Social systems — by their very nature — seem to revolve around the paradigm of seeking approval in the sense of being included in the system, rather than excluded. The we get to toss the vast range of human motivations into the mix and it becomes quite the soup.
Perhaps the thing about rewards — as we experience them in the Hive ecosystem — is that they provide a very tangible measure of something we otherwise experience is as somewhat fluid and intangible.
What motivates people?
Speaking from the perspective of being a participant — as well as occasional admin/moderator — in various web communities since (wow!) about 1996, it seems that we're always motivated by something, in these social scenarios, even if that "something" is relatively altruistic, in the sense of something like "freely offering expertise." That expert, non-the-less, gets their little dopamine feed from being the recipient of gratitude.
For others, the reward might be control, in the sense of becoming the group's leader or prominent figure.
Maybe the whole topic of quality content, rewards and engagement has been done to death already... but there are always new perspectives, and each new voice that joins the conversation has value, in some way.
I think the primary fallacy I have encountered on Hive — which as dissipated considerably, over the years — was always this notion that simply "being decentralized and on the blockchain" somehow exempts us from dealing with the vagaries of human nature. Not so, of course. At some point, idealism ends up intersecting with reality, and that reality isn't always very pretty.
We each have our personal philosophies. Mine might be summaried by the statement "This appears to be a Golden Goose of sorts, and so my best course of action is to be a participant in feeding and nurturing that goose for as long as possible."
Even if all I can bring is a handful of corn, now and then.
Yes, "quite the soup," @curatorcat.pal. That is certainly one reasonable way to describe it. At least from what I have experienced so far.
We agree on that, as I do not know how one can honestly get around the obvious. Which is what? All the new technology surrounding blockchains and the rest do nothing to solve the fundamentals of human nature.
As questioned in this post, I am not convinced getting paid to interact with others helps the situation much. To the contrary, I think a reasonable case might be made it makes it worse.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your perspective! 🤝