Chronicles of a Dolphin Curator - 18th July 2016 (The beginning of a new chapter...)
Thought I’d try something new. As someone who “puts in that work” and spends two or three hours a day curating Steemit content (around a full-time job and a full-time family), I thought it might be useful to give people a daily insight into how I vote and why.
I wouldn't say I'm one of the biggest STEEM holders. Certainly not a Whale. However I probably hold enough to be considered a Dolphin.
I’m generally quite liberal with my voting. My motto is to give “the benefit of the vote.” However as my STEEM Power has increased and I've been able to sway the allocation of rewards more, I've decided to try to be more discerning. These Chronicles should help me in that journey.
I also thought it might be useful to give newcomers to Steemit an insight into how I vote and some of the logic (or lack thereof) behind it. I hope some of my thought processes, particularly around maximising my share of Curation Rewards prove resourceful.
I’ll try to be as honest as I can with my comments – and apologies in advance for offending anyone!
Today’s voting
https://steemit.com/steemitx/@discombobulated/presenting-steemitx-com-a-simple-way-to-follow-users
This was the first post I upvoted today. I broke my golden rule on this one. My golden rule is not to waste votes and time on content where I’ve missed the boat. What I do when I see a post that has “gone clear” on Steemit is not vote, I just take a note of the author. If I’m fortunate enough to catch their future content early, their past success will be useful information on whether and when to upvote them.
My general strategy is to catch good content early and maximise my return.
However as I said, for this post I made an exception. The rewards were already in the thousands when I upvoted. Eventhough I know I’ll see little curation rewards, I upvoted it anyway. Steemitx looks like a fantastic temporary service for those who are looking for a sorely missed FOLLOW section in Steemit. I will most definitely be using this service, at least for the short term, so it’s only right to tip the creator. Great work @discombobulated
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@emily-cook/guerrillas-in-the-mist-the-faces-through-the-steem-let-s-connect-on-a-personal-level
So @emily-cook is someone that I introduced to Steemit. We were having a water-cooler chat about how the platform had treated her so far. I was doing my usual motivational speech on how she may be able get the most out of Steemit.
In these early days, its not just about uploaded quality content, it’s about going that extra mile to provide value to the platform, if you wish the platform to reward you back. It seems like my gee-up had worked better than I’d expected and Emily had bashed out this quick post. I thought it was clever and genuine, so upvoted it.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@hisnameisolllie/why-steemit-needs-really-successful-bloggers
From the title alone I was inclined to upvote this by @hisnameisolllie. I agreed wholeheartedly with the assessment of the impact of @guerrint post. Aspirations are important. Thats why people play the lottery. That single ticket to big rewards.
However I do think there needs to be a balance. Other good content needs to be rewarded with more than cents to retain good authors. It's a two way thing. Authors need to indulge in a bit of self promotion to be heard above the noise. Whales and Dolphins need to go out of their way to seek out good content. Hopefully the two will meet somewhere in the middle more often than not.
https://steemit.com/hack/@jl777/i-am-being-attacked-on-liquidity-provider-points
This was a bit of a lucky dip play. I know of @jl777 from the Bitcointalk forum. I did really well recognising that he had joined before most. I took a chance that it was his genuine account. Once it was confirmed I cashed in well (67 SP for one vote). This inflated reward was aided by the hack (and subsequent downtime).
When I saw @jl777 had posted again I skim read and upvoted. With hindsight, I'll probably be more selective.
https://steemit.com/steem/@cryptogee/the-goose-and-the-golden-steem-a-tale-by-cryptogee
I was lucky to catch this one early just by chance. It had been up seconds before I saw it. I skimmed it. I knew I was going to upvote it, it was just a question of when. I put my money on 10 minutes. 15 minutes is probably too long for @cryptogee post. He has a lot of STEEM Charged bots backing him. I'm sure they're being programmed to vote earlier and earlier to get in before the other bots. Then you have other Dolphins like me fishing around. One of us was going to go then everyone would be in.
I got in 11 minutes after the post. Early enough for a decent share of what should be a large pot. But not too early. However it wasn't the optimal time. I was probably a minute too late. Dolphins @masteryoda and @joseph got in seconds before me. However looking at the shares they got compared to mine, not too much damage was done.
PS - I got around to reading @cryptogee's post on the way home from work. A fantastically creativity and imaginative piece that summarises Steemit's journey so far. He even gave me a little name drop at the end which was a bonus! Thanks CG.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@repholder/repholder-s-steemit-escrow-service-beta-marketplace-and-more
I really like posts that attempt to offer a new service. While this post from @repholder may not be the answer to creating a Steemit marketplace, It could spark further ideas and experiments. So upvote.
https://steemit.com/posts/@gavvet/dragonslayer109-s-daily-pic-of-hidden-gems-proxy-posting-for-user-of-hacked-account
I love the fact that @gavvet (and others) are posting on behalf of those that are not able to due to the hack. A great example of the community/ friends pulling together. Love that. Upvote.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@liondani/steemit-com-has-not-doubled-in-value-in-the-past-three-weeks-it-has-ten-fold-10x-increased-it-s-value
Took a flyer with this one. @liondani is a solid contributor. The contribution whilst simple, was informative and had decent graphics. Posts like this seem to be doing better than I’d expect at the moment, so I went for it.
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@steemitpolitics/steemit-you-won-i-am-leaving-wordpress
Again, probably a liberal upvote. It was a chance to get in early and get a huge share if @steemitpolitics post blows up. Would probably need retrospective verification to happen. Didn’t think on it too long. Went with my instinct, upvoted and kept it moving.
https://steemit.com/travel/@anca3drandom/i-made-the-first-steemit-earrings-but-few-bothered-to-look
I kind of sympathised with @anca3drandom, her earring post was a good one and she’s right it was probably worth a few more upvotes. I like the way she dusted herself down, got it off her chest and tried something new. Upvoted this as my way of saying keep your chin up.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@fyrstikken/how-will-the-new-steemit-referral-system-work-and-when-will-it-start-working-ned-and-dan
I love @fyrstikken – "he’s crazy and he knows it". This time he was touching on a subject I'd brought up days ago. My post got guzzumped by the-hack. Upvote for raising the debate.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@nanzo-scoop/re-fyrstikken-how-will-the-new-steemit-referral-system-work-and-when-will-it-start-working-ned-and-dan-20160718t125407774z
Upvoted my own comment here, just to give it a bump. I felt my referral scheme proposal of a few days ago, is worthy of mention in any conversation around referral schemes. I generally don’t upvote my comments unless I feel I really want what I’m saying to be heard.
https://steemit.com/tutorial/@andrarchy/the-first-steemit-martial-arts-tutorial-the-roundhouse-kick-thai-kickboxing
I've really enjoyed @andrarchy so far and this was a real pleasant treat. I would have never guessed he was a Mauy Thai practictioner. Upvote.
https://steemd.com/steemart/@camilla/a-drawing-to-express-the-power-of-steem
I was drawn in by the thumbnail picture here @camilla. When I clicked into the post I love that she didn't stop at the pictures. She went on to explain how it was made and what art meant to her. Two or three posts wrapped up in one. Value. Upvote.
https://steemd.com/cookingwithsteem/@mummyimperfect/cooking-with-steem-how-to-make-the-perfect-steem-powered-carrot-cake-vlog
Great video by another person I introduced to Steemit. Had to upvote this one given I had a hand in helping @mummyimperfect pull this together. Well done. Great job! Upvote.
https://steemit.com/grandparents/@missjessica/possibly-the-oldest-steemit-fans-say-hello-to-the-community
I was planning to log off when this one caught my eye. I just loved the family pic @missjessica! Would be even better if your grandparents signed up!! Upvoted any, got in early so expecting a decent return.
That's today's voting
In tomorrow’s Chronicles, I’ll also include a section (“Yesterday’s results) and let you know how I got on in terms of Curation Rewards for these upvotes.
Final word...
Okay, I'm off to bed.
If you feel there are good content I’ve missed (it doesn’t have to be your own, it might be stuff you’ve voted on), please leave a link to it below and the reason you upvoted it. I’ll take a look in the morning. If I don’t upvote it, I’ll try to give feedback on why.
Hope you enjoyed this review of my voting activity. Happy Steeming. Be sure to follow and check in tomorrow.
One of these is my own, one is not
https://steemit.com/steemit/@girlbeforemirror/doctor-doctor-i-think-i-ve-caught-the-steemit-bug
https://steemit.com/fiction/@azurejasper/an-original-part-i-the-drive
Great idea! I love this concept of journaling what you curated and why. A few days ago, I did a curation hall of fame in #journal for similar reasons because I wanted to track how my actions impacted those posts and my wallet. It's been interesting to see how some votes make such a difference. My all time high so far is just under 18 Steem Power! That still blows my mind.
One thing I think some people aren't talking enough about as well is that old posts can also be resurrected. If a post was missed and then some time later a few whales find it, it could sky rocket right up. This, to me, is another great reason to always do your best to write great content because you never know who will spot it or when.
You have also made a good amount from your blogs.
Indeed... yet, I've put in more hours commenting and curating. I'd say you certainly need to blog a lot (and well) to get your STEEM power up. Yet if you have a decent amount, curating becomes worthwhile also.
I feel like sometimes you are only working for less then minimum wage for the amount of time that you put into it but who knows maybe it will be worth a lot more in a few years if Steem goes up in value a lot.
I don't look at it that way.
I look at it like this:
Very insightful, thanks!
I think it's awesome that you're chronicling this. Steemit can't add the follow feature fast enough!
You have interesting logic, but its information is useful for me. Thanks!
Good post! I'm right there with ya 3 kids full time job and all that, and even though I try to still be supportive of actually GOOD content even if I missed the first upvotes.. I'd say the worst is upvoting when it says 15 minutes but is still less than the 15:00 minute mark and forfeit 99.94%
Which is where I make this face..
99.94 seems a lot... you should only forfeit that much if you vote within seconds of the post going up.
the way it's established is
0-15mins = 99.94% goes to poster, 0.6% to curators
15- 30 = 50% - 50% ** 15mins mark isn't a set in stone threshold, the only real one is the 30mins mark.
30+ = 100% to curators
This is only valid for Curation rewards, the author still receives 50% or more of the total rewards.
Source = https://steemit.com/steem/@steemship/how-to-vote-smart-and-profit-from-steemit-s-new-curation-rewards
We might think that waiting 30mins before upvoting / commenting would be the smart thing to do, but truth is, waiting that long opens the door to not being among the first to upvote / comment, so by the time you do so, others will have jumped in before you, and this dilutes the rewards.
You've mis-understood what @steemship was saying,
(own emphasis added)
If you vote after 14 minutes, you'll forfeit something like 53% of Rewards due to you, not 99.4%
Read this post for a full picture of how it works/ when and why the rules works that way:
https://steemit.com/steem/@steemitblog/latest-curation-reward-solution
Appologies, I indeed misunderstood , thanks for the precision and the link :)
Hi @nanzo-scoop — really interesting post. Thanks for providing your insights into what you vote for and why. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on my situation.
I've made a couple of posts that never appeared in the "new" tab, and I'm not sure why. They didn't get any attention, but I don't know if that's because they're poor content for the site, or because no one found them.
If you could have a look at my post below and give me your opinion on whether this is valuable to Steemit and worth continuing, I'd be grateful, even if the answer is "No."
https://steemit.com/art/@sndphoenix/e01-of-cgs-presents-high-school-heroes-introducing-jen-rogers
I thought Steemit would be an interesting place to announce the project and get feedback, but maybe it's the wrong sort of content. I don't want to spam people asking for opinions, but since you offered, hopefully it's okay. Thanks for your time!
I think your project looks really interesting. However you may need to verify you are who you say you are.
It may be worth doing an #introduceyourself post, explaining a bit about Chainbreaker Game Studios. Do you have a website/ twitter? Are you able to announce on those platforms that you've joined Steemit? You can do posts explaining a bit about visual novels so people have a better idea. The more you're able to convince people that you're legit and here to stay, the more chance you'll get noticed and upvotes.... Obviously nothing is guaranteed.
Keep me posted on how you get on!
I've just started to notice how much importance people on this site place on "verified" identities, which is very interesting to me, since it's so counter the standard way of doing business on most websites. I do have a domain for Chainbreaker Game Studios, but I'm still developing the site so it hasn't launched yet, and I have not previously posted on sites like Twitter and Facebook. The only place I have identities with existing history that match my identity here are on Fuwanovel and Steam.
Because I haven't been active in social media previously, except on niche sites like Fuwa, I chose Steemit for the reveal just because it's new and interesting, and because I would be able to get in at the "ground floor" so to speak. But given the reliance on existing history to prove out identity, I'm in a difficult position, given that my company has only been around a year and hasn't published a game yet. This is our first project, and the content in my post is the first time anything from the game has existed anywhere on the web. I originally thought that would be a good thing.
I suppose it makes more sense to publish first to the established user base on a site like Fuwanovel where I already understand the community, and which is looking for the type of content I posted. In retrospect, I should have done that first regardless.
Thanks for your feedback!
You are a tremendous writer. You are one of the first people that I started following a week ago when I first joined but I have to manually enter your username into the web browser because I can't find a following button of people that I am following. I liked your other article about how you want to own around .1 % of all Steemit, I enjoy reading your writing and hope that we all really can retire on Steemit. Your article was one of the first that I read on Steemit!
Thanks. I appreciate your kind words. Hopefully they add a follow button soon. You should try steemtx as I mentioned in the OP. It's a really useful temporary workaround.
This post was really useful!
This is coming from someone who's spend the last 48 hours brainlessly upvoting anything with the hopes a a curation reward, thank you!
You're welcome. The games are more fun when everyone gets the rules.