will have scooped a large percentage of the Curation Rewards on top of the Author Rewards. In the current climate it is probably a good tactic as newbies tend to jump on posts that are hot. However in the future it will be possibly misguided. As curators become more savvy about the rules, there will be more curators that pass on good posts because the Curation Rewards had been diluted too soon.
What is not Whalebombing
Whalebombing is NOT when a post has been voted on after 20-25 minutes by a Whale. If you've waited that long to vote on a post then that's on YOU. You've either misjudged how popular the post would be... Or more likely you're being a Johnny-come-lately.
If you are curating for profit, don't be a Johnny-come-lately. [Again, another tip... for another post on another day]
Until next time… Happy Curating!
Previously in this series:
Tip #1 - Make your objectives smart
So, when is this
?
I guess I voted way too early on this post :)
You sure did!!
EDIT:
Take a look at a snapshot of the shares from a few minutes ago:
Your weighted share is half of what @chriscrypto will get eventhough you have not too dissimilar rshares. Granted he has slightly more SP, but not much. Plus there are a whole bunch of people that voted between you. Judging when to vote is important if you want to maximise curation rewards.
You guys could always be like me... too poor to get decent rewards from curating.
What tool are you using to check these charts, if you dont mind me asking it seems very usefull.
That chart is from steemd.com.
You can find the steemd for any page my replacing steemit.com with steemd.com, e.g. the steemd for this page is:
https://steemd.com/curating/@nanzo-scoop/curating-for-profit-tip-2-don-t-vote-on-posts-that-have-been-whale-bombed
You can see the breakdown by clicking advance mode, and then scrolling down and clicking vote details.
(NB - a lot of the weighing details disappears after the first payout)
Excellent thank you kindly :)
@nanzo-scoop
Thanks for the reply and the image to underline it. Of course, while voting for this article and for you I just did that - voted for great content without thinking of the curation reward.
TO make things simple and assume that no whales will jump in. The time frame for the most effect to come out of vote would be ... 20 to 30 minutes after the publishing of the post.
Come back to your article. Tuck came right after me and took 20%. You said that it is important to come before someone with much more SP. Does this relate to the situation above?
TNX!
Assuming no whales jump in then yes, on or after 30 minute makes sense. You get 100% of the rewards.
I know it seems like Tuck came in right after you. However you jumped in after 4 minutes. Tuck jumped in after 10 minutes. That's 150% later. Even if you waited until 8 minutes you could have doubled your rewards.
The way the Rewards are currently structured you should have a time before which it isn't worthwhile to vote. If you get whalebombed before then, so be it. Move on to more profitable posts.
Also it's important to get in before the whales, or before the pot grows too big. I wouldn't class Tuck as a whale (more a dolphin). You could still make a decent percentage (relatively speaking) by voting after him, as @chriscrypto stats demonstrate.
Also bigger picture check the SP you're earning from your Author Rewards compared to your Curation Rewards. Your SP earned through Author Rewards are 100 times as much, that's not including the additional Steem Dollars. I hope you're channeling your energy there. Commenting on posts appears to be working well for you at the moment. :)
Thank you again for a very thorough explanation. I really appreciate it.
Your words confirm my assumptions.
Yes, relevant commenting is the first line of business for me right now. I do hope that real authoring - you know, root level comments :) - will become as fruitful and more in the future. I do have several ideas for niche magazines in works ...
Have a great Friday and the weekend to come!
Good post
I have so much to learn about this place. I learn something new every fucking day.
Something like this:
Very good point. This has been mentioned numerous times. Obviously if you are just wanting to show your support it is fine but if you want curation rewards you need to look at these things.
Just beginning to familiarize myself with steemit and really appreciate this sort of educational post , thanks
My guess is that I am too new to know what's going on...
I began the article as far as:
got interrupted, and then went back to reading it, steemed and anticipating "the real thing" as far as reading articles goes. But, wha' happa?
Some posts take 20 25 minutes to digest and that's assuming you catch the boomer as soon as it comes out of the barn!
I wonder if I will ever know the when and if of upvoting. 😞
Follow me if you are perplexed and seek support in your befuddlement.
If it's a 20 minute post, spent 5-10 mins skim reading it (if your objective is voting for profit). If it looks good, vote for it at the optimum time then enjoy the rest at your leisure. You may occasionally vote for a dud, however that's a side effect of the rules. As you gain more and more Steem Power, you'll naturally become more discerning.
Just don't vote before 15 min, almost %100 of your reward will go to the Author (Poster).
This is incorrect.
Almost 100% of curation rewards due to you will go to Author if you vote almost immediately after they post. If you vote on 15 mins 50% will go to the Author. If you vote on 10 mins 66% will go to the Author. As a Curator you need to weigh up whether you want to lose out to the author or to other votes. A lot will depend on when you think others (particularly those with more SP) are likely to jump in and vote.
You have it backwards, its after 15 min it goes to 50% . 10 min would still be 99.8% of your rewards goes to Author.
when the next tips?
Where from is the picture with all steemians curration rewards ?