As we get older, we start to think about what kind of legacy we will leave behind after we pass away. You may be wondering, how will people remember you? What will you be known for? What kind of small impact will you have made on the world?
I've known older people who, near the end of their life, made the decision to write their memoirs, so that there would be some record of their existence in the future. This got me thinking about what we could do earlier in life, to prepare for this inevitable inclination ahead of time.
Writing an autobiography is kind of old-school these days. Thanks to social media, younger generations don't have to wait until they are 70 or 80 years old to start putting together their "autobiography".
That said, the permanence of their social media accounts, and the accuracy of their posts, is not necessarily guaranteed.
Inaccurate Legacies
Some men have left behind renowned legacies thanks to their great military conquests, business prowess, or by inventing something new. Decades and centuries later, we read about them in our history books, or see documentaries about them on TV or YouTube. But how do we know for sure that their life story hasn't been tampered with throughout history?
Famous historical figures are often misquoted for example, and their stories partially hidden or manipulated by those who control the media in order to push a certain narrative. I recommend you watch the documentary "Europa: The Last Battle" for examples of this.
Long story short, your legacy deserves protection - even if you're not that famous.
Humble Legacies
Perhaps you aren't trying to be an Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, or Steve Jobs. Maybe you're just an average man working an average job and trying to raise a healthy family. Even in that case, you may still want to leave behind a humble legacy for your descendants.
Yes, your co-workers, friends and family will probably remember you, even after you pass on. Perhaps they will tell stories about you to their children or grandchildren to keep your memory alive, but eventually those memories will fade into obscurity if you do not record them somewhere.
Social Media Legacies
In this day and age, a lot of people are posting their lives to social media, which is one way to leave behind a legacy. Kids who were born after the year 2000 may already have their entire lives on social media, thanks to their parents posting embarrassing baby photos of them without their consent!
One major downside to posting everything on traditional social media like YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter though, is that your entire account could be deleted in an instant by a private company who doesn't agree with your opinions or political stance. This has already happened to famous influencers like Stefan Molyneux and Nick Fuentes, for example.
Imagine decades of your content, all gone in the blink of an eye.
Immutable Legacies
The question is, how can we leave behind a legacy that is tamper-resistant? One that cannot be vaporized by a technocrat who disagrees with you. One in which your message remains verifiable and permanent for future generations to see for themselves.
Enter blockchain technology, and specifically Hive in this case.
Consider that when you submit a post to the Hive blockchain, it is signed with your secret private key, which can be verified with your corresponding public key. Your posts are not stored on a single server, but rather distributed over hundreds of decentralized nodes, which no single authority has control over.
That means not only will future generations be able to verify that what you wrote came from your own fingertips, but your message will be etched on the blockchain for decades, and perhaps centuries to come. Therefore, if you want to leave behind an immutable legacy, humble as it may be, consider starting a blog on the Hive blockchain.
Until next time...
If you learned something new from this article, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the Hive blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Further Reading
- History is Now "Trustless" Thanks To Bitcoin
- How Earning Works On Hive and InLeo