The DreemPort Curation Blues

I enjoy the #DreemPort site on HIVE, where people from around the world can read and give feedback on other's posts and essays. Some are just learning to write and explore their abilities, while other well-established contributors have elevated their skills to increase both audience and income.

One of the great attributes of #DreemPort is its equality. Anyone can join. Anyone can post, and anyone can earn. It only requires that the contributor first elevate each other by curating five randomly assigned posts first before submitting their work. It's a simple effort that doesn't demand much time.

I have two dilemmas with it, though. The first is that the ability to earn at a greater than nominal rate requires consistency. IT's not that I think that's unfair, just inconvenient. For instance, I'm about to go off grid for five days to do plant restoration work on an island. There's no means I know of to say, "Hey! You know that guy who diligently curates? He'll have no way to over five days. Can his status be put on hold instead of lost?"

The other issue is merely a personal dilemma. There are days when the five in my curation bucket are pretty bad. I'm not talking about grammar and punctuation. I have tolerance for that, especially when language translation may be involved. It's more about the level of effort I see. That doesn't mean word count. It means the right words, at least for my interests. I favor posts that connect the topic to why it matters to them. It sparks my human interest in the topic, and thus in them. The topic can still be wide-ranging, just convince me that I should listen.

The only value I find in "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is showing each letter of the alphabet, so I can see what the font will look like. "Fleas: Adam had'em" is short, sweet, and thought-invoking.

Where's the dilemma? When all five curation posts are awesome! I'm not talking about "Oh, that's cute, you should get a participation award" awesome. They are solid, and could be. published in numerous places.

I feel guilty for ranking great content last, but I've been there. I've had editors contact me to say my submission was really good, but was beat out be better. I thank them and catalogue them, because the theme will likely reappear in the future. But when you birthed a beautiful baby and presented it to strangers, you want to hear affirmations. Get top ratings, instead of one star.

I've reconciled myself to the thought that everyone gets a different shuffle of five to curate, and thus the statistical variation will ensure that all five are recognized as top notch. In that light, I assume the bottom feeders of the day also take encouragement from their final rankings. I know I have. It's never personal, just a nudge. A nudge to try better, and ask for honest help, not a Participation Award star.