I have a strong dislike of social media, bloggers, and influencers.
I see Youtubers, TikTok'ers, and other people who thrive on social media and I keep thinking.
Are these people for real?
Anything for upvotes
Anything for views
Anything for an audience
But somehow I turned into a blogger
But what is the difference? Really......
I mean at its heart Ecency, Hive Blog, and PeakD are all just blogging sites. We get paid to post here. We make friends here. We interact socially here. So what sets US apart from THEM?
I'm going to say that it comes down to three things:
- Usernames aren't free
- Posts aren't free
- There is accountability
First: Usernames aren't free.
This may not seem correct because I just setup a friend with an account last week whlie onboarding them. They paid absolutely nothing! But someone on HIVE did pay Resource Credits to make that username for her! Unlike many online sites which you can get free accounts with a free email account it would be very different to setup hundreds of HIVE accounts so you can setup spambots and spam chat.
I suppose technically it is possible to get a bunch of free accounts with enough grinding but that comes up to the second point.
Second: Posts aren't free. They just don't cost anything.
That statement really had my friend scratching their head. How can it be free and not free. Well, posts cost Resource Credits. After making one post half the resource credits were gone After the second post on the next day resource credits down to 5%. No more posts for another 2-3 days while those Resource Credits build up again.
So, someone could get an army of hive names to try and flame or spam someone but without resource credits they wouldn't be able to sustain any type of spam of flame war.
Unless they really wanted to pay more for Hive tokens!
But that's the thing about trolls. When it costs them nothing to be mean then they can be awful. However, when there is a cost involved then the rules change. Which brings up the third point:
Third: There is accountability: Hive just doesn't reward bad behavior.
That's great! Sure I can say mean things in a comment from someone. Sure I can flame someone for not having the same beliefs as myself. However, I have to use my valuable resource credits to do so....and I'm not going to get upvoted if I'm mean. Mean behavior means I lose my chance at getting money.
There is real money on the line and bad behavior puts that money at risk!
But there is more. There is my reputation. If I'm new my reputation is very low and acting poorly means a few downvotes can keep me from being seen by anyone. It takes time to build a reputation and if I take all that time to build it do I really want to risk it because of poor behavior?
Which is why I'll blog on HIVE while I'd never think of blogging elsewhere. Too many flame wars, too many trolls, too much ickyness. Too many plastic people trying to mould themselves into whatever will get them likes and upvotes.
But what if I was to be an influencer?
What a weird thought that is
I have no desire to be an influencer whatsoever. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl.
However, if I was to follow that path I think I would be a very odd influencer by today's standards.
I would want to be known for honesty, integrity and authenticity. I'm happy to show you at my best and also at my worst. Read my Actifit blog and I show the good and the bad.
I would want to be known for being humble and thrifty. Forgot expensive name brands. Forget fancy foods and luxury convenience. I'd be all about living a comfortable, sustainable, active lifestyle dedicated to using less, enjoying more, and leaving the world a better place.
I would want to stand up for Christian values and show that to be a leader you need to be a servant. Wow...that just doesn't track with today's common social media influencer vibe.
Long live the HIVE and may I never be plastic
Too many people buying too much stuff trying to be better than everyone else while not being true to themselves. So much hot air and not enough substance. To much buying and not enough enjoying.
In answer to the #HiveLeaners post.
If you were to become a social media influencer today, what sort of brands would you help influence? What would you be known for by your followers? Are you trying to become an influencer?
If I were a social media influencer I would support no brands. I'd stand up for saying NO to buying things and stuff. Then again, I'd probably actively recommend anything truly useful and necessary as long as it was durable, reuseable, inexpensive and with low environmental impact.
I'd work hard to be known for humility, honesty, and integrity always trying to do my best to bring a positive light to what being a Christian really is (which could be very hard in today's Western Society).
And am I trying to be an influencer? Absolutely not. Although I will admit I am trying to be a beacon of hope to anyone starting from nothing on HIVE. I want to be proof that with nothing but hard work HIVE can produce an income to help with a better life. I prefer to think of that being a beacon or a ray of hope more than an influencer.
However, I'll leave that determination up to anyone reading this.
Thanks for the time,
and as always, Love getting comments ðŸ«