Utopian.io is giving steemians a lot to talk about, is the most growing platform on STEEM blockchain and it keeps groing not only in the number of contributions received but in the quality of the platform itself. If this is the first time you hear about it, let me briefly tell you what this is about.

---

Rewarding open source contributions

Yes, if you are a programmer, designer, translator, thinker... you can be rewarded if you make your posts using utopian.io instead of other STEEM platform. And with rewarded it means, if your contributions meets the rules and quality standards, you get a cool upvote from utopian bot.

But actually there are different ways to WIN-WIN, while contributing to utopian itself of the open source world, I will explain those ways below.

1. Delegating SP to @utopian-io

If you are a sleeping whale, orca, dolphin or even a sleeping minnow, or if you simply want to delegate some SP to @utopian-io account you would help their bot to grow its power and you would get a percentage in return, as they say in their website:

20% of the total contributor rewards generated goes to the Sponsors based on their delegated amount.

The more you delegate, the more you get in return. If you want to delegate some of your SP you can follow this link, click in the DELEGATE button and follow the instructions, it is easy and secure.

---

2. Upvoting the contributions before the bot

This is an interesting way to earn rewards. It is based in the curation rewards system of STEEM platforms. Just upvote approved contributions before the bot upvotes them, so you will get a good curation reward from it.

I recommend you not to random-upvote, take your time to check the contributions and vote for the ones you consider add more value or you simply like the most.

Doing this you would also encourage contributors to keep their good job.

---

3. Contributing

This is a bit more difficult than the first and second approach. But its also more profitable.

You first need to learn what open source is, according to wikipedia this is de definition:

Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.[1] Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative public manner. According to scientists who studied it, open-source software is a prominent example of open collaboration.[2] The term is often written without a hyphen as "open source software".

There is also need of the project to have a valid github repository.

These are the categories you can contribute:

Suggestions
Suggestions are minor features/enhancements that you would like to have in an Open Source project. They may be only related to the technical aspects of the project not process or organisational issues

Sub-Project
If you have a suggestion but it actually is a major change of has big impact, then it may be sub-project.
A Sub-Project is a set of new unseen features having a great impact on the project.

Development
This is the most important category at utopian. They have recently increased the reward for developers! Check this post: Developers? Time To Work Your A** Off! We Doubled Up Your Rewards!
Only merged Pull Requests will be accepted or Open Source projects you maintain never posted on Utopian before, forks included as long as the fork is not just a mirror of the original one. Proof of work required.

Bug hunting
Do you always find what is wrong and like pointing it out? This category is meant for you!
If you use an open source web platform, app, game, etc and find a bug, you can report it via utopian.io and be rewarded for that.

Translations
If you speak more than one language and wish to contribute to the open source movement with your language knowledge feel free to do it. Make sure to do a high quality translation!

Graphics
Open Source software is in high need of professional designers! Can you design amazing logos? Awesome landing pages? Can you improve UI/UX? This is the momento to show your skills and contribute!

Analysis
Can you see what others don't see and get conclussions out of data? You can contribute getting meaninfull data and withthe proper analysis.
This category is meant only for providing a data analysis you have generated for an Open Source project.
You must include the results of your analyses and the reasons why you have generated them.

Visibility
If you are an influencer or know how to get to people via online tools for advertising, this is your chance to make it more than count!
This category is meant only for providing results of online social engagement, adv and similar for an Open Source project.

Documentation
If you perfectly know an Open Source project but notice it doesn't have the right or proper documentation. Grab this chance to make a change on the project.
Only merged Pull Requests on the official repository will be accepted or on a fork as long as long as the fork is not just a mirror of the original one. Proof of work required.

Tutorials
The one who teaches learns double! That's what a teacher used to say and I agree with him. It is amazing how you can be rewarded by sharing your knowledge in of Open Source field/software.

Video Tutorials
^{If your lessons can be better explained with a video, go ahead and make one. Just post it under video tutorials category.}

Copywriting
Copywriting is the act of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.

Blog posts
If you prefer to talk about the aspects of Open Source, their impact, their technology, etc, you can do it with a blog post. Make sure to read the rules carefully for this category.
You must provide an original and a unique editorial content of very high quality that is strongly related to the promotion and development of open-source related projects. Blogs must have a unique and consistent format.

There are some general rules but also each category has its own specific rules. Make sure to follow them.

Here is an explanatory post regarding the graphics section: How to make a GRAPHIC CONTRIBUTION at utopian.io, you can follow it as example.

Are you skilled in one of those categories and can't wait to contribute to the open-source world? Don't hesitate to do it!

---

4. Being a moderator

Want to go further and become part of utopian crew? You can be a moderator!

I recommend you to read this post: We Need More Moderators. Utopian Is Having One Contribution Every Minute!

Being a moderator is not so easy but is not rocket science either. You only need to be skilled in one of the categories in order to be able to judge them, of course you also need to know utopian rules pretty well, and have social skills too (in other words, don't be rude, be polite).

Do you have what it takes? ;)

---

As you can see, there are some ways to WIN-WIN in the utopian world. I hope this post is usefull for you and helpfull for the open-source community.

---

^{Sources:
Image for cover from pexels edited by me.
Rest of images by pexels and pixabay.
https://utopian.io/rules
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting}

---

_{I am a professional graphic designer
You can find me here} { | | }

---

Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors

---