Teaming up with curation guilds, including SteemTrails, Curie and other efforts, Steemit News will watch for excellent news content for our readers. It is our goal to grow into a viable news outlet, featuring Steemit authors from around the world.
Curation has already started in the #news category as well as #newslink. All articles with one (or both) of these tags will be posted on our new website (still under construction).
For #steemitnews curation and publication, we’re only looking for particularly excellent content. So, while the website will include all #news and #newslink articles, the focus and attention will be on featuring excellent and insightful content.
So we have three levels of participation:
Include the #news tag - This is already a very popular tag, so there’s not much more to it. This can include the short-form content such as #newslink, but will only be featured in one or the other section. Duplicate content will not be posted in both sections. The system is currently random in regard to the order it receives articles, so if you use both tags, it could end up in either.
Include the #steemitnews tag - These articles will be reviewed by Steemit News editors for content, grammar, layout and other traits that characterize professional journalism.
If we notice abuse of these tags (spamming, blatant promotion, etc) or content that is undesirable for our readership, we'll put a block on that account being able to have content reposted on the website.
What we’re looking for
- Include the #steemitnews tag
- Relevant informative articles
- Original content - Obviously sources can be quoted and you may post your articles wherever you desire. But if Cheetah catches it, most likely we’ll pass it over.
- Excellent use of English (other languages will hopefully be included soon) - The best articles are those where nobody notices the grammar. Of course, there are exceptions when one is making a specific point or there’s a creative aspect to it. But grammatical mistakes stand out to readers, diluting their perception of the quality of the content.
- Spelling accuracy - A misspelled word can be overlooked once in awhile, but with modern editing programs such as Word or even Google Docs, every questionable word gets highlighted anyway. Please take the time to get this right if you're using the #steemitnewstag.
- No profanity - This isn’t censoring so much as setting a standard. Generally, except in quotations, profanity is superfluous. This includes shorthand, such as WTF, OMG, etc. The use of these isn’t helpful to insightful and well written content.
- No short-form - If you can say all you need in just a few sentences, please settle for the #newslink or other short-form tag.
- TIL or similar content will not be considered - Feel free to use the #news tag for those though, if you consider them newsworthy.
- Newslink or SteemitNews shouldn't be in the title
- The article must “conclude” - That doesn’t mean you have to write a conclusion. It means that it needs to finish filling in the details rather than simply saying something along the lines of, “For the rest of the story, go to this www.link.com”. Please feel free to post a list of sources so readers can investigate further if they want, but don’t make it necessary for the reader to research more for a sense of closure. That’s fine for short-form and #newslink, but is lazy for journalism.
NOTE: There are exceptions, but exceptions are EXCEPTIONAL.
Featured Authors
If you become a regular contributor and earn the trust of Steemit News, we will provide you with the ability to post content directly to the site without our curation and you will have your own profile on the site. You will also have access to the Steemit News private channel so we can collaborate.
Muted Authors
On the other side of the coin, if a user’s content continues to be passed over on account of the same reasons, we will likely mute that user so as to not waste time.
Editing Advice
One last point - If you use the #steemitnews tag, we will assume that you are drawing our attention and therefore open to critique. If we see your content is almost good enough, or if it’s even good enough but could use some improvements, we may comment to point out some things to make it better.
If you desire to have your own column, please let us know in the comments.We'll contact you to discuss your idea.
- A logo contest (coming soon!)
- The website to be ready for regular viewing
- An integrated Discord channel on the site.
- Newsletter services
What you can do now
- LOGO - Start working on a logo, if you’re so inclined. We’ll outline the details a week from today. All liquid Steem from this post will go toward the logo contest. Let’s see how valuable we can make it!
- Journalism - Work on your journalism skills, if becoming a contributor interests you.
- Curation, contribution and promotion - If you already have good journalism skills, please start using the #steemitnews tag so we can curate, resteem and publish your content on the new site. We will be monitoring it immediately.
Thank you for reading and your encouragement in this endeavor. With your help, we look forward to making Steemit News a valuable news resource.
Your editors,
Steemit News
LOGO GOES HERE!!
Images: Pixabay and GIPHY
