RE: What do you think about changes in Steemit Engagement Challenges?
First I like to answer to something you mentioned in your post about lessons hosted in WOX: people complained they could not join the lessons because they had to buy all the stuff!
Sorry, to say this but everyone can paint or draw. We can use mud, sand, lemonade, pen, ink it doesn't matter even our blood if we want to. What is lacking here is the creativity of the teacher and the participant.
We do not need to buy expensive brushes we can paint with our fingers, sticks, a piece of cloth, dry grass, and a piece of sponge (I used that frequently).
If people will participate in challenges and if it helps depends on those who join and the will of the participant. I applied and will not do this alone and like said in the rules there's no need to post in one community only. So why should small communities not benefit from this?
I noticed that if it comes to small communities they can be divided in two:
- The very creative ones who do not feel home at the big communities because they are just a number, and the only engagement is the moderator's report
- Small communities where there's no improvement if it comes to writing/posting something good.
If it comes to the (by now former) SEC contests and more traffic to my opinion that didn't happen. Those who join are SEC-HUnters and only post in that community because of that contest.
A good example is @solperez with her excellent contest: Art & Writing. Hardly no one joins but those who do are very creative.
As this community finally was allowed to host an SEC contest they used this concept and guess what? Suddenly this contest was not "hard" to join. As soon as the SEC period was over all those who joined the SEC Art & Writing left! How come not even 10 people stayed?
I do not think you were on Steemit when WOX hosted its Visual art challenge but it was really true, that after such comment about lack of stuff for drawing, I made an example and took a simple piece of paper and a ball-pen and made my drawing with blue pen, suggesting and encouraging people just grab anything and do create.
But I was pleased to hear your feedback as completely independent person regarding:
It is true, we see often street artists drawing with chalks on asphalt or people doing sandcastle on beach just for the time of low tide not because they do to get appreciation but because they love to create.
It is indeed the case that SEC brings more user traffic to communities and despite of being active 6 weeks in the communities the crowd disappears just after SEC finishes. That is really a shame but it is not possible to force people to stay anywhere, that is just life, communities will either survive of disappear we have see that already many times.
I am not sure if I was around or visited WOX at that time or perhaps I only had a quick look. WOX looks great, with a topic and has a face of it's own but to me it's overwhelming as well. Perhaps not if I still would have my photocameras and was taking photos like I used to do (in a way I still am because if I go out I stand still and click with my children make ask: Are you taking a photo again!).
We can use concrete, gips, and indeed chalk. I did it many times and with a bit wafter it looks like watercolour and it can be saved with hairspray, coal from the woodfire is an option, lipstick, tea, coffee, and so on.
Perhaps it's good to teach something like this and show how to paint with different materials?
Sand can be "glued" on paper as well to make a drawing, and dried flowers, leaves, and grass, are great for making paintings. It's what we already learn as a toddler.
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