I Haz an Alt, Now Even with a Purpose: Introducing FknMayhem-Tumbls

Ever since its creation, curation and links have been our main mean of discovery online. Even before the now popular Internet, the www, was introduced people would join specific ISPs because they hosted particular Usenet groups where it was easier to discover things.

As the Internet evolved, linking to content - the most primal form of curation - became ever more how the Internet was connected, tied together. When a popular site changes hands and is subsequently deleted, the Internet loses not only a part of history but is also broken in hundreds (of thousands) of places because of broken links, links in the worst case leading to a server error or a domain not active anymore.

As the Internet grew, soon it became a habit of many to check the homepage of the most prolific curators. Not that much later directories were born and became de facto registries of quality. One, of the most historic, dare I say iconic, Internet behemoths Yahoo!, started out as a directory. In years to follow SEOs will remember the importance being listed in DMOZ had on Google search results.

Nowadays, of course, Google is everyone’s curator. Google and filter bubble factory Facebook [but one could argue that Facebook’s curation problem is all what we aren’t shown].

One of the most admirable jobs held and exerted online is that of the consistent, decade old curator. Admirable because of their longevity. And their consistency.

The kottkes, the waxys, the daringfireballs, the Boing Boings and thousands more, as well as all subsequent clones they have sprouted inspired.

Online professionals who day after day, year after year, decade after decade have made a job out of discovering great stuff, awesome content, general commentary worthy items, articles, and products. Online, everybody is a curator.

Everybody who has ever toyed with a website, a blog, has most likely at some point also felt the desire to share something awesome they just read. If not sharing awesome discovered content, most have often selected, and thus curated, which personal content to share.

Many have built a career on writing about [news] content they just read and wanted to share. If not the Internet itself, the blogosphere democratised this process.

Others have tried and failed.

Not everyone is good at curation. Not every curator finds an audience. Even curators with audience may never have found ways to monetise their craft.

In the good old Usenet days I was quite the twat online a prolific flame war warrior quite the troll mostly a content consumer.

Ever since the end of last Century I have had at least one website, or blog if you wish, on which I shared content. Some have lasted some years, others have been sold. Some have found their way to the Wayback machine, others were killed by me with/without archive.org collection.

One, one I had to kill after becoming the subject of a vile subpoena while living in a nation where money passed under the table often defines Justice. Not before Archive.org’s crawler had indexed the site though and not before I had also imported all its content to my own, personal site. Because over the years I ran that site, highlighting awesome as from the local tech startup scene, its name had also become my [professional] brand.

A hard drive I cherish has archives for almost all those sites since around 2003.

Hi, I’m FknMayhem and I’m a curator. Nowadays I’m active on Steem, mostly. I still may or may not have some off-Blockchain websites, but Steem is my main playground.

With thousands and thousands of articles published to the Steem Blockchain every day, Steem is very much a mini-Internet, so to say.

Curation is important on Steem and the Steem ecosystem is lucky to host several awesome, not for profit, curation projects like @curie, @ocd, @steemstem, @cervantes and many more. Steem is also host to many prolific content creators who are generous with tagging, linking, and making shout outs to highlight great Steemians. Steem even has its own #followfriday.

I would love to also become one of those people, but my curation style isn’t necessarily optimised to Steem(it). I also like to curate, publish, highlight great content when I discover it. Not in a daily aggregated post.

Not with a simple resteem.

Most of all I do not want to clutter the feeds of my followers with many curated posts, not without them being fully aware, upon following me, that It Might Get Loud.

I had an alt, now even with a purpose: Introducing #fknmayhem-tumbls.

When not that long ago Zappl was announced I decided I would zap from my alt. Yet, Zappl didn’t truly rock my boat or float my socks. Nor did my alt truly get a purpose.

For weeks though I had been thinking how I could possibly curate_better_, read: curate how I like sharing awesomeness, from my alt. In the end, or maybe it is the beginning, I decided it was time to kick myself under the buttocks and just do it. Not bitch about Steem(it) not having a reply feature, or a trackback feature, and most definitely not to wait for them.

No, I would curate the good old fashioned way.

More division by zero

An intro sentence, or two or three or five because I tend to have that habit of writing long intros, followed by one or two money quotes from the post. And where possible, appropriate maybe even some added commentary.

Sometimes @cheetah may even come over for a visit because it thinks I have quoted more words than I wrote myself. Because my lifted copy to original copy ratio is wrong. It is what it is. 🤷‍♂️

What is FknMayhem-Tumbls?

Under the tag #fknmayhem-tumbls I will mostly publish awesome reads I discover. The vast majority of these will be Steem(it) related, Steem community internal kitchen stuff, projects and topics I think which deserve a little bit more highlighting than a more esteem. I also may occasionally share an awesome longread which I found and think is worth some minutes of every reader’s time. My Instapaper is full with that type of content and almost daily I discover awesome new stuff.

I’m a geek, a sponge for knowledge. A knowledge leech. Reading is an integral and important part of my life.

If you love Daring Fireball and Kottke, I think you may like it. Especially if you are also in love with Steem.

What is FknMayhem-Tumbls Not?

it is important to know, and understand, that #fknmayhem-tumbls is not the next _highlighting great new Steemian intros or highlighting new Steemians who deserve more spotlights.

If I wanted to do such, I would apply to one of the more prolific curation projects and focus on trawling every, or a specific, tag each day hunting for content crafted by authors who deserve to be rewarded more. Under #fknmayhem-tumbls I will curate what I like and there is no minimum or maximum rep requirement.

Yet, every so often, everybody runs into an awesome new introduction post. Just like I did with @cabernet’s intro post. While those posts will also be labelled fknmayhem-tumbls, I will also use the tag #minnow-promo for these posts. A tag I hope which will find more adoption within the steem(it) community.

Because minnows on Steem just like me and you need more promotion.

One More Thing

Finally, I would love to share any rewards on such curation posts with the original content crafter. But I dislike spreadsheets, and filigrane administration, with a passion bordering on hate.

Additionally, I’m not big a fan of the UX found on Steemwhales.

As such I have to appeal to the powers that be, particularly glancing at @netuoso and @fabien, and gently beg for an integration of the beneficiary feature whether in Condenser or in the Busy.org app.

Short of starting a petition.org appeal for such feature, like an adolescent who wants to get some on the weekend, here’s hoping. ;)

Hi there, you’re reading this on my main account, @FknMayhem.

I also tumbl awesome content I find across the Steem ecosystem, and sometimes not on a Blockchain [gasp!]based sites, from my alt account @dashroom, AKA FknMayhem².

If you wish to keep updated with those discoveries, don’t hesitate to follow me over there. I think you may like it if you love Steem and thought-provoking reads. Be warned though, there may days on which It Might Get Loud.

I am also on zeh Titter.