When I'm not actively writing my books, I spend a lot of time looking at articles. Whether I am looking to curate for @asapers, @thedailysneak or just looking for bloggers to promote in my entry for the @pifc (Pay it Forward Curation contest), I am often looking for good articles.
This is also the time when I'm most likely to end up passing a tip off to @steemcleaners or @steemflagrewards instead.
That's because people who abuse the system are actively pitted against the people I'm trying to curate.
Here is a bit of what I'm looking for
Original work
This is a MUST! Long bits of text I will be putting through one of the plagiarism checkers. (I have even been known to right-click translate first and then find plagiarism!)
Short (and sourced) quotes are completely fine, but make sure it's only an accent to your work and not the bulk of it. For example, in my recent TMJ article, I quoted several bits of text for authenticity sake - symptoms from the Mayo Clinic, for example.
Sourced (and free) images are also acceptable provided that's not the only point of your post. It's not reasonable to expect to profit from someone else's work without you putting some decent effort into it yourself... which takes me right to the next main point today...
Added value
I'm not going to be curating a single photograph with your exit data. Sure, the exit data tells me that it's probably your own work (great!) but why did you post it? What do you want me to know about it? At the very least, tell me what it is and where you took the image! I might want to be able to visit your location and look for the object myself!
If you want me to curate you - a single photograph had better be accompanied by a decent article. (I admit that even my own photo posts aren't always up to the standard I have set to curate - but then, I'm looking for the best out there, not just "good enough" - which is sometimes all I can manage if it's been a long week.) Half a dozen photos would be best, with text about them.
Adding value is even more important if you're using other people's work in your post.
My music forays are a case in point here. Obviously, the music isn't mine, but I've taken several different pieces and compared/contrasted them - adding value and hopefully introducing you to some new pieces of music. Furthermore, it is my hope that in featuring these pieces, I'm driving a few more views to the artists who posted the videos. (I do take care to always use the original link, whenever possible, so it's the artist/presenter who gets the click value.)
This takes me right along to my next point...
Sources!!!
I have lost track of how many times I've looked at an excellent post only to find they haven't sourced their images or (worse) it's clearly not a free image. I won't curate those, sorry.
If you use anything that doesn't belong to you, share the source! Doing anything else puts you at risk of being flagged - or worse, if the original copyright holder finds you and has power behind them.
Generally speaking, this means your images should be sourced from free-to-use photo places such as Pixabay, Pixels, PXhere - there are many of them. Sometimes, Flicker has them, Wikipedia Commons has them too, but be sure to read the fine print to make sure you're actually allowed to use it.
For limited, educational purposes, you might risk another site. I had to use WebMD for my TMJ picture. I could not find a genuinely free image for this, but needed it for educational purposes - so I decided to take a calculated risk and use one image from WebMD - a large site who is also educational in nature. Now, if I had used all their slideshow images, I could easily have a problem, but I used just the one required, sourced it and expressed that it was for educational purposes.
Still, I wouldn't use someone's personal blog for an image without specific permission from the blogger.
BTW, listen closely: Google is not a source!!! Google only shows other people's images so that others can find them - they are not the source of the images!
(Another note: It's not really okay to use Alamo or other stock pictures where the watermark is still across them - i.e. you haven't paid. True, steemcleaners won't hit you for it, but you are still in violation of the terms of use from the stock picture company.)
How to source an image or link - It's easy to write up your sources for Steem. Follow the following formula (but omit the spaces.)
[ source ] ( url )
Next time...
I do plan to write up another two articles, I think... on this theme. One on the top ten things that will cause me to skip your article. The other on my top five or ten types of posts I like to curate! Keep on Steeming!
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
Banner by @shai-hulud
Great advice!!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Very well said. I don't know why I never thought about using the translator. @thedarkhorse told me the other day there are people that use some type of scrambler so the bots don't pick it up.
There was one post in particular. It didn't make any sense to me. I even had to have my husband re-read it to make sure I wasn't loopy. Then in the comments I kept seen, this is an awesome post. I kept asking myself an awesome post for who? It didn't make a bit of sense. It was supposedly by English as a first language. I guess to each their own. I know plenty that don't like my writing and I'm ok with that.
Also, if you ever see me not doing something or have feedback, you are more than welcome to let me have it LOL. I know sometimes I do forget add my source. I get so caught up in getting things done sometimes, I forgot the 'little' yet very important things. Plus how else are we supposed to grow if no one ever tells us how we're doing?
Thanks for the comment and resteem!
I don't know how you prove plagiarism in the case of a scrambler, but I think there's a setting that steemflagrewards uses for it. I"m still fairly new to that game though.
That one where they just stuck it into the translator and used it, I found almost on accident. (They used the photo from the original article, so it turned up that way.)
We all make mistakes from time to time. I even had @thundercurator (one of the upvoters I use) remind me once that I needed to source the graphics I had made for my books. I had done it on dbooks, but due to the way they handle the posts, it was no longer getting onto my daily posts... So, I had to fix it. Of course, the very fact that he came to talk to me just proves that yes, it is a manual curator who wants to make sure his votes get used every day - I'm cool with that.
Oh, I don't think I've featured you yet. Catch my attention next awesome post you have and maybe I'll use it.
Thanks for sharing this! All good to know ;)
honestly I’m shocked that people even use images that they are not allowed to or not sourcing :O
I guess not everyone thinks like a creator..
I'm also shocked by it. What's even more shocking is when you make a comment on someone's post about their lack of sources and they're totally uninterested. I'm sitting here like: "I'm trying to help you keep from being flagged!" But they often just don't care.
Lots of people seem to use their Google image search results as a source - crazy!
Yuk! I call that riff raft :P
Thanks for sharing! I'm spending some time learning more about curation today because some of my posts have been curated by #cyclefeed and one by @curie this week. I was humbled to have their value go up and to get authentic feedback from people who appreciate my contributions. I really want to show appreciation to people who spend time curating quality work and find out more about their guidelines. I also want to find out what topics are being curated so I can use appropriate tags when my content fits into the category. Lately most of my posts have been about cycling (bicycles). Thank you sincerely for spending time recognizing quality posts and reporting spam/plagiarism. You're making Steemit better!
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
I also got a curie this week - fun, isn't it?!
Yes, appropriate tags is good too.
I shall check out your blog. :)
There is so much to learn in this Steemiverse I didn't know much about @curie and was totally surprised and motivated to find out more. I feel as though it's similar to winning some other famous award, the Steemit version of a Grammy. hahaha :)
Yes. I remember the first time I got one, it was very much the same feeling. I had arrived! I didn't expect to get another, but I'm at four now - but yes, every single one feels like another Grammy. My understanding is that as Steem picks up again and more people join and are more active, they won't repeat so often, but I'll appreciate each and every one. :-)
Thank you @viking-venture
Your post is really very good, useful for all. especially I am just learning. This adds knowledge to beginners so that they display their original work and do not take the work of others to quickly finish their work.
You're welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
Excellent advice @viking-ventures! I'm so glad that you took the time to write this :)
Thanks for stopping by. I will be including the link in all my future PIFC posts.
You just planted 0.05 tree(s)!
Thanks to @viking-ventures
We have planted already 3235.38 trees
out of 1,000,000
Let's save and restore Abongphen Highland Forest
in Cameroonian village Kedjom-Keku!
Plant trees with @treeplanter and get paid for it!
My Steem Power = 19556.09
Thanks a lot!
@martin.mikes coordinator of @kedjom-keku
Hi is exit data like the kind of camera used and that kind of thing? Just curious.
It never would have occurred to me to use translator in that manner. Very clever indeed. I use translator all the time but just so I can read non english posts. I kind of like being able to bridge what was once a cultural barrier.
I loved that line. Still smiling over that one.
You've got it right on the exit data. Cameras will produce that info if you want to use it - I generally don't, but many like to. Often, images on Steemit have that added - and nothing else.
Yeah, the translator is very helpful. So much within reach now without needing a dozen unrelated languages!
lol - glad you liked it... but it's amazing how often people use their image search result page as a source!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I have been meaning to start in on the fiction. Waiting for an afternoon to binge read. Just because I know how I am and don't dare to peek in thinking I will read a min and then stop.
Well, you can just start on the current one - we're only 8 chapters in, so not too long all at once. Then you'll know if you want to go back and find all the old ones (or even pick up the ebooks.)
You know that is a thought. I don;t think I have read a whole book since I arrived here. I use to devour a few a week. Reading on the platform is very addictive for me.
Actually thanks for the tip. I should be able to cover 8 chapters pretty quick and be caught up.
Will see I am in a contest for a 200 delegation. If I am lucky enough to win that I will be very active putting it to good use for a week.
Winners announced tonight wish me luck.
Awesome - good luck! I'm in a contest for 100, but it's not looking so good now. I was definitely in the final, but I don't seem to have got there.
Well I am rooting for you anyway! I won this one once before so think I may have a shot this time. It sure was fun to have 200 extra sp for a week.
That is what made me start looking at renting some.
you received an up vote from danlupi with voting power of 52.61%. Estimated dollar amount of $0.62