There are two ways to earn rewards on Steem. It's either through posting or through curation. Many are more concerned with the posting aspect, while neglecting curation. For some, because of their busy schedules, they use bots to automate accounts and tags they want to curate.

Some others prefer to read the content before they decide if they'll upvote it. Which category do you fall into? Would you prefer manual curations? Today, we'll be looking at a website that aids manual curators. We will also consider how the site is faring amidst other tools.

https://img.esteem.ws/wm4smw5zrg.jpg

#### Repository

https://github.com/mightypanda-x/steem-curator

##### URL: https://steemcurator.com/

#### What is Steem Curator? 
It is a tool by @mightypanda which is used to maximize curation rewards by scanning through various bot activities on Steem. It finds the best contents to upvote before the big upvotes comes. That way tangible curation rewards are earned for votes that are casted. The website primarily focuses on Utopian contributions.

I tried the tool many months ago, when it was created. I used it mostly for cross checking tool. Whenever I'm on Steem, I try to upvote Utopian posts with low rewards. When I feel I may have missed some, that's when this nice tool comes in.

Steem Curator currently supports comment curations from about 12 bid bots, also contributions on Utopian and Utopian moderators' comments. 

https://img.esteem.ws/i29r7u4wb4.jpg
<sub><i>• Snapshot of steemcurator.com with Comment Curation selected</i></sub>

#### Comment Curation
This is the least effective feature the website has, and it does not function properly as it ought to. Sometimes, it displays utopian contributions as bids. The purpose is actually to show links to comments that were paid to be upvoted by bid bots. Bid bots on the website's watch list include: _boomerang, brupvoter, onlyprofitbot, thebot, minnowvotes, emperorofnaps, oceanwhale, edensgarden, upyourpost, a-bot, jeck1_ and _brandonfrye_. 

Not a big fan of bid bots, perhaps the reason I haven't tried this feature out yet. Since the bids the websites watches out for are comments bids, it is the least active tab on the website.

The website shows the _sender, post text, bid amount, current votes, current payout_ and _action_, including a _link_ to your favourite steem front end. Upvotes are not carried out on the Steemcurator.com website. 

https://img.esteem.ws/v3hnfxtloc.jpg
<sub><i>• Screenshots showing posts waiting for review and posts waiting for Utopian upvote</i></sub>

#### Utopian Posts
The _Utopian Posts' tab_ shows contributions that are made on Utopian. This category shows two lists - list of posts that are _waiting for review_ and list of posts that are _waiting for Utopian upvote_. Posts that are approved on the list awaiting review, later appear on the list awaiting Utopian upvote. It shows the _author, category, title, number of posts, current payout_ and _actions_.

If you contributed to Utopian and your post appears on any of the lists, the post is _highlighted_ with a pale yellow colour. 

https://img.esteem.ws/6146t0ugyi.jpg
<sub><i>• Image showing Utopian moderators comments</i></sub>

#### Utopian comments (Moderators comments)
Usually, _Utopian_ rewards its moderators through _comments_ they left on reviewed posts. Steem Curator takes that into account, this _tab_ displays comments from Utopian's moderators. The tab shows _the author (the moderator's username), Perm link (link to comment), votes (number of upvotes), current payout (amount in $)_ and _actions (determines if you have upvoted the post already)_.
 
The _action tab_ is one of the interesting features of the website, it notifies if you have upvoted the post already.

If you previously upvoted the post with any Steem condenser, there is usually a _green check mark_ beneath the Action column. At times the website is unable to determine if a post is upvoted already. When that happens, there is usually a _red exclamation mark_ under the Action column, in the post's row.

https://img.esteem.ws/jl1wg6pok4.jpg
<sub><i>• Screenshots of steemcurator.com settings</i></sub>

#### Settings
Steem Curator's settings gives you a box to input your Steem username. It also gives the option to select your favourite front end within: _steemit.com, busy.org_ and _steemitstage.com_. A link to your preferred front end is what appears in the different tabs - _comments curation, utopian posts_ and _utopian comments_. My preferred selection there is Steemit, so any link I click redirects me to Steemit.  

#### Security
The website does not require you to log in with any of your keys. All it requires is your username, which it uses in determining if you have upvoted a post. That makes it _secured_. Some Steem users are even skeptical to use their keys on Steemconnect, which is the most trusted security layer on the Steem blockchain. Steemcurator put all of such skepticism to rest.

#### Steem Curator vs Utopian.rocks
Both are good tools. But you may wonder, _since Utopian.rocks exists already, what is the need for steemcurator.com?_ Also, _since Steem Curator focuses on Utopian, isn't that what Utopian.rocks does?_

Yeah, those are good questions. On a normal day I'll want to start a chit chat about how competition is good and all... _But not today_. 

Actually, anyone can go to the Utopian.rocks website and get the latest info on Utopian contributions, but Steem curator _aids curation better_. Steem Curator makes it easier and faster to curate posts and comments by including _time, votes, payout_ and _action_ (lets you know if you already voted). Utopian.rocks only tells time, it doesn't have the other features.

The edge Utopian.rocks has over Steem Curator, is the vote prediction time. Utopian.rocks tells when Utopian contributions would be upvoted, which Steem Curator doesn't. The vote time isn't very accurate though, because Utopian bot votes on contributions within the last 13 hours of payout even when it's recovering voting power. This affects the voting time of all other posts in the queue. 

Also, in future updates Steem Curator would be including an _automation feature_. That would create a wide gab between both tools. The features would include auto upvoting contents that would yield a higher curation rewards. 

#### Suggestions
As the name implies, _Steem Curator_, I think it should contain all possible curation tools. One of which is a curation reward estimator.

<b>A curation reward estimator</b>. An estimator similar to that of _Steem Bot Tracker_ could be implemented. With the _curation reward estimator_, a curator would be able to figure out the expected curation rewards one may earn from an upvoted post.

The website is not really mobile friendly. That could be improved too. Complete web (and/or UI) redesign would also be great.

#### Conclusion 
Steem Curator is a functional tool for the savvy curators. Also, for those thinking about how they can maximize curation rewards while supporting open source projects, Steem Curator may be what you need.

_Tell me what you think. Enjoy your Sunday comrades._

#### Official links

   • [Steem Curator](https://steemcurator.com)
   • [Steem Curator on Github](https://github.com/mightypanda-x/steem-curator)
   • [Introducing my new project: Steem Curator](https://steemit.com/curation/@mightypanda/introducing-my-new-project-steem-curator) by @mightypanda


#### Series Backlinks

This is the first post of the series.

#### Extra 
Talking about curation. A list of the <a href="https://zerofy.ng/best-websites-to-watch-anime-online/">best websites to watch anime online</a> have been curated for your viewing pleasure. If you are an utako you'd definitely love these websites.