How it Started

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Little did we know that a simple conversation about posting on the blockchain and earning some side income has led us to where we are today. #steem-cartoon was the brainchild of @sireh and our first meeting took place in none other than his office in Malaysia Multimedia University. The whole idea was to get someone who can make us laugh and keep us entertained while we spend our time in #teammalaysia. There are great articles about crytocurrencies, life, poetry, technical stuff but none that is capable of bringing us the smile and laughter when we turn to the funnies section in the dailies.

@sireh turned out exactly like how you would expect someone in the creative industry. Light hearted, simple and humble. After a few hours of conversation, I realised that this man's motivation was to find a solution to the decline of printed publication. He talked about his involvement with the cartoon magazine called 'Apo' and how it was on the decline after facebook, instagram and other social media was introduced.

His foray into the academia was not spurred by his hunger to educate the young but by the fact that it guarantees a steady income which was the problem that most of his colleagues are facing. I fully understand his concerns because as a family man, I guess it is not always about passion and dream when you have stomachs to feed.

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Independent Appraisal

After having shown @sireh the platform the income wasn't the part that attracted his attention. Instead he was rather intrigued by the fact that the community is encouraged to actively engage with its contributors.

Sireh : 'Now my students' work is facing the world as their critic. That is an open appraisal. Unadulterated, sincere and straight-into-your-face-kinda-shit'

This is bringing the real world to them. If you present shit to the world, you get their backs turned on you. That's a good thought. This will teach them what the real world is like. Earning money is secondary. But at least they know there is a platform that places the value of their work in the hands of its audiences.

Wow, the way this man thinks is a little mind boggling. I was trying to entice him with this little of idea that he can personally make some money from drawing and he starts thinking ahead of bringing steemit to his students to appraise their work.

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Engaging the Community

The brainchild of @sireh gave birth to a new community. We started out small with a few artists comprising of @sireh's friends. They are today the active contributors to steem-cartoon for a few reasons. First because they get paid quite well by upvotes, secondly because they want to do a close friend a favour.

The launch of the community was quite simple, it started with a few posts that carries the tag. We have no whales in the group except for a few fervent supporters in the likes of @kevinwong, @bitrocker2020, members of the @ocd team and steemiteducation. Within the first week of the launch, we start to see many enquiries about this new community. Many were positive words of encouragement. One or two question were posed to us why existing tags are not adequate enough for us to identify ourselves. Our answer is simple, we want a community to call our own. Afterall this is an open community and if you like what we do, we benefit from your support.

A few members from our community got generous upvotes from @curie and we take that as an indication that our community is being observed. That is a positive sign.

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Finally taking it to the Class

@sireh was extra cautious. He was weighing the possibilities that the entire system was a money game. He look at the possibility whether it would clash with the student's interest or jeapordise their copyright. It took this man 1 month before he personally approached me and told me, I think my students are ready for the harsh reality of the world. Let them measure against their own peers and let them measure against other artists out there such as @beekart, @opheliafu or @helene.

I took the introduction session after @sireh successfully sought for approval from the university's administration. The student were perplexed. They looked confused because the entire system was something really new to them. The system of upvotes and curation hasn't sink in yet. We went home that night and was keeping our fingers crossed that perhaps some of them are daring enough test it out. Not for the monetary reward but as a foray into the real world.

(@sireh, @notimetospace and @perennial after the introductory session in the Creaative Multimedia Faculty)

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Today

It is pretty impressive how these young blood is capable of showcasing their work to the world. Not only they are doing exceptionally well in steemit, but they are also showing their special creativity and their own brand of art. This is indeed a breath of fresh air.

Today is special, for a simple reason...@sireh received and invitation to present the student's achievement to the management of Malaysia Multimedia University (MMU) and the invitation has its sentence that begins with the word,

'Congratulations...'

I guess this is the recognition that all artistes crave for. Way to go @sireh...you are as great as man as you are as a team member.

Finally, #steem-cartoon wishes you guys (Merry X'mas)

(used with permission from @sireh)

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