Interviewing the SteemSTEM Curators - @alexs1320

steemstem (73)in #steemstem • 5 years ago (edited)

The Curators of SteemSTEM

What do they do? Well, their tasks include searching for new STEM authors, evaluating and reviewing STEM articles, conducting thorough searches for plagiarism and they are the people who will suggest whether or not a STEM article has to be upvoted and supported by @steemstem.

Let's get to know the Curators better, shall we?

A community gets bigger and stronger as its members work together, get to know each other, learn from each other. Evolve. Flourish.

Who are the curators of SteemSTEM? How long are they going through the STEM posts? What makes a post unique according to them? Is their job easy?

As we continue the interviews, we hope that we entertain but mostly we inspire you for even more creative and original STEM posts!

In this post @alexs1320 is interviewed by @katerinaramm!

If you have any extra questions or thoughts, feel free to let someone from the PR team know!

Let the curtain open!

Our very first interview was with our curator @ruth-girl, who inspired us greatly, and we continued with interviewing Gianluca (aka @aboutcoolscience) who let us know more about how cool science is and can be.

This time we bring before you Aleksandar (@alexs1320)!

Aleksandar will be celebrating his fist Steemiversary in November 2018, and he has been a very active member of the community. Let's see what he shared with us in this interview!

Q - Hi Alex, thank you for taking the time to reply to our questions! Let us know a few things about yourself: What is your real (first) name? What do you do, where are you from, how long have you been on Steem and what are your hobbies?

A - As you could rightly assume, my first name is Aleksandar. I'm from Serbia, a small country in South-Eastern Europe. I discovered Steemit by pure chance after a FB debate about BTC right around the time when I made my CV-like blog. It was almost a year ago. I like outdoor activities, cycling, photography, cars and military history.

Q - What do the numbers after your name mean?

A - When I opened my first email, I wanted to be "132" in the name of the very first car I've driven (when I was 10 or 11). It was a lovely Fiat 132, dark blue, with unforgetable engine noise. Unfortunately 132 was already taken, so I added 0.

Q - How long have you been a curator for SteemSTEM?

A - At first I became a curator for the local language community, YU-STEM, in winter 2018. Since spring 2018 I became "global curator" as well.

Q - How and when did it all start?

A - I asked @lemouth if we could create our local community, and he said "yes" :)

Q - How often do you curate?

A - Several times a day, when I'm taking a break from other activities.

Q - What is the first thing that you take into consideration when curating?

A - Competence. If I see the post from a respected author, it's easy to curate, because they are real experts in their respected fields. We have never experienced any problems with them. On the other hand, if I spot a new author, I check their background and very often it rings the alarm in my head.

Q - Tell us something that really gives you a great first impression when you see a SteemSTEM post. (It could have to do with the chosen topic, images, structure etc)

A - In my opinion, good post can only be writen if the author is devoted to the certain topic. When you see such post, you can notice the details that you can't find on Wiki or daily newspapers. This is why I like to see that the author is consistently writing about something from their area of expertise. On the other hand, it's incredibly easy to notice if someone is rephrasing the text.

Q - Do you have a favorite scientific topic that you have fun reading and reviewing over any others?

A - Biology... And the posts written by real enthusiasts. I would like to see more tech, but good tech, from the first hand experience, not "how stuff works".

Q - Tell us something that really makes you disappointed or angry when you see a SteemSTEM post. (It could have to do with the chosen topic, images, structure etc)

A - I can't stand Wiki and Book re-wording. Books are made by real experts and if I want to read a book - I'll take a book. Wiki is free and there is no reason to upvote something that is a degraded free content.

I want to read what YOU are doing. What is YOUR hobby, YOUR interests. Wiki and Books are not adding any value. It's actually harming us all.

Just imagine the potential investor, checking the platform... "Wow, I could buy those coins that are given for plagiarism, so I could earn more coins to foster more low-quality content." What is the value of that? It's Zero, 0. We are representing a brand. If we can make something good and put our posts on the very first page in Google Search (and many authors can do it), we are promoting the whole platform and project. This is why I'm advocating for fostering excellence, competence and originality.

Q - What would be your advice to both the old and new authors who wish to join SteemSTEM but do not know where to start?

A - Write about the topics you are passionate about. About the topics that you really know. About the things you really do.

Q - If you could interview anyone from SteemSTEM, who would it be and ask him/her one question now?

A - @dber, where are you man, we are missing you?!

Q - If you could have any job in the world, what would you choose?

A - I think that life is just. After the 30th birthday, most people are positioned where they feel comfortable. When you are choosing a job, you need a balance between earnings, time and interests. I'm very happy with my current situation.

Q - Would you like to tell us what other projects you support besides SteemSTEM?

A - I'm involved in DaVinci-Utopian translations and I think that SteemQ will be a great project. And of course, teamserbia and teamslovenia have my attention as well.

I'm also daydreaming about my own history related project.

Q - Could you describe in as few words as possible what science means to you?

A - Pushing the boundaries, driven by curiosity and devotion.

Q - We've seen you gain a reputation as somebody who takes no sh**. If you could give any advice to yourself and to the people who provoke you, what would it be?

A - I need to explain this in more detail, so you can understand my atypical behavior for a young, well-educated European.

First, I'm not angry at all. I simply know how to speak to specific sorts of people.

In Serbia, we don't have no-go zones, ZUP/ZUS, whatever. We are living together. University professors next to a sportsmen and convicted criminals and the odd creepy guy. We are spending many hours outside the house and consequently we are encountering all those people. You can't communicate in the same way with a person with 120 IQ points and 70 IQ points. They can't understand your logic, your arguments, your words...

When you are encountering very angry people with low IQ, willing to fight for no reason, you need to know how to defend yourself. You need to be prepared to use the words, very bad words and physical force. You need to show the attitude that you are more powerful, that you are more dominant and that you are not going to obey their silly rules.

Those Western generations born after 1990 are so soft I can't imagine. Someone sent me hate mail. So what, don't read. I need a safe space to mourn because Trump won. And that is going to change what? Someone is begging me for a vote/ removal from the blacklist. Send them to hell, they don't deserve any mercy!

And the most important lesson: people don't change. Ever. Don't even try to fix them.

Q - What is your wish for SteemSTEM?

A - To cut all sick branches and start growing again.

Q - Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A - In Alpistan (my expression for SWI, AUT, SLO and northern ITA).

Q - Where do you see SteemSTEM in 5 years?

A - Difficult question... There are way too many factors.

It could be just a distant memory, or it could be the logo of our Lambo.

Thank you Alex!

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