So... trailing steemstem and openmic are bad ideas?

Uhm yeah. Mostly it is a bad idea madam. At least not as good as creating and arranging your own private personal trail that you can manage & control as you please. In such a way that when you then have some free time to check minutely what the heck you actually have voted and 'curated'. Afterwards, you also will have the opportunity to read, digest & enjoy the fruits of your 'curation' work calmly. };)