Curator FAQs
So what exactly do I do on Smashing?
Smashing is your new home for discovering, reading, and sharing the most Worthwhile articles and perspectives on the Internet in the topics you’re most interested in.
Let’s say while hacking your way through your Inbox you realize you missed a newsletter from a few weeks back. Once you begin reading it, you can’t stop. You feel that every other person who loves writing—actually, everyone who’s just wondering what’s really going on with generative AI—will want to read this, too.
So you visit Smashing.xyz and click Add Content. Turns out other members of the community agree it’s an awesome article because it is already has 20 Worthwhile votes in Smashing. But that seems low to you and you decide to give it another 10 because it’s the best thing you’ve read all week. (Each day you receive 30 Worthwhile votes.)
Now, when other curators discover the post on Smashing, read it, and also find it to be incredible—as you know they will—you earn Curator Points when they add Worthwhile votes to it.
What is a Curator?
Anyone who adds a new piece of content to Smashing, or votes for something as being Worthwhile, is a Curator. That’s because they’re helping identify something they consider to be Worthwhile in a topic they’re interested in (or not Worthwhile, as the case may be).
And, yes, many of us are already doing this on other social platforms. But a frustrating lesson most of us have learned by now is that no social platform was designed to expressly help users discover content, and the signal to junk ratio is bad. Really bad. That’s why we’ve built Smashing.
What does Worthwhile mean?
Worthwhile means “worth your time.” While that is ultimately a subjective determination made by Curators, common traits that the majority of Worthwhile content share are: it’s insightful, accurate, and relevant. It can also be inspiring, or entertaining, or instructional.
If you’ve ever shared an article on what used to be called Twitter and tweeted “Wow, this is a must-read” (and we know you have), whatever article you shared, that is what we mean by Worthwhile content.
If you’ve ever sent a group text to your closest friends saying, “Long but very much worth the read.” That too is worthwhile content. And if you’ve Slacked your colleagues a the link to a podcast with the message, “Some fascinating ideas in this that can really change the way we’re thinking about launch.” Exactly, very Worthwhile.
Sounds awesome. But what’s in it for me?
Very glad you asked. For starters, you’re going to be an integral part of a group of other amazing, interesting people, which we are certain will create value through their curation, thoughts, and recommendations. And if you’re getting value out, we hope you add value back in. That cumulative curation signal will benefit everyone—the community curation signal will be much more than the sum of its parts.
We also strongly believe that platforms deliver more value to their users when they try to do less, and not be everything to everyone. Remember when Instagram was a photo sharing platform for photography nerds? Yeah, us too—it was awesome!
Smashing will be focused on doing one thing better than anyone us—helping users discover and share the most worthwhile content on the Internet for the topics they are most interested in.
Which means when you share Worthwhile content on Smashing, it’s going to have much more impact than on other platforms. Your Worthwhile votes will spark new conversations and connections with other passionate learners and nerds. And you’ll be able to discover new worthwhile voices and ideas without having to hack your way through the garbage that fills the rest of your social feeds.
TL;DR: quicker, easier, and way more rewarding. Also, makes you feel good!
What are Curation Points (CP)?
Good curators are rewarded with Curator Points for being right about what’s worthwhile to others. If Reddit’s karma are “fake Internet points,” Smashing’s CP are real expressions of in-system reputation from other users who found your curation work to be helpful, valuable, and relevant to the topic.
How does CP work?
Any time you add worthwhile content to Smashing and another user adds a worthwhile vote to it, you earn CP. The three variables that determine how much CP you earn are:
- How early you were in adding your Worthwhile vote
- How many Worthwhile votes you added (the daily allotment for all users is 30)
- The higher the CP of other users to subsequently add Worthwhile votes, the more CP you will earn (i.e. the algo is weighted)
The earlier and more “committed” you are, the greater the potential return in CP. While you can continue to earn CP on content for however long subsequent users discover it and find it to be Worthwhile, the CP algorithm decays over time, so the returns will eventually diminish relative to the earlier ones received on that content. All of which is to say, finding the most worthwhile content across the Internet and curating it to Smashing is the most effective way to earn CP. (Please note that, since this is a beta, we do plan on experimenting with the CP algorithm.)
Do negative Worthwhile votes on content I added result in my losing CP?
They can. To be clear, you only gain (or lose) CP based on what happens after you give Worthwhile votes. Whatever occurred before is irrelevant. So say you give a piece of content a negative Worthwhile vote and subsequent users, on net, add more Worthwhile votes than negative, you will lose some of your CP. But if those users who follow you add, in net, more negative Worthwhile votes than positive, then you’ll gain CP. Also, the system calculates and issues CP in real-time based on other user activity. You’ll then receive an email notifying you of any changes in your CP.
Can I follow other curators, and can they follow me?
Not yet, but it’s on our product roadmap. We’d love your feedback on how useful this would be to you.
So who else is in the Beta Curators Community?
Trusted friends, advisors, investors, and a few others who all really want an app that makes it easy to follow their interests across the Internet. Put another way: we want to read and listen to what the smartest people on the Internet are reading and listening to. And we think you’re one of them. (Smashing is currently a private beta available only to individuals identified and invited by us, the cofounders, so yes, you’re kind of a big deal!)
The metric by which content is measured on other social platforms is popularity. On Smashing, it’s how Worthwhile our Curators (yep, actual humans like yourself) who take the time to read, listen to, and then vote that content to be. While reading or listening to a podcast is a solitary act, we believe the act of curating it on Smashing is one that benefits a larger community. That is the community we are building.
This is awesome!! When can I invite my friends?
As soon as we complete the beta!