It seems that people are starting to catch on to the concept that is Hive. While many other blockchains have a lot more money and traffic, they lack what is a basic part of Hive.
Source
Vitalik gave a talk in Paris claiming that Ethereum needs to move beyond DeFi.
“Being defined by DeFi is better than being defined by nothing,” he laid out in one slide. “But it needs to go further.”
Buterin, 27, after a brief cross-legged meditation on stage before standing up to speak, said that Ethereum must be socially useful as well as financially beneficial, drawing a cheery response from an audience thrumming with DeFi entrepreneurs, investors and developers.
It seems that people are starting to clue in what we discussed about for a number of years. The "Layer 0" is the most important thing. Without that, people will simply be likely to move away at will.
Ethereum is still having tremendous success. Yet, there are a lot of options popping up in the DeFi arena. With chains such as BSC appearing, more applications are catering to those who do not have the means to pay the excessive fees that Ethereum is becoming known for.
Community
This is something that is often discussed. The appeal of social media is that it brings people together. From a platform perspective, the benefit is, as we found out, people can be very loyal. Perhaps it is not to the platform itself yet they keep showing up each day.
It is how a company like Facebook was able to leverage the network effect for massive value. The "Layer 0", as many are calling it, is a basis for long-term growth.
Blockchains, at their core, are just databases. Few really care how data is structured or even what is done with it. Instead, they simply want to use the application that interests them. If they have online friends they interact with, that is what they seek.
Communities are going to become economies. Through the tokenization process, a group of people can monetize whatever they are doing and offer value to each other based upon what their markets determine.
Thus, where these are established is very important. We know how valuable an "operating system" can be. Once people get accustomed to something they tend not to change. We see this with our computers, online social site, and smartphone applications.
Through the expected interoperability that is likely to come, these communities will be further enhanced by the ability to expand beyond where they are just located. The tokens should have a wider range of uses through swaps and advanced wallet capabilities.
DeFi* really does not offer this. Instead, it only feeds into the casino idea that is so prevalent within the cryptocurrency community. Most are focusing upon "mooning" and "lambos" as opposed to changing the world.
This includes developers, which is one group Vitalik was referencing. The tendency is to develop an application that will make the founders a boatload of money, not one that is designed to solve world problems and disrupt the present system.
Focusing upon the needs of a community is a way around this. It is an alternative that can stimulate organic growth as the features appeal to the users. Social media excelled at this over the years.
Digital Identities
While Vitalik did not exactly discuss this, he covered the idea of an alternative log-in system. Instead of using Facebook or Google, both of which are controlled by centralized companies, he foresee another way.
At the heart of his proposed approach was the use of Ethereum wallets as multipurpose online identities that could be used to sign into a wide variety of Ethereum-based applications, similar to how Gmail and Facebook accounts are used. He said existing login providers like Google have a tendency to arbitrarily de-platform users, while often refusing to help those who have been locked out of their accounts.
Ethereum-based login options, on the other hand, would provide “credible neutrality,” censorship resistance, and a “built-in economic layer that makes it easier to do mechanism design.” He imagined social networks that only allowed vested members of an Ethereum DAO to post.
This is a problem that is in desperate need of a solution. Few realize it at this point since we are still rather early in our digital transformation. However, as we progress further into the digital realm, which Web3 is all about, it is going to be clearer how dangerous a Facebook or Google really is.
Losing one's social media account can be financially devastating. However, for most, it is more just a pain in the ass. That will not be the case in a few years. As more of our financial lives are digital, there will be real wealth tied to these digital identities. Do we really want them in the hands of Facebook, Twitter, or Google? What happens if your account is closed with $100K in it? That money is instantly lost.
Hive Moving In The Right Direction
There armoves being taken by the Hive community that is putting itself in a strong position.
To start, there is a lot being done to streamline the base layer. Essentially, this is going to deal with account management and governance issues. A lot of the other things are being moved to the second layer.
One of the reasons for this is scaling is a major issue. Quite simply, we do not want everything running on the base layer because it would be too slow and expensive. This is the challenge that many chains are finding.
Hive has an excellent log in system. The fact that accounts are usernames as opposed to computer generated characters is a big step forward. We also have a recovery system that is not present most other places. So while it is not the "forgot password" so many are accustomed to, it does give people a way to get their accounts back if hacked.
There is also the fast and fee-less nature of the Hive blockchain. Here is where Vitalik is going to run into issue. While the fees are likely to come down over time with the changes they are making, most social media activities are not going to be done if there is payment required. How many would give an upvote even at the cost of a few cents?
The reality is very few.
SpkNetwork
What Vitalik describes is not new to us here on Hive. A great deal of what the linked article mentioned is what @theycallmedan discussed in his videos for the past year.
It is also something that is being addressed by the development of the SpkNetwork and the protocol.
The members of that team are very open of their reasoning for using Hive as the basis for the project. Over time, they listed them as follows:
- fast and fee-less
- account management system at base layer
- dedicated community
- token distribution
- no founder's stake or foundation running things
All of this serves as the basis upon which they are building their protocol which will allow other applications to tap into.
We already see a few communities forming on Hive and this will only enhance the concept. The SpkNetwork is going to give communities the tools they need to control and maintain their own content. Over time, this will end up expanding into all the primary areas of cryptocurrency including DeFi and NFTs.
This is a long-term game. It is going to take years for all this to develop. None of it is an overnight process. Vitalik is right in his assessment of the situation. DeFi is instant, a quick-hit if you will. The results are easy to see in the short term. However, to truly disrupt what is in place, will take time and a bigger vision.
Most want the instant success. It took decades for the Internet to reach the point it did where it was adopted by the masses. While we have a more technically advanced society as compared to 30 years ago, development still takes time. All of this is being constructed from scratch.
In the end, Hive is positioning itself very nicely. We still are only 16 months into this. The development that took place, especially at the base layer, is exceptional.
Like many, Vitalik is talking about it, Hive is doing it.
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