Project Introduction by:
Rick Miller
Original draft August 2016
A tdv.witness Project
SteemTrail: An Introduction
Since my introduction to steemit.com and the STEEM network, back in May 2016, I had the opportunity to immerse myself into the community and several projects aimed at expanding the user base. However, I have found the retention of the current user base to be an equally important objective that needs effective planning and resources allocated to assist in continued growth. So, in July 2016 I started outlining a plan.
With that said, I proudly introduce the plan. Welcome to SteemTrail.
The SteemTrail proposal provides a two phase approach that is aimed at user engagement in the curation of categories/tags, and increased voting of users across the platform. Correctly implemented, SteemTrail will organically grow each category/tag(s) by providing incentives for those who vote consistently and seek out new members to support the category/tag(s) they prefer.
The members of the community want to engage. They want to feel like they are part of the growth and success of steemit.com and STEEM, so they help current curation projects by submitting posts on other authors behalf. SteemTrail allows each member to support post in categories/tags they like, and more than likely post in. The members just need a more specific project to focus on. And in doing so, we will see organic growth take place right before our eyes.
SteemTrail: Curation Experience
The experience I have acquired in the curation of posts on the steemit.com platform began as an original member of Team Smooth. I was given the opportunity to participate in this project July 2016, and gained valuable knowledge about STEEM and steemit.com. I was required to find buried posts that had the potential to trend but just didn't get the exposure a well known author may get. This project introduced me to other members who also had a talent for finding great posts that could potentially trend. With this group we formed a curation project called Robinhood Whale.
The objective of the RobinHood Whale project is find buried post that have potential to trend. However, instead of 
My experience with these projects have given me more insights and ideas on ways to make curation of posts more direct. SteemTrail is that idea.
SteemTrail: Phase One- STEEM Power Trails
The STEEM Power phase is the first phase of SteemTrail. I have reviewed the Top 500 STEEM Power holders, and have found that over 50% do not vote and receive curations rewards that reflect that of an active voter. With a delegate voter system in place, these 50% could allocate 5-10% towards a category/tag curation trail or a curator that manually votes (voter delegate). This would not consume any of their time, they would use the curation trail services of streemian.com to delegate their vote.
The Top 500 is only a part of this. The lack of voting is platform wide because it does require time each day to perform, and most people simply do not have the time. Using a voter delegate solves this problem and is a simple process. The process not only helps the platform, it provides curation rewards for members each day.
The members who are wanting to increase STEEM Power by getting curation rewards can join a voter delegates curation trail and watch as rewards come in daily. The curation trails will have accounts setup that members can join. When the members join a curation trail, they will select the trail that services their STEEM Power. This is done to allow smaller voters to acquire curation rewards as well. Larger voters voting before smaller voters result in zero rewards for smaller voters.
The accounts that members can join are based on STEEM Power:
1k and below
10k
25k
50k
100k
Update of Phase One:
Phase One has been running for two months now with success. For those participating in this phase, the STEEM POWER generated through curation rewards has increased 200-800% for each participant. The organizing of votes based on STEEM Power will be implemented in the coming days.
The current curation team for phase one consist of of myself and two(2) other curators. This allows for three(3) shifts voting 24/7. This team will grow as funds are available to recruit more curators.
The project uses streemian.com to organize the trails. SteemTrail is currently testing alternatives to be added to project.
SteemTrail: Phase Two- Category Trail
The Category Trail phase gets me excited when I think about the possibilities. The concept of category trails will assist in each category growing organically across the platform. As these categories grow, user engagement increases not only in voting but in seeking new members to join that category. I envision current members discussing how great the Travel category is on steemit.com and not just the website that has hundreds of categories.
The categories will now have members taking ownership of them, participating in their growth in memberships and rewards. So, instead of having one huge steemit.com community, we will have hundreds of communities with members growing them.
SteemTrail will select curators for each category. These curators will have posting keys for the category trail account so it can vote and post about category stats. This account will grow by author and curation rewards. I see each category having other accounts based on STEEM Power as the category grows.
Examples of category trails:
Travel-Trail
Art-Trail
Gaming-Trail
Examples of STEEM Power category trails:
Travel-10k
Art-1k
Gaming-25k
Update of Phase Two:
My vision is to involve every member of the platform and to give equal opportunity to contribute. SteemTrail is currently seeking members who wish to contribute by curating category/tags they have interest in. The goal is to have a minimum of six curators for each category/tag. I have put together incentive plans to make sure each curator receives compensation for their time.
If curating a certain category/tag interest you, or if you are seeking more information please join us on steemit.chat SteemTrail Chat
SteemTrail: Vision
The goal of SteemTrail is to organize curation teams to manage and grow categories on steemit.com. The curation team for each category is also responsible for new member onboarding which includes post formatting, posting guidelines, and fielding general questions about steemit.com and the STEEM network.
The efforts of the curation team will result in a positive new user experience and increased retention rate on the platform. We can expect organic growth of each category.
This is an introduction to SteemTrail. Thank you for reading and remember to keep on steeming!
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Get to know @instructor2121 by reading his introduction post found here.