The Story of My 4 Curied Posts & What Curie Means to Me
![IMG_6913.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWFzJNtbkWdrXM7BubaURF33gqyMwMvoLfwSWgeAJ6X2s/IMG_6913.jpg)
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.
![Curie.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmeRCr6hHMQSkwsGKSkLtnYCXd2PDqjobs2fD3Dg3TqAmi/Curie.png)
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. _/|\_
You are one of the true gems Yahia. As a poet and word smith I admire your ability to refract the incoming light and paint it across the page in such a panoply of rainbow-hued delights. Plucking the perfect word out of the air for the moment and the emotion is no easy thing, and your words never feel forced. Very happy that chance encounter has led to our friendship, and for whatever small part I have played in you staying here on platform I am extremely proud. Thank you for this wonderful post supporting Curie. Much love - Carl
A drop in your ocean, gracious and generous, Carl. You teach by example, and one of the things you taught me is to care more for this community. I'm glad to hear that this post, a tiny token of giving back, means something to you. I sincerely hope that it might help, in some small way, for @curie to regain its rightful place in this community, as a beacon, guiding us to what is finest in our midst. Much love to you & Curie team.
_/|\_
Yahia, it does my heart good to see your work valued, rewarded, and esteemed at Steemit. You were skeptical; you gave it a chance; you gave it your all! I kept writing quality posts, daily, and occasionally, I would have a biggish, non-Curie hit - and in time, 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--
And that's the point. You manifest all that is right and good at Steemit!
It's on account of magnanimous, loving souls like you, @Carolkean, that I stayed. Proud to be associated with the Isle (miss Inna) and really looking forward to our book. I hope this finds your heart at ease, my friend, and maybe one day we might meet (in DC or FL). Giving you a great big hug <3
Aw, hugs needed, thanks - only today, it struck me that so few people would ever read anything I publish, I'm not even going to think about it anymore. Liberating! No aspirations, no pressure, just live in the now and leave words unspoken. {{Hugs}} back atcha!
Aw, Carol, words have a life of their own & mysteriously find their readers. Living in the, now, is all we can do—the rest is not in our hands 🙏🏼
Mortification of Silence, however, is something that calls to me more insistently every time I venture out of my hermitage and share "words" with the world. Perhaps "this too shall pass," and I shall stop drifting and come to shore, but the sea is wild, my compass is broken, and I haven't seen land for a long, long time. Thanks for tossing that lifeline - I'll try to catch hold if it!
Silence is a wise master. I trust it to tell me what to do, when to speak & how. You are appreciated and heard 🙏🏼
Oh, Yahia I did not know you were “famous” until you just said it and I googled you LOL! Please for give I will remain irreverent however and love you just the same as I am a cat after all ;)
Absolutely I see bots as corner girls who give you a half baked blowjob with no sustenance or soul. I find using them totally distasteful …
congratulations on your curies <3
Can’t beat irreverent love, Tyger 🤓
Congrats on your own Curie🍾🎊🎉
Wishing you more breakthroughs ♥️
:)
@yahialababidi, Facebook doesn't have the feel of community that Steemit does. Steemit is more of an international community than even Wordpress, where I have a blog, and hardly publish anything there anymore since arriving in Steemit last June. (Sorry for the terrible run-on sentence!) Haha, I'm so glad you mentioned how strange is was to go into the chat rooms on Discord and I love your honesty about starting all over. I'm still shy about trying to chat on Discord. Have a beautiful day! So glad you made it to Steemit!
Thank you, for reading, @violetmed. Truthfully, for a while FB worked for me (though I resisted it, at first). I did manage to create a sense of community and interacted with friends around the world, readers, artists and activists that I admire. I even used it to crowdfund my forthcoming book and I'm grateful for all that (and, not a little guilty that I've abandoned it). That said, it was beginning to grow stale and the superficial aspects of it prevailing over genuine connection and profound exchange. Steemit is new, to me and itself, and there's a magic to beginnings that sharpens our senses and also helps us to develop new muscles.
Thank you, for all the natural beauty that you share, your own gentle nature, warm welcome and support of Poetry. I hope you might also overcome your shyness chatting on Discord-- to ease in, you might do as I did, and just begin to chat, individually, with few people who interest you, before committing to a public chat (if that makes sense). Stay blessed, my friend, and thanks, again, for this sweet, uplifting exchange :)
PS - Picture from our garden in Maryland:
Oh my goodness, how wonderful! A peacock, interesting! Thank you for sharing!
And, because I am a compulsive sharer, here's my 1st Steemit video interview (no pressure to watch, I'm just excited coming off it!) https://steemit.com/dlive/@benleemusic/f5c48ed0-3e77-11e8-8283-8f78150dfecd
Okay, off to have a head-clearing walk :D
You have been one of my first contacts on Steemit and I have treasured our interactions. You are inspiring me to write more x
Heartening to hear, dear @riverflows. I felt an instant affinity with you & am humbled to hear I'm inspiring you to write more.
_/|\_
This is the beauty of a platform like this, how we are able to achieve more together, than alone. Onwards, upwards, my friend! <3I have to admit, I did not know anything about @Curie before this. Thanks for sharing...
In my estimation, and I'm not alone in thinking so, they are one of the best aspects of this platform. (In the comment section, someone went so far to congratulate me on winning a Curie by saying that it was like getting a Nobel Prize :) I'm glad that my post helped bring them to your attention.
:-)
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by Yahia from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.
Nice story. Follow for follow.
Thanks, man. What’s follow for follow?