Maybe find a way to include:

• literature (i.e. book reviews)
• entertainment (movies, tv, theater or concert reviews)
• learning/education
• short stories/fiction

???

Not that we have much of those things here now, but it could be a good way to cultivate them.

I definitely think this is a great idea, but since science & technology is not on a week-end, I probably wouldn't find time to volunteer to participate. C'est la vie.

On another note, can I suggest a widely-distributed weekly, monthly, or quarterly report to communicate the value that you are distributing to authors and other curators with these programs? It could be cross-posted on Medium, shared on other social media venues, and e-mailed out to your "look what's on steem" e-mail list.

Based on the numbers above, this program, alone, will direct about $1,050 (~6,000 STEEM) per week to authors. That could generate a whole lot of "good will" for Steemit if anyone outside the blockchain knew about it. It could also showcase the potential for other investors to earn revenue by supporting content creators - something that's not possible with traditional patronage arrangements.