It always feels amazing when you hit publish after spending a couple hours writing a long form post.
We can't help it.
The rush of dopamine we receive and the sense of accomplishment we get after posting on Hive and then starting to see our little notification icon change colors is gratifying to say the least.
It's like those gamers that, in order to replace their bad results in life, focus on getting wins within their virtual ecosystem, us as bloggers and writers cannot help but perceive these notifications, votes and comments as a direct result of our short term work of putting a good post together.
It's hard not to feel this way, after all, most notifications we receive on the Hive ecosystem have a monetary value, either directly like votes, or indirectly like comments, which grows our network, strengthens our relations and eventually can be translated into monetary value.
But let's drop it down a notch, after all this is a freewrite.
I used to do a ton of freewrites before I pivoted into making financial/crypto/business posts. I still try to, but it is no longer easy for me, maybe because I got used to writing more serious posts and now the inspiration doesn't come to me as easily as it used to.
But back to topic dropped down a notch.
I've been highly active on X over the past month. That means having to reply a lot, create content over there, and basically trying to gain a voice and a presence so that I can spread Hive to the masses without shouting to the void - something that us Hivers love to do here in our little bubble.
That means basically creating twice the long form content I used to create back when I was one of the most active Hivers in here.
That means twice the dopamine and the false sense of accomplishment that hitting publish gives me.
So I've been working on this.
I've been trying to keep my eyes on the ball and focus on my goal: to build a brand and presence on X.
Who cares about the notifications and instant gratification I might get from the engagement I receive in web2.
After all it these notifications are just a mean to an end, not the goal itself.
But man, it is hard.
I mean, look at me.
I used to write incredibly well written long paragraphs that used to hook my readers from the first line of the post, and most of the feedback I got from those posts was positive, both in terms of content and writing style.
But now I'm writing in small, short paragraphs that try to convey an idea or concept without polishing it, without making it beautiful.
Because a great writing style is worth a lot on Hive, where people are used to reading and appreciating a long post, whereas on X, people want everything digested, easy to consumer and to the point.
No polishing, no fillers, no content, just information. And they want it fast and easy.
Otherwise you lose the reader.
And thus, my writing style is changing.
Now I need to have two writing styles and cater my content towards the audience that I want to reach.
Complicated and beautiful for Hivers.
Simple and to the point for Xers.
It's hard though. No matter how good of a writer I think I am, having two completely different styles of conveying an idea without losing your essence in both styles is extremely complicated for the wizard writers, and virtually impossible for the uninitiated.
But I'm trying, and I think I'm getting there.
The hardest part is when I write about the very same topic in two different platforms, because I have to find the right approach and get in the correct mindset two times in a day instead of just the one.
It's easier when I just repurpose my old content from Hive and adapt it to the audience that lives on X, but since I also try to keep my content fresh and relevant, I end up writing both posts from scratch more often that I'd hope for.
But hey, I'm trying.
And I'm fighting that bit of instant gratification feeling I get every time I hit publish on X, and I'm striving to ignore that rush of dopamine that I get every time my notifications or DMs light up on that web2 place that has mastered the art of keeping the users addicted to it.
I'll stop trying and I'll start achieving.
I'm somewhat between these two.