I have been on Hive blogging my brains out for just over two weeks now. I have made what I hope is a serious and meaningful contribution to the content produced on this platform.

Hive has been a very unique experience so far. We all know that Hive is no ordinary social media platform, as money is involved.

During this time I have bumped into some outstandingly lovely and inspiring people including @sircork, @stickupboys and @harbiter, unfortunately I have also come into contact with a few idiots as well as some shady characters. I'm pleased to say though that for the most part the people I have met all seem like good peeps.

Why Are We All Here?

As I travel through the streets of Hive and try and build my own path in this community I am often questioning why are people here? For me first and foremost I am here for the self-expression. I may be expressing myself to a small audience but it does not detract from the therapeutic nature of self-expression, or the fact that Hive is growing.

I am also here to meet new people and discover new things that I would otherwise not benefit from if I used other social media platforms.

The Money Shot

Then there is the money. This of course has a big pull factor, there can be no doubt about that. After all there is money to be made. But this also, at least for me, creates a conflict, but not necessarily a conflict of interests.

If people simply want to come here just for the money they think they'll make from blogging then fine, if they are able to do that let them. Although I think the 'blog to earn concept' might be stretching things now given that I believe around 30% of Hivians would like to see the blogging side of things gone altogether.

If others wish to come here to build working relationships and get involved with projects and make money that way then fine. And if others simply want to join Hive for the self-expression and the social side of things then again it's all good. The point is there are various pathways people can take when they become a member of the Hive community. I think that's what makes Hive an even more interesting place actually, this versatility gives it more potential.

The Conflict Within

For me the conflict I was referring to stems around the money. As I have just mentioned I predominantly want to express things and provoke discussion. Hive is a useful tool for that kind of purpose as it is completely uncensored, which makes it a very special place on the internet. I also want to meet people from different countries and power up my knowledge banks. But I also want to make money. I think most people probably do.

So for me where are the lines between focusing on producing good content, provoking debate, meeting new people and focusing on money? If I'm brutally honest for a moment - I'm still trying to figure it out.

Where Do I Fit In?

Hive is a crazy platform. It's awesome. I'm not sure where I fit into it all. Perhaps it doesn't matter for now, perhaps it does. In terms of my blogging output I am posting about a wide variety of things, and that feels right for me at the moment. Perhaps at some stage I will hone in on one particular niche, perhaps I won't. Who knows?

Delegations, Tokens and Some Tokenomics

(Picture source: Unsplash.com)

In terms of rewards I would say I'm having mixed results. Additionally I have now bought into some of the various Hive tokens floating around that are tradeable on the Hive sidechain Hive-Engine. I now own 1000 Legion tokens. This cost me $150. It gives me a daily Hive drip of 0.125 Hive into my Hive wallet and a daily vote of around $0.26 from the @legionsupport account, although I note I am also receiving additional support from the @stickupcurator account sometimes in the form of a vote of around $0.40, I think this is as a result of my Legion holdings.

So when do I make my $150 back? Well as you can see I have already started making it back by way of vote support and Hive drips. But with these tokens I am free to sell them at anytime, providing there is sufficient market liquidity and I sell for at least the same price, I am in profit from day one of purchasing the tokens it seems.

I have also bought and powered up 500 Hive. I have delegated this to the Pimp project, which provides me with a daily vote of $0.09 from the @tokenpimp account.

If I had chosen not to delegate my HP and used it for voting purposes I would have been in a position to vote on posts at $0.01 a vote. If the vote power remains at 80% or more I can have 10 votes at $0.01 before my vote value is reduced to zero.

So breaking this down further in any 24 hour period I could have given out $0.10 worth of votes but my curation rewards would have been obviously half of that at $0.05. But with my delegation I make fractionally less at $0.09 a day, making $0.4.5 a day after curation. For now this works for me, because I do not need to vote on 10 posts a day to make my $0.05, which might be quite time consuming for such a small amount of money. But is that the right attitude? I'm not sure. Perhaps not, but as I say it works for me at the moment.

That is not to say I am not out there in the community engaging, far from it I am voting and commenting on all sorts of posts, and getting to know lots of people. It's just that I am prepared to take a hit of $0.005 a day if it removes the requirement to ensure I vote on at least 10 posts a day. If I felt I had to do this just to make money I might just find myself voting on content purely for the money, which wouldn't be the right approach.

However, what is clear is that you make more money if you hold on to your own HP and do not delegate.

Furthermore, both the Legion and Pimp investments mean that I do not have to face the humiliation of my hard work sat there each day at $0.07. It's pure vanity I know but it makes me feel better that I have some support I can rely on.

You'll note I have used the word relied and not guaranteed. I am informed by the token owners that they are constantly checking post content to make sure people are not just simply shit posting all the time. So you'll get the vote automatically but if it transpires you are posting worthless crap you will have the vote removed.

Building Stake and Powering Up

(Picture source: Unsplash.com)

Regarding the powering up of Hive and what to do with stake I think I might have devised a mutually just and common sense strategy that benefits both me and the community. I have already powered up 500 Hive and delegated that in return for post support. With the next 500 Hive I earn through blogging coupled with buying a little bit more from the market to get me to the next 500 Hive threshold, I will retain that as powered up Hive that isn't delegated, and therefore start building up my vote power. It's important that I also have some votes to give out and support others.

There are other types of initiatives going on around the platform, another popular one is Hive Basic Income involving a share scheme where you send Hive to a designated account and include the name of a beneficiary and both you and the beneficiary receive vote support from the Hive Basic Income account. I understand the amount of the vote is determined by how many shares you hold.

In terms of making connections on this vibrant platform I think I'm making progress. Just as with any community or society you want to make sure your social circle is filled with people you want to be around. Hive is no different.

The Official Hive Hierarchy

There is obviously a hierarchy on Hive, it's built into the system itself. The concept of the witness governance structure, or Delegated Proof of Stake, is an intriguing one. In theory it makes sense, those stakeholders with the most amount of stake who've invested the most, and therefore the ones who stand to lose the most if things go awry, get to make the key decisions about the direction of the Hive blockchain.

The Other Hierarchy

But what of the other hierarchies in and around the platform? Lots of tribes have sprung up, many of them have whales working with them, supporting them. It is in these sub-communities where you have to really careful and work out what's going on, as it may not always be so obvious at first glance.

In these sub-communities you will have to integrate into an already established community, which means learning more customs and conventions. This can be rewarding of course, meeting new people who may share like minded interests as yourself, perhaps have the same goals as yourself. Once again if money is involved, as it invariably is on Hive, make sure what's on offer is sound and the community or project is not just trying to take your money. Use your instincts!

So for now folks this is all I have to offer any newcomer to Hive. I fully acknowledge my learning curve is a work in progress. But from the short time I have been hanging around and blogging away in this community I have picked up a few nuggets along the way, and I hope by sharing them with this post it might evolve the Hive debate in some way and help any additional newcomers who might just stumble upon this post.

Keep Hiving away!

Peace!

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