My thoughts about our first week of the WOX Steemit Engagement challenge
Hello dear Steemians,
Today I wanted to share my experience of the first week of Challenge but also I wanted to decorate my post with beautiful fragile flowers that @myskye did once again from our garden in late autumn. I love those little strong flowers that are strong and resistant to cold, stay until it gets really cold.
It was a like a marathon the time when we were preparing to the WOX Steemit Engagement challenge. First of all, it was something new and we had no draft and because it was Visual Art that we wanted to present, there were no other communities examples so we had to think out everything ourselves.
Get a group of people behind the Contest |
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The whole idea of WOX to revive Visual Art came from our friends Professional Artists and Photographers who despite of being consistent in their quality posts are often being overseen. In order to give them highlight and for the users to improve their skills our Professional Artists prepared tutorials unfortunately, they were also not really seen. Then it was the point let’s get them a bit of spotlight and to get WOX into Challenges.
I am glad that we have managed to gather so many of them and they are all immediately agreed to be our Judging Board: @jorgevandeperre, @ranartblog, @arcoiris, @xaviduran, @fumansiu.
But also, I really appreciate a great help of @bambuka, without his positive energy and extreme engagement it would be hard work.
While our Professional Artists are visiting our participants and commenting their works, me and @bambuka are verifying their entries.
@xpilar as always is the supporter and adviser, without his help it would not be possible to reach what we reached by now.
We all work very good from the very beginning looks like we understand each other very well and I am really pleased to have the group as it is.
Therefore, for those who are running the same contests, I only can advise you should get few people in your team and share the work. It is not possible to do everything alone.
If it worth to visit as much contest as possible? |
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This is a question to the Steemit Team, the whole idea of the Challenges with 7 Teams is understandable to give the chance for people to posts, there are topics and chances that users will be Upvoted.
On other hand what I noticed while we had such good prepared works from some users alongside with them there were some that had something that was done very quickly just in order to get into the timescale and enter contest. I remember, when one of the jury asked if the work took long time the user answered “35 minute.” The other user posted in our the day before end and was hurrying up to submit for the last contest on following day.
Also, we saw some of the posts containing just the outline of the flower (that was the topic of our first contest) and without much love to what he did presented as a work. I am sorry but that is not a work, even the child in nursery group can do it better.
Is there time to comment for every challenge?
Once again, when the Steemit team asked to leave comments the people spending time for do the posts, answer the comments to their posts but also to write comments to others posts, for that they have to read first posts of others.
That seems to be a run for time. While doing that it is noticeable that the quality of both entries and comments are getting poorer.
Unfortunately, what we also noticed that the posts of well known users are commented more, because they are often supported by SC01 and SC02. Few posts were visited only by our Judges.
Quality over quantity |
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My suggestion will be when to choose we need to look at the number contests and comments that users did but the quality, because to do quality post and also good thoughtful comment it is time consuming. That is why the users who did good quality work will feel discouraged.
It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of others both Curators and users.
My thoughts as a (private) curator:
Curating has never been as boring as it has been since the creation of the Engagement Challenges.
Always the same headlines, always the same topics - I don't even like to open these posts anymore, even though I know that some are of course painstakingly designed and clearly more interesting than many others. But from the title alone, nothing stands out from the crowd anymore, nothing arouses curiosity.
Oh, I miss the individual creativity so much! Individual inputs and already reading on the Steem is much more varied.
I notice how the amount of time I spend on the Steem is getting smaller and smaller, how little I engage with contributions from within, "commit" to them unforcedly, as I used to do. I scroll and yawn more and more. That is a pity.
I think you are very right to ask for quality over quantity!
By the way: I admire all those who have a talent for drawing and painting, because that's a skill that doesn't suit me at all. For me, it's enough for stick figures whose implied movement the children can classify at school. Excuse me for not having thought for a moment about submitting a little flower to you though it would have been a voteable post... ;-)
Sorry for late reply, it is post night but also the day when the announcement for new month Curation was issued so some organizational stuff.
Thank you for taking time and sharing your experience and also your impression. That is sometimes when we have too much of something then we get fed up with that. Having the standard names of the posts even though they maybe good and different in their content but it is not possible to predict from the first glance. That usually puts many of us off them.
I think the Challenges and their Upvote by SC accounts are good but to encourage the users to take in as many as possible but also that them the winner will have the higher upvote turns that rat race in crazy run against the time.
We will see how the other WOX challenge weeks will go and if we will find a fine tune of it.
I guess it's because of beign a contest that's why it's almost the same topic.
Though most contents differ with some great values for real even though it's the same topic...but i can understand this point raised.
Quality remain the key.
😂
You know, I like to really engage with posts and then the comments look accordingly: detailed and deep. But there have also been posts where, apart from "Wow!", nothing really clever came out of my keyboard - but that had to be said ;-))
Of course you are right about the race to participate in as many challenges as possible. That doesn't really appeal to me; I write on a case-by-case basis on individual topics that catch my eye and where I feel called...
Du weißt, ich mag es, mich mit Posts wirklich auseinanderzusetzen und dann sehen auch die Kommentare entsprechend aus: ausführlich und tief. Es gab aber auch schon Beiträge, wo mir außer "Wow!" wirklich nichts Gescheites aus der Tastatur gepurzelt ist - aber das mußte immerhin gesagt werden ;-))
Natürlich hast Du recht mit dem Rennen um die Teilnahme an möglichst vielen Challenges. Mich spricht das eher nicht an; ich schreibe fallweise zu einzelnen Themen, die mir auffallen und wo ich mich berufen fühle...
I think writing comments is always is very special thing and even more important than post, because this is a communication and not a monologue of author. For me it depends on my mood and been tired or distracted by other stuff. Short comments with simple words, yes, I need to confess sometimes I do them too, although try to avoid when possible. I like to write when I want to but if someone will tell that you have to write comments to as many posts as possible then no, I will have an inspirational block.
I'm very happy and grateful to have taken part in this initiative that emerged from people within WOX, such as @bambuka, @stef1, @xpilar and which we began to give form to after conversations where @xaviduran, @arcoiris, @ranartblog, @fumansiu, and @axeman joined with the aim of making this challenge something more than a competition for upvotes.
I think it was in the spirit of this challenge to promote interest in art and culture and at the same time to promote active participation.
I cannot ignore that the motivations for participating in this contest must have been varied, from those who put all their effort into showing the best in their work to those who sent any quick drawing just to earn some coins and laugh a little.
However, I have the feeling that all of us who got involved in the realization and development of this project did so with the aim of contributing to art, culture, and education, trying to impose certain criteria that would give this challenge the merit of, perhaps, to be the beginning of a series of contests, called with the firm intention of promoting participation increasingly committed to these values.
For this, we gave this contest a different tone, linking the participation with the drawing, painting, photography, and architecture lessons or tutorials that the team members had previously posted to the Steemit community from WOX.
Regarding the participants, some took these, and others clearly did not but I believe the professional contribution of those of us who evaluate the entries is setting a precedent for future competitions. The precedent is that those who will contribute with their skills and knowledge, honouring the contest, will have the best opportunities and will be evaluated accordingly.
The floor for the next challenges or contests will be the artworks that now we have selected as the best.
Estoy muy contento y agradecido de haber formado parte de esta iniciativa que surgió de miembros de WOX como @bambuka, @stef1, @xpilar y a la que empezamos a dar forma tras conversaciones donde @xaviduran, @arcoiris, @ranartblog , @fumansiu y @axeman se unieron con el objetivo de hacer de este desafío algo más que una competencia por votos a favor.
Creo que estaba en el espíritu de este desafío promover el interés por el arte y la cultura y al mismo tiempo promover la participación activa.
No puedo ignorar que las motivaciones para participar en este concurso debieron ser variadas, desde los que pusieron todo su empeño en mostrar lo mejor de su trabajo hasta los que enviaron algún dibujo rápido solo para ganar unas monedas y reírse un poco.
Sin embargo, tengo la sensación de que todos los que nos involucramos en la realización y desarrollo de este proyecto lo hicimos con el objetivo de contribuir al arte, la cultura y la educación, tratando de imponer ciertos criterios que le dieran a este desafío el mérito de, quizás, ser el inicio de una serie de concursos, convocados con el firme propósito de promover una participación cada vez más comprometida con estos valores.
Para ello, le dimos a este concurso un tono diferente, vinculando la participación con las lecciones o tutoriales de dibujo, pintura, fotografía y arquitectura que los miembros del equipo habían subido previamente a la comunidad de Steemit desde WOX.
En cuanto a los participantes, algunos las tomaron y otros claramente no, pero creo que el aporte profesional de quienes evaluamos las propuestas está sentando un precedente para futuras competencias. El precedente es que quienes aporten con sus habilidades y conocimientos, honrando el concurso, tendrán las mejores oportunidades y serán evaluados en consecuencia.
El piso para los próximos retos o concursos serán las obras que ahora hemos seleccionado como las mejores.
I agree with you Jorge and I am glad that we decided to take this responsibility and try ourselves as a group of people with the same motivation. It is not only about making the users on Steemit to Artists, no, it is to let them maybe to discover the skills that were sleeping in them. We all know that every child like drawing, this is hte first what we do when we can hold a pen and see a paper, but this interest can disappear with time and if we let it can wake up and we sometimes get surprised with what we can reach.
Like anythign in this world it depends on motivation. LIke when I was about 12 y.o. math was hte subject that I was very weak and I did not like it. My math teacher was very good psychologist, she then concentrated on me, called me often to the board to do hte tasks and went through explaining. Aftrer a months I started to understand it and became very good algebra is my favourite subject now and I am still very grateful to this teacher who did not give me up and supported. Of course, the example has nothing to do with our blogging here, but who knows if our professional advise and support may change something in the life of those users. Will let them love drawing and even to do it with their children.
We are going to run it for at least a month and will see if there is any development happen, let us get surprised :)
I'm glad we agree. Among the people who participate, I can see (or intuit) that there are modest people and children who also participate. If for one of them this can be an opportunity to learn, receiving a critique of their artistic progress and even earning some money for their materials while they study seems fantastic to me.
We are living in a new era filled with possibilities that most of us don't realize yet.
Dreaming, it would be great to have a talent school in Steemit, with young people and children who seriously use the platform to learn and at the same time gain enough to meet their needs.
I can only express my gratitude for the opportunity that you have given to me all the @xpilar team, @woxofxpilar, your @stef1 and the inestimable @bambuka to be able to offer my point of view, and in some way also to exercise my pedagogical role in my sector, photography. Thanks also for giving me that visibility on the platform, so useful at times to be able to show my work.
If you remember it was also you, who had a first idea about such contests, you made us to think about that and bring it forward. The good think about WOX, and Xpilar he usually supports any new ideas and activity that may be interesting to vast majority of users. I believe Photogrpahy recently became the area that has less and less users unlike in old good time. That is why, it is a great pleasure to have you in our team :)
Thank you so much!
Lovely post, and lovely flowers.
Are there quality comments? For example, if something is nice and you say it is nice, does it count less than a long comment? I mean with the way Steemit works.
Of course, there are. "Nice, beautiful, I like it, good, or well done" are just subjective compliments that don't say anything. I think we can accept it from normal people who are participating but I find it unacceptable if these comments come from professional people or from those who are part of a jury team.
I understand, but I am not sure about it.
Sometimes people do something for fun, or for the challenge, and not to start a career or learn the subject.
Then, giving a nice comment, if what they do is nice, is really nice :)
As a judge, again, it depends. In some places, judges just judge, while in other, they give opinion too.
With my students, I am super strict. I am demanding. But with people in a community, I am just one of the community, even though I am a judge.
If there is something beneficial I can say, I will say it.
I think it should not be forgotten that we are part of a team with a status, the status of teacher and judge. If you comment as a teacher and even more so as a member of the jury, that comment must always be consistent with that position. Starting with the assumption that that is what the participants expect to get from an expert.
If the participant wants to start a carrier or not, is not our concern and we don't know it.
Still, a thoughtful comment can always be fun if you want it.
Another thing is when you comment on other conditions.
Again, I think it depends.
Some art is just made for the challenge, I do not want to get too technical about brightness values, edges, composition, and so on for just a simple thing, when the structure is not correct, and nothing is right about it.
If someone makes an effort, that is good enough for me. If it is more advanced, then yes.
It is clear that we are not going to reach an agreement. We have different approaches to what teaching is, and also different degrees of commitment. Maybe I didn't explain my position well. I'm not talking about giving a complicated technical explanation, I'm talking about the respect that every participant deserves of an evaluation with a minimal explanation of the reasons for it by a professional who judges their participation (as was also announced). We do not know about the motivation of people to participate in the challenge, we do not know their age, their intellectual level, their education or their level of knowledge, but we know and decide how to participate as professionals. In addition, giving a simple but coherent explanation of our assessment, whether positive or negative, also speaks of the respect and appreciation we have for our own work.
Of course. That is the beauty of humanity. Different opinions and way of action.
Clearly, you are a valuable addition to the community. I am with you.
We just roll differently.
I have 35K to 50K visitors per month in my international website, and 5.5-7.5K per month in my Hebrew website.
You can imagine the amount of emails I get. I reply them ALL (except spam).
https://ranartblog.com/
I have 61K followers on Pinterest.
If you scroll the comments I get, it will take forever and ever, and then some. I replied ALL!
https://www.pinterest.com/ranartblog/
In my Instagram, I help anybody who wants. They call me sir and master, and thank me for my help.
I tell them I am not sir, I am Ran, and I love what I am doing, so it is ok.
https://www.instagram.com/ran_art_blog/
You can see the work of my students. They love me. I am demanding, but I give them all I got.
https://ranartblog.com/about.html
And, as you can see, when there is something to reply, I do it thoroughly.
As I was saying, we operate in different ways, and it is great.
As you said, we are like complementary colors. Maybe you did not say it exactly like that :)
Hi Ran,
Thank you very much for this extensive list with many K's to impress me, many of these can be bought (I'm not saying it's your case). 😂
Yes, we just roll differently. I have never been interested in building a network of thousands of followers, I prefer to dedicate myself modestly to my painting and share what I have learned when I have the opportunity.
Congratulations on the love you receive from your students!
I think quality content not necesarily need to be lengthy, you know that some people chat for hours but totally rubbish.
I believe the whole idea is if the comment is appropriate and reflect the subject of the post and also if the user not repeating the same for other posts.
I am for engagement that helps us to communicate and rturn to user because we found the user behing the post interesting. That was what I also found in you while reading your posts and communicating with you Ran.
Thank you :)
Yes, I agree. That said, sometimes, less is more. It really depends.
For me, I always like to learn, or to teach, but also some fun is great too.
I suppose it depends on context. Sometimes a comment that simply says that something is great and gives a job well done may not be a very thoughtful comment but the post may not have given anything to post thoughtfully on. Telling the author there work was nice can still make them happy, even if it does not add to any discussions. I feel I do both, as sometimes, such as the one I am making right now, there is contextual relevance and can add to a conversation, whereas other times, I simply want to congratulate someone making something pretty for us all to enjoy.
Indeed.
Sometimes I see something nice, but I do not have much to say.
So, saying it is nice is both makes the author happy, and make me feel good that I had something to say to someone I want to support.
Precisely! (See what I did there?) lol
I see. But when we talk, we already "know" each other, and we are fellow artists.
It is different...
In my opinion, if a user is fond of using those phrase even when the publication contains beautiful flowers as you mentioned, i may easily lose interest in such comment..
Maybe there are other things he/she woulf have added to the comment.....not necessarily a lenghthy one- don't misunderstand me, but something well commended for.
Какие нежные цветочки - просто загляденье, @stef1!!!
Спасибо, последние цветочки осени, на этой неделе похоладало поэтому наверное долго не выдержат :)