Welcome back to another Alternative Trending Page! So what are we doing here? For those of you just joining; After winning a delegation from a contest put on by @makeaminnow, I’m trying to use the said delegation in the best way I can think of.


I’ve always been passionate about curation on this platform and found myself wondering what the trending page could look like if we all came together to make one ourselves. It is a topic that everyone seems to disagree on lately; the dreaded trending page... the first thing the outside world sees when they come to Steemit.

Steemit’s Current Trending Page

• Does it represent the best of the platform?
  
  
• Is it a good selling point to investors?
  
  
• Does it bring in new users?
  
  
• Is it full of great content?
  
  
  These are all questions that one could ask themselves about our current trending page, many may disagree on the answers to those questions.
  
  

What would the trending page look like if we had control over it? That’s what I have been asking myself... but, where do you start?


Do you go with different algorithms of votes and/or comments? How can that be accurate though with the wide usage of bots and spam comments?


Or do you just go with things that you personally see as exceptional? But, what is exceptional? And, isn’t that subjective?

There are many individuals that have written extremely informative and thought provoking posts on this topic and I suggest you search them out to really get an idea of the current “trending” conversation.


I’m not going to tag them because I’m not trying to get attention myself... but if you want to be informed of the ongoing issues and possible solutions on steemit, follow these individuals;

• abh12345
• kevinwong
• donkeypong
• tcpolymath
• tarazkp
  
  
  They not only care about the platform, but are trying to improve it as well. Follow them, you won’t regret it.
  
  
  

What about me?

I personally just focus on lifting great content as much as I possibly can, therefore drowning out some of the bad.

As some of you may know, I’m on a bit of a mission to give an alternative to the current Steemit trending page.


I’m going to be experimenting with different ways to come up with an Alternative Trending Page, using different algorithms to see if we can see what the trending page would maybe look like without all the bots. I also want to come together with others and discuss the exceptional content they have come across in their manual curation. After all, this is an experiment to see what our Alternative Trending Page would look like.

What Is The Goal?

I explain it more in depth here, but essentially;

• Use the delegation I was gifted by Make A Minnow Contest to continue to lift up great content.
• Pay the authors I feature here from the post payout.
• Experiment with what an Alternative Trending Page would look like.
  
  

Come together to make Steemit what we want it to be.

Which brings me to the reason for this post, an idea of what the Trending Page would look like if it was up to us. The more conversations I have with people, the more I realize that manual curation is just the best way but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on experimenting with different algorithms. I have gotten wonderful suggestions in the comments on these last few posts and will be working them into future trending page posts... maybe even compare the results a bit.


For today’s curation I am focusing on the art community. Why? Because I am blown away every single day by the level of talented artists represented on this platform and I felt they deserved their own post.

Isn’t that subjective?

Yep, it sure is... and it’s something I’ve been struggling with. Is it fair for me to choose my favorites?


My conclusion; of course it is... as long as I am fair in my assessments and feature other ways of deciding Alternative Trending in the future. Funny enough while writing this post I received a comment on my last post by an artist I am about to feature (who I don’t know personally), that I really just felt was perfect;

I think he’s spot on. This is something that comes up in my curation efforts @curie a lot; Exceptional is subjective, and everyone sees something different in a post. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, and just opens the door for further discussion.


Ok, I’m babbling... let’s get to the featured artists!

@gric


One of the most talented artists I have ever come across on the platform. His works are thought provoking, intricate and so awe inspiring and deserves so much praise.

Cataclysm II - original painting By @gric

@kathrina-sofie


When I first saw Kathrina’s works I thought they were digital, that’s how good she is. She creates such detail in oil that it actually looks fake... to me anyways. It’s stunning and she’s just getting started. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us.

SandDangle By @Kathrina-Sofie

@Whornung


Just when you @whornung’s art stops you in your tracks, you’ll be shocked to realize it’s started to move... yes, move. His works are not only extremely detailed, but he adds movement to them that literally makes them jump off the screen. He has us constantly questioning art as we know it and I believe is a driving force in pushing art made with digital tools to the mainstream. What would a museum look like if the art actually moved?

Old Digital Master By @Whornung

@Arthurgain


Arthur has this incredible ability to express such emotion through his works. I’m not sure if it’s the choice of the deep colors, but they have this dark feeling while also being breathtakingly beautiful. I’m clearly not an art critic so please excuse my poor descriptive words, but his artwork plays with my emotions... which to me is what great art does.

Alla prima portrait sketch By @Arthurgain









There are so many talented artists on this platform that deciding who to feature today was extremely difficult. There will probably be more art editions in the future because of that fact.


I would be over the moon if talent like this was represented in Our Trending Page. How about you?

Remember post payout is split between the featured authors, so show them some love!

Looking for a place to come together to help lift great content on the platform? You’ve found it.

@c-squared is designed to do just that.

Join us on discord https://discord.gg/B8JFmJ4

Page Dividers By @Odrau

Logo Artwork By @Soundwavesphoton