How does the Curator System work?

[Kickz]

I don't seems to get how this curator system works.

About a month ago I logged in and STEAM showed me the great new feature and promoted it by telling me that everyone can become a curator and this is how you do it.

As at the same time I started my own let's play channel on YouTube I thought it to be a great idea to expand on that.

So I created my curator page, added recommendations for 10 games and linked to my STEAM reviews I wrote in the past.

However, it seems that my recommendations are simply ignored and that only the most popular curators will show up on a game store page or none at all.

Take Galcon Legends for example. I actually enjoyed that game and I left a standard review on the 12th of July 2014 and then added my recommendation with my curator group on September 23rd 2014.

However, if I visit the store page on my user, another user or not logged into STEAM at all I see no curator recommendations at all.

I don't mind not being visible if all the top dogs have recommendations there already, though that is a separate issue in it's own right and not relevant for this post.

But not being visible at when there is not a single other recommendation is kind of taking the mickey!

Why is that?
So how does this system work then?
Why does STEAM tell me everyone can be a curator if clearly the recommendations are ignored of curators not popular?

Is it a bias setup to only allow already famous personalities to promote?

I would love to figure this out as I would hate having to SPAM my curator page on every social network to get followers first before my opinion on STEAM matters enough so that at least my recommendation is visible if I'm the only one recommending it!

[Pax]

As you recommand more and more you will be visible. Atm becouse of your low activity only your friends will see on they store page the games you recommand.

The better you recommand the games the more Followers you will get and the more visible you will be.

Its not fare that you with 2 - 3 - 5 followers to be visible and the groups with 903294 followers not. Work hard ... gain more. ;)

[Kickz]

Originally posted by Danii:

As you recommand more and more you will be visible. Atm becouse of your low activity only your friends will see on they store page the games you recommand.

The better you recommand the games the more Followers you will get and the more visible you will be.

Its not fare that you with 2 - 3 - 5 followers to be visible and the groups with 903294 followers not. Work hard ... gain more. ;)

Thanks for the constructive reply. It is very much appreciated.

If that is how it works for now then fair enough I just have to continue doing what I'm doing and hope I get good enough in the future to have the support.

I just thought it was odd that even games nobody else recommended you are not visible :)

I feel it is like joining into a PvP arena as a level 1 when all your opponents are lvl 95 with iLevel 500 gear :)

Ah well. It is a new system and I'm sure STEAM does see it is being monopolized at the moment and surely will update it going forward.

[-SambaL-]

I've been wondering the exact same thing.

I have close to 60 recommandations up until now and none of them are showing up
on any of the store pages.
Now i'm not in it for fame, fortune and smoking hot women, i'd just like to give my opinion and if it's worth spending money on or not. But i'm not much help this way now am i. I rather feel like i'm wasting my time to be quite honest.

[Kickz]

Originally posted by -SambaL-:

I've been wondering the exact same thing.

I have close to 60 recommandations up until now and none of them are showing up
on any of the store pages.
Now i'm not in it for fame, fortune and smoking hot women, i'd just like to give my opinion and if it's worth spending money on or not. But i'm not much help this way now am i. I rather feel like i'm wasting my time to be quite honest.

I really hope they update the system.

Randomly take Scribblenauts store page for example:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/218680/

I see TotalBiscuit, Anime 1.0 and Northernlion. I'm subbes to TB and NL, love them :)

BUT...I'm sure many many other curators have recommended this game but no matter how many times I reload that store page, those 3 curators are all that's showing.

Even if a game is recommended by all top 10 curators you will only see the same ones on the store page. That's crap! I would want to see all top 10 curator recommendations and the way to do that would be to include all curator's recommendation randomly select 5 (or what ever the number) they display each time you load the page. So all get their fair chance of exposure.

You see, this is not only about me not being seen (I'm small, I don't count, I know that!) but all the top 20-30 curators who recommend the same games should get the same amount of fair display time. Period!

You might rightfully ask if I would I be writing this if I'd be TB or any of the other greats.

I would hope I would as my above point still would be valid. Even if I would be TB and recommended a game I'm not showing up on at the store page I would want my fair chance to have my recommendation seen there too and on games I'm showing up all the time I would want other's to have their chance as well.

:)

[slim_08_shady]

lfffffffff

[-SambaL-]

I agree. I liked the idea of the curator system initially but in it's current state it's highly user unfriendly, not to mention unproductive for the "small timers".

I even asked 1 of my Steam friends to check out the Red Alert 3 store page where i am supposed to be the only curator who left a recommandation but he couldn't see it either. So what, i am the only one that can see it unless i beg people to check out my Curator page?

[Gana]

I actually *don't* want curator recommendations showing from people who aren't proven somehow, -- that have nothing to lose if their recommendations are bad, thoughtless, or are for attention. Nothing personal intended toward you guys, but that is what game reviews down below are for.

Build up a following, gain a reputation/some credibility, and then maybe Steam will let your recommendations show.

[-SambaL-]

Fair enough, but then Steam should give you the means to do so, or at least tell you that instead of telling everyone "Now you can be a Curator too!" And that's what i meant with the system being very limited in it's current state. People who don't like can't turn it off or filter it, and people who do like it have almost no means to properly promote themselves if they wish to be a curator.

[Gana]

I think the curator system expects people to have a following from somewhere else, for instance either a blog or youtube. In other words, I don't think it is *meant* to be built up from within Steam. Look at all the curators that do show on the store pages...most of them have a regular game review gig somewhere else.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by ganmerlad:

I think the curator system expects people to have a following from somewhere else, for instance either a blog or youtube. In other words, I don't think it is *meant* to be built up from within Steam. Look at all the curators that do show on the store pages...most of them have a regular game review gig somewhere else.

I don't think so. All those external sources you cite are a good source for subscribers, but you can totally build your community from within Steam.

[-SambaL-]

When i first laid my eyes on the whole curator thing i thought the same thing, a Steam integrated tool and extention for existing Youtubers and bloggers who are well known. But when i looked in to it and read up on it it didn't indicate this at all but rather stated the opposite, that it is for everyone who wants to put in their 2 cents worth. If they expect people to already have a following in able to be heard or seen they should've definitely put that piece of information in there don't you think, otherwise it's kinda mis-informative to say the least.

[Kickz]

Originally posted by ganmerlad:

I actually *don't* want curator recommendations showing from people who aren't proven somehow, -- that have nothing to lose if their recommendations are bad, thoughtless, or are for attention. Nothing personal intended toward you guys, but that is what game reviews down below are for.

Build up a following, gain a reputation/some credibility, and then maybe Steam will let your recommendations show.

I see your point but the system is then still broken and unfair between the big dogs themselves.

You can follow a few curators which causes the curator system to always show the recommendations of curators you follow instead of what ever default ones they pick.

That's fine and the only part in my opinion were the system excels.

However, the system is also unfair to the top dogs. It only shows 4 or 5 curator icons on the store page but doesn't randomise them.

Say the top 10 curators with all a huge following recommend a game, you only see 5 of them on the page and each time you reload the page,..well...it's the same 5.

That is unfair to the other 5, also huge curators. They need to randomise them so each time I reload the page I see a different top a-lister curator's recommendation to ensure a fair share of self-promotional display time :)

I'm not to worried about me any more as I can see having to build up a following first makes sense and I respect that, though STEAM's ability to proper communicate this is a mess :)