Hive is a social media platform imo, a blockchain, and a relatively new community, born from the womb of an aging blockchain, haunted by the shadow of Steemit, Inc's invisible centralization claws, and with its fork, the vast majority of us have been reborn on this blockchain, we have continued friendly relations with those who have decided to migrate here, and last but not least, we have continued to expand our horizons and meet new people.
That's what the person who was deeply disappointed by the announcement made by Justin Sun and Ned about the acquisition of Steemit, Inc by Justin Sun says, and I also admit that I did not believe very strongly in the success of this project. Yeah l know that we haven't climbed the highest peak, we aren't talked about on CNN or BBC, and that even some exchanges can't conceive the fact that we don't have a CEO but... I also know that the role of large stake holders weighs quite heavily in this blockchain, but at the same time I consider that the community is not of a negligible amount at all.
I have been active in the Steem ecosystem for more than two years, and I continue that on Hive, and I honestly admit that I am still learning, am still broadening my horizons and I have not yet learned from my mistakes. Seeing that there are quite a few who join us, almost daily, and that this blockchain arena is growing fast, I felt that I should talk about a huge mistake that I made and that a newcomer should avoid.
The lone wolf path. Ever since I created my account on Steem, I have strongly embraced the status of the content creator, and this is my only contribution to this social media platform. Even from the first days of activity in the Steem waters, all I was most interested in was producing content, daily. I remember that in the first weeks I spent about 8 hours a day posting, thinking my posts, documenting myself on the topics I blogged about, and scheduling my posts for the next day, all to get closer to what I thought it was perfection. What a huge mistake ...
Hive is not a waste depot, and it is by no means a kind of open market in which the customer/seller contact takes place without requiring a certain visual contact or without any kind of interaction. On the contrary, being a social media platform, the very idea of going out into this world and communicating, meeting people, and expressing your opinion freely and directly, is exactly what any new Hive user should do.
It is true that when you step into the world of Hive, and especially in its living room, the trending page, and see that whole plethora of posts voted by fat whales, and the attention that these posts benefit from, it starts to rain in your mouth, and a slice of that juicy pie seems more than desirable, and spending a few hours in front of a screen to create that incredible post that will propel you to the trending page, is all that matters. Nothing can stop you, it seems that you have everything you need to fulfill this desire, you hit the post button and...
...nothing. You do it again, and again, until at some point when someone, who matters from an HP point of view, notices you, and from a rewards point of view, your efforts are not in vain, at least for a moment, but it's just a one time prey... and everything gets frustrating. Even more frustrating is that almost no one feels like commenting on your posts, because you're invisible, and everything you saw on the trending page, and everything you imagined becomes nothing more than a chimera... You start to get discouraged into dedicating more time to this project, and you believe more and more that everything revolves only around a circle of friends taping each others backs, and that there is no point in continuing. But where did you go wrong?
Where did I go wrong? Because this whole scenario describes my own experience somewhat, and it's not just an exercise of imagination. Well... I think I was completely wrong when I considered Hive/Steem to be just a milking cow tied to a posting button, or a silent market where I should lay my thoughts and ideas, and the few amateur pictures I felt I could share with you, those who still visit my blog from time to time, and leave them to be tasted by stray hungry people. I'm not the only one who made this mistake, and I certainly won't be the last. Like me, there are many examples of lone wolves, but what these wolves do not know is that you can live much better in the pack, and the success of the hunt will often be guaranteed, and it's more fun also.
All those I followed and envied(yeah I envied) because they had posts featured on the trending page, over and over again, and which had become popular, have started from scratch, as I did. The only difference was that they knew how to sell. I noticed this in my collaboration in the field of tourism as well, which I had last year with a friend. The moment you communicate, you make yourself pleasant, and you do what you do with a strong vibe, people will show up, they will respond to your communication, and you will have something to gain, even if not's just $.
Communicating and building strong relationships on Hive, as in everyday life, makes the difference between a magnetic blog and one covered in spider webs. Hive is still a social media platform, at least in my opinion, and being social seems to be a must to make it, or brake it. I don't encourage follow for follow strategies, and I've never done that but, I think interaction is important and constructive, sometimes even with people you don't have much in common with, or lest say not entirely in tune.
Ideally, we should surround ourselves with people with whom we can fully resonate, but this is difficult to achieve and almost impossible. As I confessed to @acidyo today, when I commented to his post, I decided to follow him for certain of his posts, not for everything he posts usually. I find it hard to believe that you will find a user on Hive to appreciate and devour anything "he loads up your feed with". I'm sure I'm in the same situation with my blog, and I'm glad it is so.
The ideal of communication, in my opinion, is not to find that person with whom you can always agree, but to be able to communicate with anyone, even when you do not agree with everyone's opinions, to find the common denominator, and to give it value, for both parties. If any new user reads this post, I ask you not to make the same mistake I made, and to isolate yourself from the community.
No matter how strange, unique or undesirable you think you are, be sure there are ten more that look like you. You just have to look for them, and you'll find them, or they'll find you. You may not completely agree with everything they believe, do, or say, but in the end, you can say that you have your community, or that you are part of a community, and this is a gain, not a loss. Instead, devoting eight hours a day to creating..something, just to see your creation left in a dusty corner, is truly a waste.
Thanks for attention,
Adrian