As a newbie here on Hive, you may come to find that there isn't exactly a guide that you'll meet the moment you sign up. You either already have an onboarder that tries to show you around or you have found your way on your own for a while. Hive is an excitingly buzzy place, and it can get a bit muddled up or overwhelmed sometimes. Here are a few tips for a sublime experience on Hive, especially on your first days.
Curiousity. Observation. Enthusiasm.
The easiest and fastest way to learn and grow when starting out with anything is to develop an interest in whatever it may be, get curious, and be observant. Such behaviour tends to make things "make sense" to one quick enough.
For the reason that one may likely have come from the web2 space, there are many concepts about Hive and Web3 that wouldn't make much sense. Things like frontends, tokens, stablecoins, upvotes, and many more may sound like foreign languages. It gets deeper—knowledge to thrive here, mean—and it is usually those that put in a little more effort to learn about those things that get the hang of things earlier and do better with every turn.
It is important to be open to ideas, inquisitive, and willing to adapt to an entirely new space. With or without an onboarder, one is bound to excel by being ready to learn. Read. Explore. Observe. Experiment.
If you see something that piques your interest, don't be hesitant to inquire about it and gain knowledge; markdowns that look pretty stylish and fancy; different frontends and how they interact with one another; HBD, HIVE, layer two tokens, and how they work; Discord and why people use it a lot for Hive-related activities—anything at all, ask! You'd be surprised to find how fast you'd improve over time.
Put Yourself Out There
You will learn over and over that engagement is very important to one's growth. The general idea is to regularly check other creators around, consume their content, and then engage them with thoughtful and intentional comments. That's golden, and it should be taken seriously. However, what I have to say here is a little bit of an extension of this concept.
You see, it is very important to put yourself out there by also making your interactions meaningful and letting people know you for real. There is authenticity in being ourselves. Not everyone is extroverted, which is understandable, but how can you really connect when you keep your personality all to yourself and stay in your shell? Just as much when you're in a gathering of people and you don't really say anything or interact with people and you just feel like a ghost is how it is here.
In your interactions with people on their posts through comments, let in more of your personality if you can. But the idea I present here is mostly directed at off-chain interactions.
Many Hivers connect on social media platforms outside Hive for related and non-related Hive activities. Discord is the most commonly used one. Get on it if you aren't on it yet, and then join servers that you may be interested in.
Many of the community servers on Discord have activities to facilitate activities between members. Participate in some of them if you can, and when you do interact in the way that you can, keep showing up regularly. Soon enough—with being friendly and mutually respectful, of course—you'll endear yourself to people, and you'll make friends that way.
Be Intentional About Your Interests
In your journey here on Hive, you will find a lot of fascinating stuff. Like many of us, you may start out feeling "nicheless." With the power that Hive gives us all, we are free to be just that and more. What is important is to understand what really matters to you and the type of content you want to consume.
You'll find a lot of different people that you might consider interesting. The big ones, in particular, would be very inspiring to you, like the whales or those with way higher reputation numbers. It's all good and nice to want to keep up with these people and possibly connect with them. There's a catch, however.
When you click on the "follow" button for many people without really being intentional about why you want to follow them and have them pop on your feed, you'll have an issue to deal with. You may eventually begin to realise over time that some of those people may not exactly create content that exactly appeals to you all of the time. When there are so many of them, you then find your feed clogged up with things that you are not really interested in. Then you may never really check your feed much, unless you have lists, of course.
Be certain about your reason to follow people, especially that when they do not follow back (as you may expect), it wouldn't hurt. And then, you have your feed look more appealing, as you would see more of what you gave more thought about following up.
There are many more that one would learn about in their journey on Hive from when they are first starting out, but these are a few to mention to help one have their tracks streamlined.
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When I started here and until about a year later, even just months ago, I felt like a pupil starting out at a new school. There was much information to consume, so many things going on in communities and the discord channels. Because I tried to take it all at once, it became very overwhelming.
My onboarder did his best to teach me the ropes and then let me on to navigate. But because stuff wasn't happening just as fast as I hoped they would, it got tiring. That aside, I wasn't even asking questions, I was all by myself.
To thrive here, work must be done. I know that very much now. In recent times, I've been checking through some of the persons i presume I started almost same time as who are doing quite well here and it's so easy what the difference between myself and them are. They're everywhere. They're consistent. They show up. I lag in these areas. I noticed though that, whenever I put in a little more time and effort here, I always spot some difference.
Two things I know now that will make every newbies journey here a tad bit easier are asking questions and engaging. Plus some tiny little bit of patience. Very important.
I might not exactly be a newbie but I find this helpful for me right now, so, Thank you.
#dreemerforlife
I understand how it feels to see people that you started with or started after you appear to be doing better than you. In as much as I consider myself inquisitive for most of my journey—I still am, though—I was lagging in many areas. I wasn't consistent and wasn't putting in enough effort. I was usually around anyway, observing and learning. And somehow, I got the hang of Hive and turned to be a full-time resident.
There aren't that many people that get all the information that they need to prosper when they are starting out, and it can suck sometimes. What matters is being willing and open to learn, and then what you do when you get the information. I'm glad you found this useful.
This is exceptional guide to newbies 👌...I must commend your effort Jay for being so thoughtful with vital points here that would help any Newbie to navigate easily in this space.
You see this statement? I embraced it during my time as a newbie. I was so curious to understand how things work in hive, a good observer which pushed me to asking questions. You could call me Mrs questionnaire those days as a newbie. I didn't fear getting into people's DM in discord to ask questions 😃, this action pushed me into a great discovery that made my onboarder to cherish my growth till date...he will always say that he is proud of me and how fast I navigate things even without asking him. Oh yes, I didn't limit myself to my onboarder. I explored the chain, mingled with others and build a healthy relationship for myself in this chain which today, some of them are my real life friends including you jay. You talked about discord and other things...it's just the way to go for one to thrive here if not, newbies will continue to see this place as a strange land for a very long time. Hive is too vast, and the best way to thrive well is to become so intentional, define your journey here and every other things will follow.
I admire the way you have always been ready to ask questions about things you are unsure about. It is one of many things that newbies should emulate you on. I was just like that when I started out; I often asked my onboarder questions day in day out, just so I could understand things better. I'd say that has helped me get to where I am now somehow.
As for engagement, you are simply the queen that you are in that regard. It's another thing newbies should pick up from you.
Thank you for always being kind and supportive, Sweet Nkem. And for your kind words here.
This is apt. I doubt if any newbie myself inclusive 😂 will find it difficult navigating on Hive after reading this.
I love the point about engagement. Quality engagement matters on Hive because through it you connect with other people, shared ideas, learn new things and build your network too.
Again is asking questions about what piques your interest or what you do not understand. I remember it was through the reply I got from Khal about HBD savings that made me to start savings and some other important things I've learnt by asking questions.
Exploring communities is another one. There are so many communities both old and new ones coming up which one can explore and then stick to the ones that tickles their fancy.
Finally, to be able to grow on Hive is a gradual process, and it needs focus, determination and consistency.
Let me stop here 😂
#dreemerforlife
Please, I love me some insightful conversations. 😅 And you are bringing awesome contributions to the talk.
I actually disturbed my onboarder a lot. I couldn't always get answers to all of my questions, but I sure was inquisitive. And then I followed up on certain individuals that I often learned from and also asked them questions; people like @finguru. And over time, I started to see how that helped me a lot as understanding concepts and doing better became easier and easier.
Hahaha, my ink finished so I went to buy new ones 🤣
I also did disturb my onboarder but you know there comes a time when you are expected to stand on your feet and explore after being guided to some reasonable extent. I still fall back to him when I encounter difficulties.
This is well detailed Olujay and a good start for newbies.
I was actually overwhelmed when I landed on Hive and before I introduced myself I explored some communities and found out what they were about, visited some creators' blogs without dropping a word because I wanted to learn and observe how things worked here. I wanted my introduction to be perfect (Oh! The fear of making mistake that time 😄). I'm learning everyday, engaging more these days, and asking questions to learn more.
One thing I need to do better is being active in community servers on Discord. I know I am still learning even though I feel my growth is slow, I will keep pushing.
I don't even want to talk much about the follow button 😄 because I fell for it after publishing my intro post, my goodness! I began to follow almost all who upvoted my post but then I quickly realized what I did. It's always good to be intentional about the follow button and not just for a follow back. It keeps us on track on what we intend to feed on and digest.
There is so much to explore on Hive and to be involved in.
I found your blog from dreemport on X.
Thanks so much for sharing this valuable content with us and I'm glad I'm implementing all these but need to publish more often.
I remember how long it took you to write your introductory post. I knew you'd come around to publish it eventually. Everyone's got their own pace, and it's not a race.
I see your activities now and I am impressed. It's a joy to see you show up every now and then to do one or two things on Hive. This post has been long overdue, but it's here now, thankfully. And I am glad that you found it valuable. Thank you, winanda.
Are you on the Hive Naija Discord channel? I haven't seen you around yet. Here's an invite link.
Yeah, thanks for believing in me 😊
You're most welcome Olujay. I'm also glad I have improved in my activities on Hive and will do better.
I tried joining Hive Naija through the link on one of the contest posts but wasn't successful. I will try and join with this link you have shared.
Thanks so much.
Perfectly outlined @olujay I mean this singled it out the cure bases fir starters on the chain
It’s your first outlined for me
You see curiosity builds observation and then enthusiasm, that’s just the perfect flow for it and every newbie that follows this word for word will certainly blow up in no time, I’ll recommend this type some of the newbies I’m grooming
Thanks for this thoughtful post
I like the way you lined it up there: curiousity > observation > enthusiasm. That's exactly how it works.
It would be very nice to have you share with newbies in the future. I'm glad you found it valuable. Thank you.
You nailed man!
Wow. This is really profound. And truly, every newbie needs to read this. I'm glad I saw this.
Well, one of the thing written here, that I have been able to put into action well enough is not following just anybody randomly and for real, I'm glad.
Well, this thing called engagement, I really need to be more proactive with it..
Thank you, Olujay for sharing this beautiful pieces.
I totally enjoyed reading through it.
I see that you're intentional with your activities. Personally, I love the energy you're bringing on these days.
And about engagement, you'll warm up to it. It takes time to get used to it. I believe that we're working on it together.
Your advice for Hive newbies is insightful. Encouraging curiosity, meaningful engagement, and authenticity is crucial. Your tips on learning, off-platform interaction, and intentional following provide a solid foundation for a rewarding experience on Hive. Valuable advice for newcomers
I appreciate that you found it useful, Jessy. Hopefully, more and more newbies will find it and use it for their own good.
I must say, these are great points a newbie needs. Inquisitiveness and learning to ask questions are very important, as is engagement, which provides visibility. If one must follow someone, then it should not be because they expect a follow-back but because they are interested in the contents the person produces.
I feel you, brother.
I just told luchyl about how I used to ask my onboarder questions upon questions, and that even though I didn't always get the answers, his help was immensely useful for growth and I learned faster. I owe him a lot of accolades for being the best one could ask for.
Thank you for coming around, brother.
True story: There's a text editor called Sublime Text. I use it to help me write my posts. I thought you were going to talk about it from the word "Sublime" in your title.
I agree with you that ideally we should "be intentional about our interests". That's how an organic site with organic content and views is supposed to work. Hive still needs to get way more people onboard. Without enough people, this doesn't work well.
This cracked me up. 😅
I know Sublime and I used it for a while until I switched to VScode and Obsidian. I use Obsidian for writing offline.
We do need more people on Hive, actually. The more people we have around, the more effective it is to make things "organic."
Interesting. I'll check out Obsidian.
This is a top notch guide, Jay
This is what has kept me going. For me to stay in one place, I will rather let curiosity kill me😂
The reason I signed up on Hive was due to observation and my curiosity I had no onboarder which made me more curious to know more. I started looking and hurting for where or who to learn from.
The issue of having no onboarder has really made me feel less, there are times where I feel like, I shouldn't be here 😢 because I feel I am the only one with no onboarder, no one to run to if i get confused either 😢 but you that curiousity? It has kept me going.
Hive is vast. It's so wide. So not having someone to show you the ropes can be challenging. I had an onboarder, and so I kind of learned quicker. But it was mostly my curiosity that took me far.
I think you're doing very well for yourself. Keep that up and you'll find yourself in bigger places in the future. With or without an onboarder.
Just ask questions. The worst that can happen when you ask questions is to get "No" as an answer. Storm DMs, politely though, and before you know, you already know a lot.
Yeah...and I ready for what answer I get, all I want is to go far
That's the spirit!
By the way. Where have you been?
See me here naw😁
https://inleo.io/threads/olujay/re-olujay-2hwdz8hkl
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Hehe. All the instructions are very necessary for make hive experience better. I think it's a very good post as a guideline for newbie. 🙂.
Thank you, man. I do help that they get it and find it useful.
Upvote recommended by @intishar as part of Encouragement Program
Keep Up the good work on Hive ♦️
Guess what???
#Dreemport brought me here again cause I'm a #dreemerforlife 😜😂.
You're amazing, Sweet Nkem.😁
This is a detailed post and should be pinned for newbie as a guide into the blockchain.
Thank you for sharing this. #dreemerforlife
Thank you, rukkie. We have it pinned, and it'll be there for a while.
Hi Olujay,
thank you for this guide. As a newbie who is growing on this platform, I consider it really helpful.
You're welcome, bluestack!
This is best guide have seen so far. thanks for sharing with us
You're welcome!