The idea of decentralization has been interesting and a marketing term for a lot of cryptocurrency projects. Decentralization is basically a buzzword that people toss about here and there just to make people interested in one or more cryptocurrency projects, because no one wants to hear that it is a centralized project, currency, or a centralized ecosystem, as we dread the curse of the fortune 500s.
However, I believe decentralization is best described that practiced. We will use the Hive blockchain as a case study. Let's talk about content and connection.
A Scenario
At some point during my Hive journey, I came to notice something very normal - it takes time to grow a Hive account and a Hive presence. So, as everyone who I met along my Hive journey reassured, I should just continue working and dishing out quality contents and soon enough, I will see my growth skyrocket and all the juicy upvotes I crave for would come naturally.
I took these advice and 13 months later, I am still in the "working and dishing out quality content phase" with nothing significant happening yet. Upvotes are highly probable, after all, votes are not guaranteed.
I was okay with my condition till I met someone. She was just 4 weeks on the Hive blockchain, and she have earned more rewards than I have in my entire Hive carreer. Just 4 weeks in an 8 posts later, she has a reputation of 63, which my personal account has been able to gather in 13 months and over a thousand posts later. The most interesting part is that, she is not a programmer, but a normal casual blogger, but all her posts which I scanned through earned nothing less than a $100 in upvotes.
So, I kept wondering, is there something I wasn't doing right? How did she grow so fast? And how can I replicate the same growth? I reached out to this user, and she said it is the usual blogging process that earned her her current status, and nothing more. So, I now kept asking, is it about content, or about connections?
The Content vs. Connection Battle
I have about 3 posts in my account in which I have more than $40 worth of upvotes, and in both situation, I had to reach out to some veterans for support, was it vote begging? I don't think so, I simply believed that I have put in a lot of work into them and won't like the efforts to go in vain. So, I reached out for support. But it wasn't a comfortable process, as the first time I reached out, it was a backlash instead of anything good.
However, I received the needed support, and I was glad. But I now wondered, how long should I continue this way? In some instances, after reaching out for support, I will be ignored and that high quality content will end up in Hive's cemetery of unseen high quality contents.
But for sometime now, I've not been able to reach out for support again, and the evidence is clear when you go through my posts, you will find the different times.
While I appreciate the support I received, I believed that with a stronger one, I could have grown to bigger heights than I am on the chain today. A lot of persons are taking the content route, while few others born with a golden spoon, have the advantage of a good/solid connection route.
We are advised as newbies to build connections on the chain through active engagements, and with the human nature in which we live for the moment, this seems harder than it is presented. People don't remember others when they do not need them for anything. We don't remember those who we will do a favour, we only remember those who will do us a favour or those who owes us a thing or two. So, what incentive will a whale get for following and upvoting my posts except to help me grow which he/she is not even obligated to and will just have to do out of humanity. That is the basic reality.
For Hive, I think the connection-content drama is best of the both. If you are keen at producing high quality contents for the blockchain, if you can create high quality connections, or maybe use high quality connections, it will be a win for you.
Though, the truth remains that some persons, a lucky few, from their day ones, have enjoyed the reward stream without connections; I have an onboardee who is really enjoying her time here.
Talking of the content vs connection situation, I also wonder is Hive operating true decentralization?
Decentralization is a Myth?
In the Hive blockchain, someone else determines your growth through the curation process. If the community doesn't find your content interesting, they simply ignore and your growth remains stagnated. But even when the majority finds your content interesting, and showers you with the juicy upvotes, it is very disheartening to see a notification of 300 upvotes with all amounting to nothing, sometimes, usually less than a dollar.
So, in the end, you have to create something that appeals to the whales so to speak, and hope they find it appealing for better rewards. It is nice to have curators working tirelessly to reward quality contents on the chain. But with the way things are going, there is obviously a power in-balance.
Hive is true-decentralization in its software, but humans cannot operate like software, they operate the software. So, think about a situation where of a 100 persons, only 5% have enough resources to keep the 100 nourished. Naturally, these 5% becomes the powerful ones, and they easily leads the pack. If for any reason the 5% team up, they become a cartel and the best way to protect power is to keep others powerless, while growing to newer heights that cannot be reached by the average. It is just a human-thing to be centralized, we will always find a way to build the concentration of power within one entity.
However for Hive, I believe we are operating some form of what I will call, "fragmented centralization". Everyone is a king of their own pack, and they reward only loyalists while making the blockchain uncomfortable and/or unrewarding for those they perceive as disloyal.
In the End
It seems for most newbies today, the naturally growth process is now naturally impossible, as you either have to be an early adopter, own a significant project, have strong connections, or at least, invest in a lot of cash to gain more friends (more money more friends).