The Story of My 4 Curied Posts & What Curie Means to Me

Landing on planet Steemit, I did not think I could last very long. I arrived already social mediad out, from Facebook. Frankly, I did not think I had the energy to start all over, again, introducing myself to a new audience and building a following.

This new world seemed more techy than any other I'd known (I was not) and it felt weird hanging around in chatrooms, chatting up strangers, to get the hang of things. Hadn't I done this sort of thing nearly 2 decades ago, I snootily thought? With several books to my name and a social media following of over 10K on other platforms, shouldn't they already know who I was?

As it turned out, the answers were No and No. I'd never done anything quite like Steemit before, as someone who previously regarded blogging as infra dig (beneath dignity) and it was humbling having to start from scratch in a new environment and prove myself all over, again.

Early on, in a Steemit general chat room (nearly 5 months ago) I first heard mention of the name, @Curie. There was an aura of awe surrounding it, like something reserved for the few and special, that could raise one from the anonymous masses and bestow upon them prestige, and a Name.

I didn't quite understand how one might apply for it, how to get one's work reviewed by these discerning curators-gatekeepers-critics-judges. So, I reached out to one of the top arbiters of Steemit taste complaining that, weeks into the game, my work was still undervalued (earning mere cents or a dollar, here or there). The high priest of curators was unimpressed and, matter-of-factly, dealt a devastating blow to my overblown writer's ego:

If anything, it looks like you're earning too much, considering that the material you're posting has already been published elsewhere.

I swallowed my pride and mustered all the restraint I could not to shoot back a snide remark. The humility paid off, and the curator became a mentor of sorts, prompting me to create new work, to write differently, to leave my comfort zone.

I received my first Curie, 4 months ago, for a piece titled: My Close Encounter With a Dangerous Cult (that you've probably never heard of). It had not been published anywhere and I was reluctant to share it. Which, of course, is why I had to. Reaching further, and deeper, resulted in earnings that were more than 100% of what I'd previously received on a single post, more than all my past months posts combined, doubled. And, I was getting meaningful, thoughtful comments. This is was promising and had me reconsidering my commitment to the platform.

I was in Peru at the time, between jobs, and strapped for cash. It was good to have made a little spending money (yes, part of the reason why I signed up in the first place) as well as to get a larger sense of the community and what it felt like to engage with them. My second Curie, later that same month, was in another genre (literary fiction) and no less intense--it was a summary of what the writer Kafka meant to me, during the decade or so when my 'conversations' with him were perhaps more intimate than those I was having with any living person: A Conversation with Kafka — The Artist as Mystic.

Again, the post earned over a $100, when SBD was at an absurd, all-time high, and I cashed out (something I no longer do). I still didn't understand how to effectively use tags at the time and the curator/mentor helped me, while pointing out that my Curied post was #4 on the fiction trending page (and this was without having to pay for the love, which is how I've come to view bots). For a month or so, I kept writing quality posts, daily, and occasionally, I would have a biggish, non-Curie hit, such as this cri de coeur (cry from the heart), months ago: A Plea of Global Citizenship--Our Wounds as Peepholes to the World Wound.

I became engaged in a way I had not been previously on social media for a long time, and found that I was actually enjoying blogging (more like sketching, versus the serious painting of essay writing that I was accustomed to). I admit, the socializing became less of a chore -even fun!- as I got to meet and collaborate with creative Steemians-- including one young artist who illustrated a poem of mine, and received a very handsome Curie for his efforts

My next Curie was for a short story (and, I don't really fancy myself as much of a fiction writer), but this felt like a genre-bending bit of psychological-memoir/prose poetry masquerading-as-fiction: Reflections.

Months passed after that and, prompted by a query about publishing from a fellow philosopher on Steemit, I wrote a piece sharing my trials, tribulations and the grunt work required to help a book find its way into the world: [So You Published a Book! Now, What](https://steemit.com/writing/@yahialababidi/so-you-published-a-book-now-what] for which I received my fourth Curie.

What has it all meant to me? Validation and gratitude for being heard. I'm in too deep, now, to complain seriously or for long about slow days, on Steemit, or the glitchy system or even the damned bots (except if I'm underslept and particularly cranky). Otherwise, through the recent slump, for example, I continued to do what I love and share it with those I'm growing increasingly fond of (nice, too, to have nearly 700 followers and not be speaking into a void). Thank you, @Curie for being talent scouts, amplifying our voices and enriching this community. And, thank you, dear @Carlgnash, for being there when I needed a guide, mentor and friend.

My first creative collaboration on this platform involved submitting a short poem of mine to Carl for his consideration. To my happy surprise, he put it to music and sang it, in addition to composing a stirring prose poem/prayer of his own alongside it. To appreciate the warm-hearted soul he is, I hope you will check it out, here: https://steemit.com/dtube/@carlgnash/1mwk8ljv

I hope, too, you might consider voting for @curie as witness: in order for them to continue their noble mission of cultivating /recognizing/rewarding what is best in us and, in turn, elevating the standards of our community.

Another way to show your support for what they stand for, is to delegate to @curie--you can find out how to do so, here: Call for Delegation

Many thanks, for your kind attention, and may we continue to do good work that we are proud to share, here, and with the world at large. _/|\_