It is a couple of months since the last Steem Debate looked at the Steemit Engagement Challenge.
There was a general consensus amongst those who commented on that Debate post that change was needed for the Engagement Challenge.
Since then in Season 19 Steemit Inc made some changes with the introduction of the Teaching Teams.
Have Teaching Teams worked? Is that the right direction for the Engagement Challenge? Are more changes needed?
Teaching Teams were introduced in Season 19 as an alternative to the usual Challenges run by communities.
There are currently four Teaching Teams providing weekly lessons and assignments in the areas of teaching, cooking, electronics and web development.
They are definitely a welcome change for the Engagement Challenge but unfortunately participation numbers have been considerably lower than in the standard community challenges.
Do these low numbers indicate that the Teaching Team concept is not suitable for the audience on Steem?
Or is it that the teaching topics are not of interest, or the lessons are too difficult, or not presented well enough?
Should the Teaching Teams be continued in Season 20, or should something else be tried?
Amongst the comments on the last Debate post there was a common feeling that the Engagement Challenge should be used to generate more worthwhile and better quality content.
Not being so restrictive on the challenges, and giving people more freedom to write would help produce better content.
The Challenge posts, and the required commenting, have all become very forced and of little attractiveness.
The big question is how can the Engagement Challenge be restructured to produce more valuable content that is more interesting for people already on Steem, and also more attractive to the wider world through search engine discovery?
A secondary question is whether the Engagement Challenge might be more useful to the platform if it is freed from the constraints of being tied to specific communities?
In the comments on the last Debate post @rashid001 remembered the Better Life with Steem initiative Steemit Inc introduced during the 1000 Days of Steem program...
This is not a game or a challenge, but rather an invitation to tell us about the positive things you are doing to improve your own life, your family's, your community and the planet.
We are inviting you to write under these seven themes...
Acts of Kindness [ #actsofkindness ]
This could include volunteering with a charity, cooking for an elderly neighbor, helping a local youth club, giving a home to a stray dog...
Planet Positives [ #planetpositives ]
This could include planting trees, recycling bottles, installing a photovoltaic system, cleaning a local river...
Grow Your Own [ #growyourown ]
This could include growing your own food in a window box, a backyard, a garden or even a farm. And it might also be about raising chickens, ducks, pigs or any other animals for food...
Crafty Content [ #craftycontent ]
This could include any sorts of craft from knitting and crochet, to woodwork and metalwork. Or maybe jewelry making, or pottery...
Crypto and Me [ #cryptoandme ]
This could include how you are using cryptocurrencies to help improve your life. Which cryptos you use, and how you use them, for trading, or for transactions or payments. Your favorite exchanges...
Mind, Body and Spirit [ #mindbodyspirit ]
This could include what you do to look after the health and wellbeing of you and your family, including natural remedies, fitness training, yoga, meditation...
Learn With Steem [ #learnwithsteem ]
This could include any skills you are learning, or courses you are taking. Or it might include teaching or training you are giving to others...
Could a framework like this be recycled and repurposed for a new look Engagement Challenge?
These broad subject areas could be used as writing guides, but still give writers considerable scope for free thinking and variety.
It would also be good to find some way to use the Engagement Challenge to encourage and reward the small band of developers who are working to bring improvements and new opportunities to the platform.
Taking this Better Life approach would though raise the question of how this would fit in with communities?
Are the Teaching Teams a good development for the Engagement Challenge?
Should there be further changes as well as the Teaching Teams?
Would writing themes like the Better Life themes be a good way to bring more freedom and variety to the Engagement Challenge?
If so how should they be managed and administered?
The Engagement Challenge is one of the long running 'economic instruments' that Steemit Inc uses to support and stimulate activity on Steem.
It would be good to find ways of using it more optimally as a marketing tool to generate higher quality content that might attract new people to the platform.
Using Steem for teaching and learning through the Teaching Teams is certainly a worthy goal but it might need some refinement.
Steemit Inc seems to be open to suggestions for improvements.
It is up to all of us to put forward our thoughts and ideas.
Thank you
Pennsif