Nine years, huh? More than a quarter of my life, spent on the blockchain formerly known as Steem, now known as HIVE. I often reflect on my time spent on chain as opposed to in chains; while I continue to unravel the various mysteries of existence, expression and exhaustion.
@holoz0r, lit by me, shutter pressed by someone else, July 13, 2025.
But after all this time, I am not burnt out. I am not tired. In fact, at present, as I type this, I more enamoured with creating than I ever have been. I'm happier than I've ever been. And as I write this, about two weeks before the milestone comes, to be published on the day of the milestone, I wonder that when I reread this, on that day - will I still feel the same way?
I recently went through the list of accounts that I was following. I unfollowed about 150 accounts. One hundred and fifty people who had not published a post on the platform since 2023, and so many others that had powered down to zero without a trace for years and years.
I visited the accounts of a few, to see if they were still making comments, or if there were a few scant traces left of their digital identities. I explored LinkTrees, looked at instagram accounts, or followed broken links.
Over one hundred and fifty accounts and their ideas, their aspirations, their dreams, gone from this platform. Had they lost their keys? Had they lost their lives? Even worse, had they lost hope?
There was once a steemain who just did that. Every year, in September, I think of her, and I come to think what they would make of the world today. They were one of the first friends I ever made on the platform. That was @lauralemons.
They're gone. Not in the sense of fled from the chain, but they've fled from existence and from cognition. They're dead. That was years ago.
How many other deaths am I not aware of? Did those people I unfollowed recently perish in the intervening years?
@strega.azure, I hope; is not dead. She drew a portrait of me. I expressed interest in owning the physical object. She sent it to me. I appreciate it like little else in my house, narcistic as that may be. It hangs quietly in my hallway, outside my wife's study. It's a beautiful reminder of the connections that you can make on the chain.
Connections that can so easilly be interrupted by time, space, and people's commitments. Behind most posts, behind most votes, behind most accounts (let's not delve too deeply into the topic of AI generated content) - behind most words that are published to the hive blockchain, there are real people. Corporeal, fleshly, sacks of emotion and purpose - driven by either an urge to be seen, or an urge to try and extract value from their labours.
Some accounts sit silent. Others sit concluded, with a published reason of departure, bitter vitriol or disappointment because the platform couldn't live up to their expectations. Or perhaps, they couldn't live up to the chain's expectations.
But everyday, I keep coming back to the window. I know some of the faces, I'll never see again. I know that some of the faces that I cherish now, and will cherish into the future, will too, one day fall silent. I'll be sad then, as I am kind of sad thinking about that inevitable future departure.
To me, to love something is to know that one day it will be lost. If it were not loved, the loss would mean nothing. Will we lose HIVE one day? Will we lose our favourite author, our favourite musician, our favourite artist?
What really matters to me me is that the time spent on HIVE isn't wasted. I still remember things like @galenkp's story about napkins under food. I remember this because after reading his post about this, and us going to grab a snack at a cafe after a walk, we both knowingly looked into each other's eyes as we removed the napkin from below the snack, with shared disdain.
I've spent the last nine years growing up. Growing old. My values have changed. The things I publish have mostly stayed the same. The words I write now feel like they are instilled with more meaning, because, perhaps after all the years I've spent letting my heart travel down my sleeve, I have become more honest, more vulnerable, more open.
I think that comes with "becoming more serious", and achieving some serious financial goals that were accelerated rapidly by things like Splinterlands. I had a lot of games, a lot of cards, a lot of bullishness and enthusiasm, and I saw a pathway leading to significant reductions in real world need. It really has set me on a path to more financial freedom than someone my age reasonably deserves. I've been prudent, I've lived below my means.
I'm sure someone like @aggroed would be happy to know that something like Splinterlands helped me to pay off my first mortgage. The journey on the way out wasn't filled with joy, but it will filled with some loss - for those that missed seeing my name as the person they had defeated, or the long, passionate discussions held in discord or on comment chains about the future direction of the game.
Perhaps the single biggest direction change in my life was chatting to @mattclarke He is, afterall, the person you all must blame (or thank) for bringing steem to my attention back in the day. Without him, I wouldn't be here. I might've been somewhere else, but I wouldn't have found my voice.
I've been very much a generalist when it comes to posting content on the platform. Those who've been here since the start (I still remember my first interactions with @acidyo, @curie, and countless others) - and they're all reasons that I'm still here.
I won't stop posting my reviews of content, be they video games, books, movies, or the driver of a blue Volkswagen Golf, travelling west on...
I have a tiny audience to thank. There's probably not even dozens of you. While the chain might say I have over 3,000 followers, I know for a fact that many of them, in terms of their blockchain activity are dead, and there's no dancing necromancer by the campfire to bring those people back.
I'm hopeful that my voice will continue to be heard, to be appreciated, but the biggest death any of us can suffer on this platform, or indeed any - as social creatures, is the lack of any meaningful interaction. So to those who regularly come along my content and say something, thank you.
To those of you who have followed me in the past, and have ceased doing so - please give me another go. I'm sure that you will find content that you will enjoy, or at the very least, can scroll past and be reminded that I'm still alive. That you're still alive.
There is nothing worse than publishing something online only to be met with silence in response. Votes may come in, but silence is the worst possible thing. That's why I reserve the bulk of my upvotes for comments, because I value and want to reward people who interact with me.
Not everyone feels and thinks this way.
Maybe I'm deranged.
Yet still, after all these years, I'm hopeful. But many others have seen the writing on the wall, the nepotism, cronyism, users fellating each other with votes for content that to the outside observer - doesn't add value.
If I don't add value to your life, or meaning, that's fine. But - know that without people interacting with each other on this platform, none of us would be here. We're social creatures. This is a social place.
Act like it.
In terms of the Internet, there's nowhere else (that I know of) that this rambling, long form, sentimental content has to go.
I know of no other place where I can go.
So please, stay here with me.
I don't want to lose you too.
I've built so many great connections early on in the chain's life as I was focused on engaging and curating (with maybe 1000x less vote strength back then but worth something either way), naturally those connections feel stronger due to time and them having remained maintained. We've all been through the same history, markets and world events, it feels like we're a lot more than just a regular community you may find outside of hive for better or worse at times.
I mentioned in a comment a few weeks ago that I miss myself from way back, currently reaching for some new goals with the game I've been working on that I've dreamt of creating for probably decades, but at some point I'd like to go back to my roots, hopefully the same connections will still be here to talk some shit with me and hopefully a lot more people to get to know and share what we have here.
Happy cakeday!
Thank you. I foresee myself forging onwards with HIVE ever more. Its funny, because part of the reason I joined hive was because I was feeling creatively stifled by my corpo job, and felt like writing game reviews again.
I wrote them, and people seemed to like them.
And since that time, Hive has been a massive, healthy creative outlet for me that has helped so much with self expression and the confidence to sometimes pursue the absurd.
Nothing can take its place for me.
Next year the first of us will turn 10. I hope things will be different then; but we have .. like 9 months until then.
If humans can make a baby in that timeframe, then what can we do with HIVE?
Continue building I suppose! We're kind of in our own bubble in terms of the crypto space as well as web2, separate from both in a way. Hopefully we continue to find good people to stay here and value what we have and look into the future while ignoring the small issues. This chain is bigger than most of us here today.
We've been patient. We're told good things come to those who wait. We've waited a long time but we've also built a lot.
At least we have something thay functions and that is stable. Its a lot more than some other projects out there.
Btw, something you mentioned in the post. I've given the idea to unfollow some afk people some thought some time ago but decided not to because some may come back and if they don't, then it's not like they're filling up my feed anyway. I'd recommend following back some you really liked/would wanna see back some day as when/if that happens it's quite a nice feeling to see their post in your feed all of a sudden and be able to curate them with a nice welcome. :)
I thought about this as I was clicking the unfollow button. Given how much I troll through "new" - I am sure that I will find them again should they return.
PS. couldn't find you on discord the other day, any chance you could join ocd or holozing discord so I could dm you?
Yes, ill do that after I sleep, its like 130AM here. :D
Great, throw me a tag or something then!
I've been here for nearly eight years. Many friends I've made over the years have disappeared. Even celebrities like the Hodge Twins have come and gone. I never thought I would still be here after so many others have left.
The world and myself have changed a lot since I first created my account. After all those were pre-Covid days. At this point, I don't think I will ever end up leaving Hive.
Its a good point that the world has changed, but the block log still holds our past, immutable. I love that immutability.
It is what makes hive so special to me. Its all there, imperfections, typos, spelling errors, poor judgements, discourse; and a history of social exchange.
I'm new here and slowly building my connections too, your story sounds so heart warming and heartbreaking at the same time.
I hope to for a community and connections as heartwarming as yours here and I hope my connections remain here as we progress and not be like some of the heartbreaking of yours.
The best way to build connections is to go out and comment honestly and deeply on people's posts and content. Ask them questions that will get them to reveal more of themselves. Some people show a little, others show a lot.
For me, the best content on HIVE is that about human connection, emotion, and writing that makes us feel something.
The more we feel, the more we can experience and the more we can learn. I am forever learning.
Just make sure that you're doing everything you possibly can to give your readers a reason not to leave you, and encourage their readers to do the same.
Best advice I've gotten here
I'll be sure to oblige
Thank you so much
This was a joy to read. I don't think you and I have interacted very much on Hive/steem before, but I can relate to much of what you've posted. I sometimes feel guilt for my part in the waning of humanly interactions. I myself go through cycles of long absences. In my case, it's just part of my nature. But there are people I've met on here who have had a real impact on my life and who have given me purpose through this chain. I see my time here as part of my legacy, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
This is the magic of the place we find ourselves in :)
So glad you have found people who give you purpose. I met one of my closest friends here, and strengthened a relationship with another. Hive means so much to so many, and we ought to say it more to each other.
I agree. I recently characterized Hive Power as "the power to do good". That's what I think this place ultimately represents. It's the power to do good, the power to make meaningful human connections, and I think meaningful human interactions is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.
I always thought I'd be a misanthrope, but I've fallen in love with too many people. Hive has probably taught me how to do that, a little bit. Whatever intellectual love is defined as (not platonic, not romantic, another type) - I find it here in droves.
As an example of someone who was necromanced here by a dancing wizard, perhaps there is still hope for some of those people you mentioned to come back. It says on my account that I been here 7 years, but if you subtract all the years of me being 6 feet under, it's really only 2+ years.
and even 2 years is enough to know exactly what you mean, because the year we all got on the blockchain we made so many connections, and opened-up our creatively, that the year was perceived to be twice as long. And boy was it addictive.
Now I'm back, 5 posts in, and I'm already all over the business up in here. Reading stories about peoples' lives, jumping in with my 2 cents, handing out kudos to visual artists, etc... and I'm really impressed to see some of my old-time friends still here and in fact thriving, shout out to @juliakponsford and @zekepickleman, also @karinxxl and many others.
Of course there are also those who vanished, some were super talented, and people that I've collaborated with... it's a shame because it felt like we were building something very strong - a global community - unaffected by algorithms that curate friendships and content to make you into a better consumer... I even quit all my social media and just focused on building new relationships on the 'chain'.
We have to remember that we are actually very vulnerable to the change in the market, that the fiat world still has its grasps on our lives, and some people are going to vanish despite their talents and connections... its something we're aught to take better care of this time around.
I encourage myself with knowing the good friends who have vanished from the chain number way less than the good people I haven't met yet. That and the fact that they can reappear at any time, just like you did 5 posts ago!
This is such a beautiful, positive point of view that I never considered. You're right, too. There's so many people here that we don't yet know. :)
Thank you. I have enjoyed connecting with you in recent history. I hope to keep doing it in future history. You've always got something challenging and insightful to say. I hope that your 5 posts will become 50, then larger numbers after that. But do not feel pressured like the traditional social media networks force - with constant reminders of
"You haven't posted in a while... why don't you tell your fans what you're up to." - My Facebook business page for my photography. I'm still alive, but I am not going to post a wordless update, something meaningless just to ensure that an alert pops up on someone's device to get them to scroll to my content, and for them to see three or four ads from a competitor or another thing or whatever.
There are definitely some evergreen users around this place, and I too have my fond (and fast) favourite creators. We definitely have a global community, and I do wish that I had the funds (and motivation) to travel, because I could see oh so much of the planet's hidden corners thanks to the relationships I've got thanks to this place.
All very much likewise, and cheers to wishes coming true! 🍻
I think this ride hasn't even begun yet... if we do things right many will return, and many more new faces will join too... but we got to make the most of what we have here now, and enjoy regardless.
All very much likewise, and cheers to wishes coming true! 🍻
I think this ride hasn't even begun yet... if we do things right many will return, and many more new faces will show up too... but we got to make the most of what we have here now, and enjoy regardless.
Indeed we do, otherwise, we'll regret not trying to take the chance to do so.
I often think of what happened to the people I once engaged with on here. So many faces just disappeared one day. They never checked back in, whether it was on Steem or here on Hive. These days Hive feels like a bit of a ghost town for me with how few of those people remain, how often I end up going through my followed list and see that more people just disappeared. The vast majority of people I remember just aren't around anymore. Maybe three or four people from the Steem days I consider a bit closer than others, even if we don't talk that much anymore.
It is for so many, a web of broken links and quiet absence in other places. There's probably a beating heart still out there - but I do wonder if they miss us too.
I also wonder what would happen if I dug out my old steem keys and made a post there to say that I'm still alive here, and see if anyone missed the transition. I wonder what would happen if all of us did that.
Welp, I for better or worse (often it feels like worse) have stayed a part of this chain since 2016. I think its awesome Splinterlands gains helped pay off your mortgage. I managed not to book and financial gains from this platform thus far, though the LEO token is showing promise to change that. INLEO is the only place I post and interact anymore, so technically I'm still on HIVE. This is a very rare occasion of me being on a different front-end. Came to check my hive wallet and saw your post on the trending page.
You can still see the Leo posts on other front ends, but I guess you can't see other posts from other front ends on inleo, or am I wrong?
Yes, blog posts can be seen on all front ends regardless of where they originate. The only thing that doesn't cross UIs in threads on LEO.
Blame this man, everyone. Its all his fault.
But seriously, I cannot reasonably put into words what it means for you to have dragged me into this place, and for our unlikely meatspace friendship to also persist before and beyond whatever limits this platform has.
I met one of my closest friends because of this place. Because of you.
You were an unlikely guide, and I don't mince my words when I express a deep and affectionate appreciation for your existence.
Thank you. Thank your wife and kids too, because no doubt, they miss you while you busy yourself with this place too.
All the best people are here; we're drawn to the accountability and the transparency. The rest of the world is just lies stacked on top of lies. Shifting, shimmering mirages for narratives.
We've always been at war with Eastasia.
Hive fixes this.
You and @ursa have been a welcome addition to our lives too.
We should go on another drive down to Victor.
In a much more comfortable vehicle now. I have a better dash camera now, too, and I would like to think you have something better to record whatever conversation we end up having?
I still remember that day, but the tyranny of distance, though we're so close, grows. Hive cleaves that distance. :)
I'm sorry we didn't get to meet earlier on the platform as I very much enjoy your content. Happens. Besides my immediate family, some of my more meaningful human interactions happen here on the platform, where I can find like-minded people. Or people who will tolerate rants and ramblings understanding that I just needed a place to vent my frustrations. Keep doing what you do!
I would just add that I feel the same about people I used to know on the platform. Just visited the still existing account of @stevescoins, whose last post, three years ago, was about cancer pain. I also remember Steem/Hive dramas that ended long ago, heartwarming moments with the community pulling together to help one of their own. I like it when some user I used to know pops in with a quick update on their life. I think it was back on Steem when we used to say "Come for the money, stay for the community". We did. Congrats on your Hive anniversary.
So sorry for your loss. And your losses. The great thing is, our archives still linger in this place, and will continue to do so.
My older stuff was probably mostly rubbish, I think. I really should go back through my old stuff and publish a collection of what I deem to be my "greatest hits" for "newer" followers.
In the interim, I will keep writing, I will keep improving, and hopefully I'll keep meeting new people who can ramble like I do, and we can ramble at each other, whether the sky is falling, or whether it is staying in place.
The platform could end up in shambles, but I hope that the bulk of us all remain together somehow.
Losing people sucks.
Or maybe we need algorithms to show old content, push content that gets more retention thus higher revenue and reward you for your old content while also burning hive in the process. Hive don't lack audience. Sometimes what they r lacking is discovery tools.
Keyword: adsense.
I read this yesterday but didn't get a time to comment. Now read it again, and glad I did. really good stuff here. So true (and hey apparently you're older than me :P, i'm coming up on my 8th anniversary myself). I think often about the people who vanished from here - but also the great pleasure when, after a long, long absence, you see an old account start posting again. Thankfully, I have people in real life who are on here and I can share the happy news "so-and-so posted again! they're alive!". Most "normies" wouldn't get it, the thrill of seeing some random person online come back. But people here do.
I'm really glad to have met you here :)
There's an artist like that. I discovered her work in my "youth", on Deviant Art. Yes, I'm that old. Anyway, fast forward a few years, she was an art director on a few films. I purchased a collection of her posters that was published by Balistic, who were a publisher of very fine CG Art. Then, her website's domain expired. Then I couldn't find any social media posts. But I still have her art on the walls of my house.
I wonder what they are up to these days, and I hope they're still kicking about, making breathtaking stuff. I kind of don't really want to know, but at the same time, I do, but I don't want to know, because I've come and gone to terms with that loss. I wouldn't want to go through it again.
Strange thing to describe, I think, but I'm glad your comment made me come up with it. I am hopeful I'll get to keep reading your stuff.
Wow, this really hit me. Nine years is no small feat, and your reflections stirred a lot in me... especially the part about remembering people who quietly disappeared. It's beautiful how you honor the connections, the growth, and the raw honesty behind each post.
Thank you for sharing this. I’m truly glad you’re still here, still writing.
You'll have to break my hands and cut out my tongue to stop me! (And then I'd use to use my toes to type!)
I really meant every word I said. Words are therapeutic, and they are also best when we make each other feel things through their use.
An easy thing to say, a harder thing to do.
Well said! Words really can be powerful. ✍️
Happy Anniversary and I'm very glad to have met you here on the blockchain!
Oh man, so many of the things you say in this post resonate with me. I've taken short breaks but have never completely burned out over the course of nearly a decade either. In fact, Hive has made me a better and more prolific writer, a more well-rounded person. It's changed my world-view and life in some profound and surprising ways. It's taught me about crypto/blockchain. Hive has gotten me through some really dark days.
I can't even imagine not logging in and checking in on and interacting with my favorite writers/friends regularly. I go back and check on peoples' pages periodically who've either left this Earth or just the platform. It's a welcoming walk down memory lane. I wonder what those people who left the platform are up to. Not everyone can handle the volatility here, I think some people let their emotions get in the way and rage quit.
I can't see myself ever leaving and hope this place is around, at least, for another decade. Cheers to 9 years!
Ditto!
I have produced more here than anywhere else. I will continue to do so, for as long as that creature that sits at the levers behind my eyes and between my ears compels me to create.
I've "become" (to steal your current project's title) obssessed in the last few weeks and months with creating better and better ramblings.
While I may not execute every single one of them perfectly, and while I am sometimes lazy and don't proof read my stuff (because I like the mistakes - it shows I'm human) every single bit of creative compulsion that I now spill out is authentically me.
And there's so much amazing writing in the corners of this place that I'll never seem that I'll always long to discover.
I hit nine this week too. Of my thousands of followers only a few are active are engaging with me. I keep meaning to run a HiveSQL query to see how many of those accounts have done anything recently. I see a great missed opportunity here as we ought to have millions of active users by now. Just look at platforms like Mastodon that really took off, and that platform is about as user friendly as Hive. We have to ask why people are not here when the corporate platforms seem to get worse.
I've been on other platforms like Google+ and Tsu that got shut down so I lost contact with lots of people. I didn't have other ways to reach them. Some did come to Hive. I would hope that the blockchain can endure as we just need people to be witnesses.
I still find Hive fun with lots of cool content. However I just saw one of my contact here decide to quit over treatment of a project. There are all sorts of issues here and I get impacted by some of them. I would be very reluctant to leave and lose more friends.
Hive would change if it got much bigger, but I hope we could cope with that.
I saw that post and read some comments there. Everyone has a point where they can't tolerate the circumstance anymore.
I am not trapped by this place. I have no where to go. I talk to people here more regularly than elsewhere (with the exception of a few) - and I feel as though, even with the voices that have fallen silent here, there are many that still scream.
We must ensure that hive doesn't become a chamber full of echoed screams. Hopefully we can learn from other platforms.
I have been on lots of platforms and run my own blogs. Hive gives me the best engagement despite being tiny.
I never get any engagement on my photography website, mainly because wordpress is a disaster, and comments there are usually spam. I am still impressed everyday, that even without any captchas or "select the motorbike lampposts" how little real spam we get on hive.
I, for one, am never leaving your side. I am stunned that in the seven years I've been here, we have never connected until recently. Mind blowing. Maybe we weren't ready to - people meet when they need to.
Your wit, including your ability to tell me to fuck off, is delightful, your turn of phrase lovely, your interest in ideas that make your brain zing, the runaway chains of your conversation about art, philosophy and pizza have just charmed me.
I am so glad you are here. I will always be jerking in your circle.
Eww.
It is a pleasure to constantly poke around (and see inside) that head of yours, which is cracked open like a Isa Brown's hijacked eggs, thrown into a buttery pan - through your words, through your comments, and through your choices to expose all of these things.
The next time I head out to your neck of the waters to visit my sister in law, you best expect a visitor knocking at your door - and we'll share a few real pizzas, and real wine, and not some sort of fiendish, hive-engine token manifestation of the good stuff.
Until then, continue being glorious and leaving a trail of insight and wisdom wherever you may go.
Im about to turn eight myself and i share a lot of these emotions. I dont know if we made the right financial choice by being here, maybe we didnt, but it hardly matters. We take nothing to the grave. And boy we have great memories
I don't know what I else would have been doing. There's not nine years of regret. Just a yearning that it could be more vibrant now, like it once felt in the past.
I'm not even one... I did my first non-Splinterlands post February 14th, and it seems like that Valentine's Day did make me fall in love. It's pretty neat to got through the comments and see quite a few people that are around the same Hive-Age. I hope I will be, too.
Your story is indeed very moving. And audiences are tiny. It's quite hard to comment on everyone I like, but I always love to comment on your posts and am always happy when a notification from a comment of yours comes in, as they usually progress into interesting interchanges. Not necessarily of value to the world, but at least always something to laugh.
This text also gives me a little push to start my on-boarding-campaign, soon. Meno already pushed me to the brink, but there's this little part that is still holding me back. And I see much potential, I just have to harvest it - and then I will eventually, carefully, inject the newbies with the idea of checking out the blogs that I personally like.
In short, I'm happy you're here, and I'm happy we crossed digital paths. All those folks in Australia have pushed visiting that land of certain death way high on my bucket list.
The thing is, every land holds certain death, and I'm sorry to open the discussion in that manner. We need to ensure the broodlings of the hive, like you, are not just nourished, but can see the true value in the exchange of words.
While borders and nations mean too much in the contemporary landscape, hive is truly a place without geographical borders. Squabbles between nations are not always a squabble between their peoples.
We have so much rich experience and knowledge to each share, which we don't get to do.
Some people are writing their own memoirs on hive, and they don't even know it yet. Others are giving us an exhaustive list of their passions and joys, but all of us extract value - not necessarily monetary, but whatever that chemical that floats around when a voice in your head, the voice of a stranger's words, are read in that hollow space and it says "Friend".
Most of the value I extract is not monetary... that HP/HBD part is just a game until now, at least for me. Not sure why, but I can't really take it seriously.
The memoirs part is very true, and the experience accumulated is impressive. I feel the same here, in my city, where many people come to retire - people with so many stories. The thing in Hive is that there is no repetition. My friends here repeat their stories often, but here in HIVE the story once told shall not be repeated. Which is somewhat sad, so something like a "Best of" like you suggested would quite interesting.
There is. I tell people the same stories in comments. People don't tend to read the whole context, the whole conversation, as they might on reddit. I like breaking that trend and injecting myself into the middle of other people's comments. It's fun :P
There is some repetition from people who spam and abuse, but it is easy to use your eyes to filter that stuff out.
With nine years of content, that is probably hard for me to do, and to go through, but if and when I do, I will publish as a peakd collection. (Which can also be viewed as a post) - I've started one for everything I've read this year, and that is probably a trend I'll continue each year.
Sounds like a lot of work, but I'd absolutely be a read of that work. I found an old post of one of your friends that he had written 9 years ago, and it was very interesting to see the change in his writing style and personality. We exchanged a few words about that on Discord, and it got me to understand a little more about that person. 9 years is a long time. People change, if they want to. Or life forces them to.
Well here is one of mine from six years ago: (I do have some stuff in my favourites)
https://peakd.com/writing/@holoz0r/does-notre-dame-through-its-destruction-become-more-meaningful-and-poetic
Edit: I just read through the comments and there are more people that are lost in there... too :)
And a lot of the history of what came before hive, too.
That is a nice post, and an interesting perspective on the fulfillment in destruction. Things like that should be allowed to be re-posted - maybe with rewards burned or something. Just to keep it alive.
A very impactful and philosophical post! Unfortunately we all have an end date, even if the chain lives on we will eventually be gone from it, like I am 49 years old, if I am lucky I have another 30 years on this planet... For some reason knowing myself I think I will stick around until the end here either the end of Hive or the end of me.
Its a legacy. A privilege we have available to us that only foolscap paper and journals once had for people not even ten years our senior.
We're lucky we can leave a marker in the world, and theres the chance that our content will live beyond us.
This paragraph really touched my heart. Thank you!!
Say something and hope someone hears it. The world is a void, Hive shouldn't be one.
Bro you are a Data analyst so you must know that every day is a new learning and you are still here living your life and growing in hive like all. This post is awesome with great opinions and i came from steem it too, i remember the day when 1 btc cost 4000 dollars and i had money to buy but i didnt and i am here growing step by step :D
Data Analytics can never approach an understanding of what is going on inside each and every one of our minds at any given moment. We can catalogue emotion, instinct, hope, and the chemical markers that bring these things about; but I don't think whatever abstract concept the "heart" is can ever be categorised in our thoughts and feelings.
I thought BTC was expensive at $50 a coin, and I still think it is expensive at whatever the price is today.
A hive account only costs 3 hive, which is less than a $1, and that's a very small price to pay for the community that we have, and I wish more people would see it that way. Hopefully people don't see that as being too expensive.
It's hard to believe that our paths never crossed on this platform before. Nine years is quite a milestone, and your reflections are stuck with me... especially that part about remembering the quiet exists. I recall that I kind of got roped into signing up, and they are gone now (except for two) and moved on to another platforms.
I loved how you honor the messy and lovely parts of your journey. After all these years, I'm glad I found you!
Happy Hive anniversary, @holoz0r!
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When you say "other platforms", do you mean that they took their creativity to commercial success elsewhere, or that they just wanted to do what they do here somewhere else. I am curious as to why people leave places, and in all the accounts I looked at as I was contemplating this post, so many had simply vanished without a trace. I hope that they're still creating, for themselves, but it is so bizarre.
Maybe we simply need a missing person's report :)
The community I initially joined was the SilverGoldStackers community. The majority (before) of us were YouTubers of the gold and silver stacking community. I think it was around late 2018 when they all left and moved to Instagram.
Shame, I still have a few of the steem silver rounds. :)
I do have them all from 2017 to 2019 and a couple of hand-poured ones. Incidentally, it was PitBullion that insisted on that sign-up, and I am not sorry!
I got a few 2 oz Succubus coins from Phelimint too, they are awesome coins. I'm not a hardcore stacker, but they're pretty, and that was something the old chain taught me about that I didn't know about before I was on chain :)
... I also have a big 'ol pile of copper wire I need to strip some day, so I can have some fun with a crucible (which I don't own yet) to make some coppery bits and bobs - perhaps even some jewelry or props for my photography - 'tis a dream, but I already have way too many hobbies.
The Succubus rounds are about 100 bucks at today's prices, these are the 2017 to 2020 ones. Wow... pouring metals is not easy!
I work, I stack, I cook, I garden, I build bricks ... I limit myself to these, and still I find that I have too many hobbies!!!
I try to do that once in a while and most of the times i get sad. It's like a small part of you is missing. I really enjoyed talking to specific people, i knew and they knew that most of the times each of us posts somethings the other one will read it and make a comment. Thus, it felt awesome having some let's say regulars that you will exchange a few words, learn about them a bit more and slowly but steadily bond together.
On the other hand i get it though. I will talk about myself first. Like 4.5-6 years ago, it was the time that i was extremely active, spending like 4-6 hours daily. Now, for the past 3-4 years i have limited time which means i can make 2-3 posts per week and a few comments, and i was the guy that posted daily and made like 100-150 comments per week, and i mean actual comments reading everything.
Priorities change, i know people who simply don't earn enough and therefore prefer to let's say having a second job rather than being in here, others had kids, faced health issues, and the list goes on. It's always sad, though, to see people disappearing.
As i said multiple times since the Steemit days, i came for the money (like everyone in my opinion) but i stayed for the community! (and still made no money :P )
I am in that frenetic phase of reading everything I can and posting everything I want. I have ... half a dozen draft and probably even more half draft posts that I want to finish, and I am constantly having more and more ideas.
And I am feeding off the writing of other people, which is in turn inspiring me.
It is like an artist's residency. The more I put into HIVE, the more I can creatively extract from other people's ideas, their feedback, their criticism, and their thoughtfulness, which leads to a sort of feedback loop where we all lift each other up higher as creatives, as human beings.
It is a hard thing to articulate, but it is a really nice and warm, fuzzy feeling.
At the moment, I don't have a job, so I don't treat hive like one, instead, I treat it as my "pub", or "bar", to have as many conversations with as many strangers as I possibly can.
@vincentnijman - you might enjoy this? 🙏🪷🤗💖
I guess we will find out? :D Thanks for helping spread my post far and wide!
You are most welcome, @holoz0r ! 🪷 It is very good to read others' thoughts, feelings & experiences on Hive, etc - I've been aware that there are some controversies swimming around tge blockchain these days, and I really enjoy hearing positive explorations of how important the space is for us.
My twinflame and I met here, and that brought me into a deeper relationship with Hive ❤️🔥
I know that in some ways it is ahead of its time - at least from my own humble panoramic experiencing of it: there are positive roots in solid values - even if the very creation of online/ 'virtual' community now is bound to attract a certain level of detritus like personal dramas, AI shite and vote bating, but the foundations have such potential that I can filter the greater part of that out.
Looking forward to building more connections, meaningful exchanges and even possible real-life cocreative rapports, all in right timing 🙏🍀🌼
Great discussions!
That is an incredible thing! I'm happy for you!
In response to some other points you made:
Online communities have come and gone - but HIVE is the one that I have personally seen exist the longest, or at least, in my own delusion, the one that I have remained adhered to.
Thank you for your meaningful and thoughtful comment!
This is an emotional piece penned down. I couldn't help but let my imagination take me back to the beginning... 9 years ago, when you had this connection, built friendship and explored.
It's a pity we can't control a lot of things that happen around us. I happy #Hive made a great change in your life by paying off your mortgage and giving you financial freedom.
I'm not giving up on hive soon. I know one day, I will achieve someone big and share my story to encourage others. Until then... I will continue to play my part to grow the platform and engage with others.
Thanks for this encouraging article 🩷🧡
I don't know what I will be writing about this time next year, but hopefully it will be a little bit different to what I've published here. Hopefully it will have just as much emotional impact to everyone who reads it.
Anniversaries aren't a marker of how we feel about things, because we feel things every single day. We can't just behave one way on that day, if we don't feel that way about things every single day.
I am glad you won't give up on hive anytime soon, and I encourage you to constantly reflect on what the relationships you develop here mean, and to some extent, the relationships you build in reality, too.
If it were not for this place, I would have never met one of my best friends - who is no longer even on the chain, but will be coming round to my house to watch a movie and play some board games with my wife (and neighbours) and I today!
What a lovely post...so well said...well articulated....Thank you!
Happy Hive Birthday! @holoz0r
I really miss others who are gone now for one reason or another...that is the deepest cut.
Kind Regards, Bleujay
Hopefully you and your circle can continue to stick around - at the end, all we have is each other.
I've seen your name around at times, you write rather well, I made it through your discussion finding it interesting that I am not the only one who wonders where a lot of people went. I also think of Hive now as sort of a ghost town, basically so is steem, if not even worse. Steem originally was vibrant and full of fun. It had a matrix of colorful characters along with interesting stories of how people lived in different regions of the world by telling their everyday life stories. Of course you could get your intellectual stimuli by clicking on a dozen or more topics, like psychology for example, and finding enlightenment. Than, one day, that dreaded value added came along and destroyed everybody's fun, that, and the dreaded "pick your corner concept" tribe to follow. When you lose the insight to accept individuals for their contributions, while setting limits upon a pedestal, it's a failed endeavor to keep the growth needed for viability to retain the base as a whole instead of closed door private club.
Every club should have an open door. Otherwise, new people will be alienated and not welcomed. It of course takes confidence from the person entering the club - to get involved with it, and to continuing showing up. To forget people's names, and to learn them again, then forget them again.
I think that I have just started writing with my heart instead of my brain, and it makes it a lot easier.
Yeah, you should stick with the Nigerians, they are a lot easier to convince.
It's amazing you've been around here for so long. It seems it paid off at least a little bit. It's great to know that people like you will be sticking around!
If Hive has a couch, I've probably left a stain on it somewhere. At least that is how I like to look at my writing :P
Haha, maybe 9 years from now I'll be able to say the same
When I'll be writing a similar post nine years from now, you'll be in that post for sure, my friend. And I hope you'll still be alive and kickin' in 2033. If not here on Hive, at least in real life.
I have some people here that I can consider my friends, from all over the world. And I hope one day to meet them in person. The good thing of Hive still being so small is that allows for stronger connections with people, because we feel part of a precious little niche. Or at least this is how I feel as a Hivean.
Just please don't write something this long in the hand written community :P
I think I have the life expectancy left in me to still be around in 2033, 2044, 2055. If I make it to 2066, I'll see that as a win :P If I make it to 2077, then I'll play Cyberpunk 2077 again.
I like to think that the "trust" we build in a "trustless" world of crypto like HIVE means that many of us have spare beds promised to us all across the globe. Yet, our daily active users wouldn't fill a medium sized stadium.
@holoz0r your title amazed me, nine year really a long time and you say it take a quarter of your life! And you still here with your great feeling. People come and go but Their interaction with others remain our mind as memory
You say
My journey to this platform is not so long, but my one of favorite task is visit others profile,read and take experience because I'm newcomer, and when i see any profile that active one or two or three years ago i think like you thay "are they dead?" they came here with hope, share emotions and just go!
You also notice that
Finally I like your post, the style of expression, you remember everyone who create value to your life from this platform,who first interact with you, that proves you have good heart. Thank you share your post with us and hope have a Great Day!
Every year, we may lose a few more people, but we'll never lose what they contributed.
This post, and all the comments I've gotten on it, remind me of that.
I think the most beautiful one that I've had is that instead of looking at it as loss, I should look at it as all the people that I haven't met yet.
I really love your perspective,Instead of focusing on the people we lost, looking forward to all the amazing people we haven’t met yet is such a beautiful and positive way to see things. This mindset truly keeps the journey meaningful and hopeful. Thank you for sharing such inspiring words!
Got me looking back a bit also to August 2016. My old Steemit account still exists - have not moved the Steemit out after powering down for the move to Hive. My interactions became a habit - a daily journal on Actifit - every single day since that started. The scroll is of post after post with 1 or 2 likes and no votes. Gets a bit better these days. BUT what it does is for e the steps to be done, a photo taken and and a journal done. Value for me and for the occasional passer by.
And today you got a new follower. There are a few people from those early days that I now see on other platforms.
As with all things, consistency is key.
I wrenched my Steem out of my steem account at the time of the fork, and piled it all into Splinterlands, and well, the rest of that is history. I don't have any of the Splinterlands stuff anymore, but it was never really about that game being the soul focus of being here.
It was always about the ability to post something, and know that it would sit, unchanged, and for everyone who encountered it, to know the same thing - to know that they can interrogate the history of an idea, the history of a statement, and to me, that brings integrity to a place like hive.
There is a bit of a ghost town - but to reflect on my statement of there being nothing worse in the world than to be ignored - so many many people write their journals alone, and they're not read until they're gone.
Here at least, we can bounce those thoughts off others, if they cross our paths. I wonder if two acti-fitters have ever crossed paths on a walk irl, never once knowing it :)
Like that strange feeling you get when you hear the same song coming from the car stopped next to you at the traffic lights - and you have that realisation that they're listening to the same radio station as you - a rarer and rarer sensation.
Wow!
9 years is a long long time.
I could see your heart in every line. These writings are as deep as your photo.
Man is indeed a social being.
In a bid of wanting to stay social some may struggle with finding the balance between actively interacting with their immediate physical environment and sustaining an active interaction on social platforms.
With digital platforms, it builds from curiosity, to excitement, to an unstable energy usually because of the inability to strike the balance between the two.
Your writing truly does come from a place of deep reflection.
Thanks for commenting on the photo. It is a fantastic spot in a building that is getting turned into a mental health hub - but I saw the potential for a dramatic "self" portrait (even if someone else pressed the camera button) - I did everything else! And it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I love photography so much, particularly portraits!
We are definitely social beings, and I deliberately, (selfishly?) spent a few more hours than I normally would away from hive this morning - and really didn't do anything super meaningful. For me, it is all about keeping my brain ticking at a constant rate, and enjoying learning, absorbing, and feeding my imagination.
I'll never run out of things to do or things to see, I am interested in too many things.
Great concept!
You come across as an artsy person tbh.
Thank you for being a sincere and transparent.
Your words are touching and honest, and they've undoubtedly touched every passionate, creative, and loving person like you. I'm new to this platform, having only been on it for four months, and I'm starting to fear for my future and the continuation of this series, despite my attachment to it.
Thank you for your honesty. I've followed you and hope to continue on this platform. I hope so for you, too, as the platform needs creative people like you.
Don't be afraid. Just don't vanish like so many others. Stick around - it is worth it. Loss is what makes something worth loving.
Thanks for your words I will do my best to continue
Posts and people like you make me trust HIVE, the only place in the crypto world with heart and the best technology. Happy 9
We must all do our part to keep it beating :)
Yes, sir!! ❤❤❤
Wow, everything you wrote really touched my heart. Believe me, you haven't wasted your time. I've been on the platform for less than four years, and I've had the best experience of my life. I'll continue creating content and investing in my beautiful blockchain as long as I can. Perhaps we'll experience better times in the future. This is a social network where we share content to be appreciated. But also read by other people—that's the gratification of our content reaching so many people and being appreciated. Sometimes we have so much to do and don't have time to consume it all the precious content found on hive. I hope to run into you more often and appreciate your content.9 years is a lifetime, keep going and many blessings. Better times will come. But believe me, you haven't wasted your time.
Greetings... 💖
!LUV
!HUG
Time can only be wasted if you regret, or are afraid of the past. My view is that the past can't hurt you, only the future - so that is what I am really scared of, the future, of a place without all the people that makes hive such a wonderful place.
I mean, it really isn't a place, but we all treat it like one.
Will they come back? Where did everyone go?
Well, if I knew, I wouldn't be wondering just that.
Wow reading This, I'm lost of words. I don't know where to start from, I don't even know what to say. But I could only say one thing which is Weldon. Thank you for keeping hive alive. And thank you for this motivational words. I will start following you from today and make sure I interact with others.
I like to lead by example! :)
You're a good leader. Reading you yesterday thought me a lot of things. Thank you.
I read like a history and thanks for sharing the experience. You are here and none/nothing going to leave you! Often we are scared to lose something we love the most and I can see that fear of lose in this post. Stay positive and stay motivated, more years to go with hive and I loved those portraits you’ve shared, thanks once again.
All people leave, eventually. Whether they take you with them is the important part. They can always endure in our memories :)
Your experiences with blockchain are very interesting. And you still have a long way to go.
We all do.
I am hearing this loudly. I share with you with what you said, to love something is to know that someday it will be lost. I'll stay and keep reading. Congrats for your 9th year :).
Just make sure you stay for the right reasons. This content is by no means meant to coerce people into staying, but for them to hopefully see the same innate beauty that I do in HIVE, and all of its people.
🙂👍
Long time no see! Hope you're well!
yep it has been awhile. All good here though, see ya when we see ya 😃
Hummm! I don't have much to say after reading this, but I salute people who have been here for long enough, who have built many connections, and shared wonderful and valuable content. Content that added values to many secretly. I wished I knew Hive before now.
I am glad I have come to know this great platform. Values are what defines great gathering, and this content is of great value. I am even reminded of my life off the chain; the people I used to know years back, the people I wished to hear from them at least once again, but they.. they are gone. Never to be seen nor heard from anymore.
A perfect reminder that someday in the future, all of us, will be silent and never to be heard again. But still we will live on; not with interactions, but in a perfect remembrance of the values we left behind, and in the heart of many who valued our work.
I appreciate this content.
The quiet value is in the hundreds of posts that make below than average rewards, but have a loyal, focused following that generates really deep discussion and insightful comments.
You are so right that this feeling of loss is not just on hive, but also of former colleagues, former friends, and the people who flowed out of our social circles.
I still think of many people in those situations as well, and think of them fondly.
They're still around, I could probably find them if I tried, but would they want me to? Perhaps they feel the same way about you and me, too, those lost "souls"
I feel you! I've been on and off writing content in Steemit before and even in Hive, been 7 years in this Social-Virtual Place, and I am delighted to see some progress going on in the blockchain, being actively upvoting daily provides little investment, and it's better than not doing at all. I believe that consistency and productivity are the keyS . I am not a techy type of person, but staying here and making pleasant virtual connections is beyond helpful, which makes you grow. Thank you for this post @holoz0r :)
The best posts on HIVE, in my opinion, are always the ones that make you passionately feel something. You don't need to be technical, you don't need to be pretty, you don't need to be a drama queen.
You just need to be interesting, and articulate - as well as smart, because there are a lot of smart people here, people waaay smarter (and wiser) than me, and the best reward I can get is the opportunity to have discussions with them every day, and to expand my own horizons.
Thanks for the reminder - just realized I had my 9th anniversary yesterday
Great and thoughtful post dude!
Goes by quick. So quick. You've got almost double my post count - how has your nine years felt?
Writing a post - shorter than yours but you can see my take on the last years - still confidence but things need to be improved - we lost good folks during the fork which was not their mistake - need to find solutins for me real life as of job losing shit (can not outline more) - need money and more - good i can talk about this here - can not at home right now. The small community is still great and as long as it sticks together and is not killing accounts based on personal opinions we have a chance.
I'll check it out shortly. :)
double post count stems probably from the eary days mainly where i tried to post a lot . now trying at least to do my 3 posts a week, sometimes 5, sometimes none in 2 or 3 weeks. Try to reduce content to my music passion mainly. Did some photography contests in the past which was fun but also time consuming in project management
I often seek out peoples social media or discord or telegram so we can stay in touch. I remember an artist whose work I loved. They disappeared and I couldn’t find them anywhere. I wanted to ask them to make a cover for my book but they were just gone. I guess they were doing it as a hobby with a fake name and found a normal job and gave up although I have no way of knowing.
I haven’t been as reciprocal with my reading others work as I would like to be but I don’t let the most important relationships I’ve made here die easily. In fact talking to @riversflow a few moments ago and she mentioned you and it reminded me that I still needed to reply to your comment which made had made me smile!
I’ve always said it’s the rewards and the relationships that keep me here. If the money disappears I’ll move to private DMs cause I’m going to write either way but I don’t necessarily need to share it as much and the stuff I want to share either way will always find an outlet. If the friends all disappear I can’t imagine I’ll be able to stomach spending any time here.
But both remain so here I am! It may be far less than before but at least I am still here and still letting our words bring us closer to each other and ourselves
I am pretty selective with the "full" / "everything" reading, but if I am going to vote on something, I read the whole thing and try to fathom exactly what it is doing.
I periodically pull down (as in download) all my hive content, and archive it, so in the event that I do leave this place, or this place vanishes, I will at least have a record that I can republish to my website.
I am not one of those anonymous faces, heck, my domain which leads to my full name is linked in my profile. I am unapologetically myself, I have nothing to hide.
My flaws, my vulnerabilities, my truths are all scattered in my history here. I know that I can't change them. That past is carved. I love the immutability, the accountability to my past self, but so many do not.
We are the outcome of our past decisions and the impacts of the environment that shaped us - to deny that, is to deny what we are at this very moment as beings - and that is something I simply refuse to do.
May your creative fulfilment be enriched and grow richer with each attempt :)
@riverflows, cough cough.
Wow. Your ending words are poetic. I bet someone could turn it into a haiku.
Is there still a bot that rewards haikus?
A few years ago, I felt very solemn about the loss of friends on this platform.
First, the impatient ones arrived here looking for a quick buck, and left disappointed, after learning their instagram, Facebook, and YouTube they were so dissatisfied with were still earning much more than this platform. I made friends with many of them, and the buzzing energy they brought, and professional work ethic they exuded was very infectious to us all. Then they were gone, as soon as their profits shrank.
So many ragequit after being blacklisted for petty things. I'd go and vouch for their character, then realize why they quit. The process the redeem themselves was a ridiculous humiliation and manipulation of power with no obvious solution.
Nowadays I just think about why I am still here. I lurk, mostly.
The pennies trickle in. It adds up slowly. Hive has flatlined. For me it feels dead when there is a lack of volatility. A lack of new voices causing a stir.
People are still here though, and they are starting to be more confident in speaking their true selves, instead of serving a make-believe algorithm that never existed. Hive has a weird way, both its users and its currency, of recycling itself. It grows just as fast as it devours its own. Like the chaos of life, it is what it is. It destroys what it grows.
Despite this, we can still find precious moments and memories through the windows of our the posts of people we find and follow. New life is constantly reincarnated with every refreshed feed.
This comment is way more beautiful than it had any right to be. Well written. I love your statement:
Someone will steal these words, be careful :P I guess it is a cycle. People come back in droves when the price is "high", but they're missing the point. Its the deep, communal and individual connections that are formed.
I would also suggest that a lot of hive is sort of para-social. If you've got a high HP , you're probably going to get a whole bunch of people leaving comments on your content that isn't exactly top quality or insightful.
I had that once upon a time when I had a higher HP, before I cashed out some HIVE for splinterlands (now all sold) and my dream camera lens (which I still use to make content for HIVE for (when I can get models and model releases) ) but I am so content, with the literal dozens of people I can interact with each day, and ... for the response to this post, well, I wouldn't say that I've been overwhelmed, but I have read, and intend to respond to every single comment.
Being social is the goal here, and I never feel drained after interactions on hive, in fact, it invigorates and challenges me to be an even better writer, person, and future corpse :)
This blog speaks a lot for different users in this platform. I carefully read your content and one thing I liked is your deep reflection of before and during your milestone. You must be so happy in this platform that when I read your words I feel poignant feeling but also joyful emotions. This platform is not only a keychain but a community that a person, who never expected to be here, will be grateful for the rest of his/her lifetime. I hope I can see more posts from you because man, tbh, I am amazed by your reflection and also inspired to be good here.
Oh, there's a lot of posts that I write. My only warning is that my content and the topics I explore are very varied. You could see game reviews, movie reviews, book reviews. Stuff about Art. You could see my portrait photography. You could see some data analytics. You could see stuff about music. You could see short stories or longer ones.
I have so many varied interests, and I'm passionate about all of them, so, I bring my whole self to hive.
Great post man. I recall the transition from Steem to Hive - I am still not entirely sure what that was all about, I was thankfully recommended to just over and that's all she wrote :) Many more years to come! Interesting times for sure!
Well, there's a documentary film about that coming out (or having just been released) - hopefully someone shares on chain a way to watch it for free. It is called Freechain - if my memory is working.
Oh sweet! I will have a search and watch :)
I haven't seen it (or gone looking the last few days) - but it will come; at some point in the future
Something like that happened to me, you know? I bought this new cellphone and I didn't realise my keys were not well saved in the other cellphone I was using yo, and I almost lost everything here... Thanks to this mani I have to write own anything (yes, using an old fashioned agenda-book) I found all my keys. Analog, old but certainly useful... So, not all leave the platform I think there's many reasons and causes... But I believe there’s (also) some upgrades Hive should be able to display. Like betting way more into ads. I'm aware sme of the spirit from this beautiful experiment is against marketing manners but (is my view) capitalism (and it's tool) are the only way to explode and expand all over... Loved your post, friend @holoz0r
You might lose your assets, but the chain will never lose your posts. Where is the value - the assets, or the posts? Can certainly come back with a new account if the worst happens, but money is just money, 1 hive = 1 hive.
I would prefer for my content to not have advertising injected into it, but I don't think there's enough incentives for advertisers (particularly on my content) to want to have a placement, anyway :P
It's a complicated manners indeed. But we are living in the world we are living, friend... All the greatest ideas well done development has a sustainable way to catch money into it... I was taking about ad between the posts, no. But something about regular marketing... Thank you for sharing your thoughts
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