SNDBOX SUMMERCAMP FINAL QUEST UPDATE

_{Image source: steemit}

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INTRODUCTION

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This is my first #sndboxquest update. Why I had not written one before, only God knows. I guess I didn't know how to start talking about the project, the way the ideas flowed from one place to the other, from one person to the other.

I had qualified for the final quest but I didn't know what it entailed, so I was worried. I felt it would be something outside my comfort zone or skill, so when we were informed of a quest for coding and project idea, I thought this was it, or was it?

Our supervisors later came to explain that the quest was the last category in the previous quest in which mine had been the writing category. I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to my hole.

We had been added to a server specifically created for the sndbox quest contestants and I became comfortable in the server only after I met some familiar faces who welcomed me warmly. We basically chatted and speculated on the final quest and got to know each other better. Soon the final quest began.

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FIRST PART OF FINAL QUEST

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When the coding and project category were done with their quest, those of us who won the quest in the previous categories were asked to go to the posts of those who submitted project ideas, read through then choose two projects that we considered worthwhile.

I picked @jhnmunoz project, Alexandria's Library Project and @deisip67 project, Promoting Education in Communities. Why did I choose these two, you might ask.

_{Yes, I always fulfil my social responsibility.}

Well for one, I consider myself a fan of books, so a place that contains books is something that I can relate with and enjoy. Besides, I have always had this dream to open a library in my community one day. As a result, I wanted to see this particular project become something real.

As for the second project I chose, I picked it because I am a believer in the restructuring of the educational system which I believe is fundamentally flawed. @deisip67 project had the makings of an idea that I had also considered over the years that was why I chose it.

Our selections were used to judge the projects that were going into the sndbox quest and luckily the Alexandria's Library Project which I selected was among those that won a place in the quest.

After this phase, which was the first part of the final quest, several projects, both the ones that had won a place in the final quest and some new ones created specifically for the quest were listed and we were informed that we were to pick the one we felt most comfortable with and that will be the project we will be working on as our final quest. I was confused.

Before me were options that called to me but one stood out as the one in which I saw myself not only improving my skills but also learning new skills and that was the steem newspaper. As soon as I saw it, I forgot the library.

The steem newspaper meant that I would learn what it meant to operate a newspaper. I wanted to learn that as much as I wanted to be part of a library, if not even more. So I picked Steem newspaper project as my choice.

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SECOND PART OF FINAL QUEST

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As soon as everyone had chosen, new channels were created for each project and we were asked to turn the project into reality.

The other members of the steem newspaper project, some really nice and amazing people with big dreams too, are @revisesociology, @gabriellecd, @karmachela, @superoo7, @livinguktaiwan and @victorcovrig.

We immediately settled down to discussing on what to do and how to go about doing it. The first thing we fixed was getting a name for the paper.

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During the few chats on our channel, I didn't say much. This was mostly because I was still shy, getting used to the people and also we missed each other as a result of the time difference. So I basically read up previous chats to follow the gist.

After several suggestions and rejections, 3 names were placed for voting and I voted for number one which got the highest number of votes. As a result the number one name became the official name of the newspaper. @gabriellecd then created a steemit account with the chosen name, for the project, which will be where the paper's post will come from.

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@karmachela dropped a to-do list which listed the steps we would have to take to get to a finished project and then we began to discuss topics that will be the content of the paper. I had the idea of making the paper all encompassing; arts, food, literature, culture, sports, steem newspaper, etc and the others liked the idea, so @gabriellecd drafted a list of possible topics that we would focus on as a paper.

Discussing on which direction the paper would take took some of our time as we didn't want the paper to turn into a curation newsletter or become burdened with too much information. We wanted a streamlined paper that will cater to every steemian in whatever niche he or she may be.

I dropped my ideas on what I thought the contents of a paper based on the steem blockchain should have. I suggested that;

_{Excerpts of my chat on the newspaper channel.}

• Some topics like steem price or the prices of the top 30 crypto currency can be done in small boxes at the bottom of each post. It doesn't have to be a whole story.

• We need to do columns. These columns would have our thoughts devoid of commenting on someone's post on steemit. I mean you have thoughts on cryptocurrency and blockchain tech, then create a column for it and share those thoughts.

You have thoughts on education, writing, literature, editing on steemit, share it. You have thoughts on traveling, blogging, culture, food, homesteading, share it.

This can be where we open the minds of our readers to the uniqueness of the paper. This will separate it from the newsletters and curation reports that abound the steemit platform

• We can pick posts from different niches that we consider good and talk about it, ending with the link to the post itself. In this way, we are not just curating, we are analysing and probably giving post feedback.

• We can create a template where the page can be broken into four sides; left and right, up and down and we can have our columns, news, etc in them

• We can have a post that summarises the highlights of the week. Who won what, how many newbies came in, steem performance during the week, etc. Something like a weekly round up

• Moneyinfant used to compile a list of all the contests going on steemit but he has stopped. We can take over that duty now. So daily contest links should be a part of our posts

• Every week we would encourage someone that does well in his or her niche to write a post for us. He or she would be our guest contributor and he or she would get a percentage of post payout. It could be a newbie or a whale or a witness.

• We need to have an interview segment for discord admins, discord radio heads etc. We need to look into the hidden parts of steemit. Discord activities is mostly hidden. We can show how much is going on behind the scenes

Also for witnesses, developers of Dapps, people from utopian, steemcleaners, steem.chat, etc. These people interact with the platform daily and they have stories to tell.

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_{-I have made some minor edits to this bullet points list to make it suitable for steemit quality.😂}

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Some of the aforementioned ideas were taken into consideration and deliberated upon. Some were picked and some were amended. Other members put their thoughts on the table concerning the content of the paper and gradually we were able to get a sense of what the paper would be like.

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Due to the fact that the project is to be presented to the steemit platform as well as to the judges of the sndbox quest, I decided to write the draft of a proposal detailing the aims and objectives of the paper, the structure of the staff, the plan of action, content creation, etc. The draft was appreciated by my fellow project friends and @revisesociology added the contents of the draft to the whitepaper which he had written earlier.

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_{The draft of the proposal which I submitted to the group. Parts of it will be found in the final proposal if approved.}

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We moved on to look at the sections where each topic would appear in the template and I suggested that we had the sections separated in a box-like form which would contain the major topics spread across the days of the weeks, then at the bottom, there would be columns for columnists would be either ourselves or guest contributors. I even drew a diagram to express my thought 😂

_{My rough diagram depicting a possible arrangement topic section}

It's rough and not too clear, I know. Well it was not for an art contest, just a rush job to make a point. I feel i was able to get the point across. @superoo7 created a template with the ideas we all dropped concerning the arrangement of the sections

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We also considered an average of a 500-1000 words as suitable for news as well as columns. We felt that the columns should not overshadow the news content in each post.

We at present taking responsibility for certain topics that fit into our skill sets, the white paper is almost done and ideas are pouring in.

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CONCLUSION

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The most amazing part of this experience so far is that we do not have a leader per se. @gabriellecd is the account manager and that is as close to a leader as we have gotten to. Yet, even as we have disagreed on certain points or ideas, we have flowed along like we were made to work together. Everyone has been matured, invested, curious, willing to adapt, willing to push this project to the finish line. If that is not decentralization at work, I don't know what is.

I am grateful for these people, I tell you. I think the first step to a great project is having people who are in agreement working together as a team. Where there is cohesion, things tend to move faster.

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I will like to use the opportunity to give a shout to to all the team members of Steem Newspaper Project, you guys are awesome.

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Hopefully, we would come out with a project proposal and a project that will not only tickle the fancy of the judges of this final quest but also you, the potential subscriber to this paper.

As for me, I am learning, making friends, having fun, and living my dream. Thank you and stay steeming.

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All pictures used were gotten from the Steem Newspaper project channel on the Sndbox quest discord server except otherwise stated.

Peace,

©warpedpoetic, 2018.