Hive isn't just about gathering magic internet money, in my opinion, it's a place to connect with others and it is a far better place to do so than other social media's which I have discarded years ago.
I originally came here for the magic internet money, I'll admit. I was writing a fairly successful Wordpress blog that was making me a few hundred bucks a month, which I thought was pretty low because I was comparing myself to the guys in front of me, as we all tend to do but shouldn't. Then I discovered Hive and the idea of making even more came to me.
If that had continued to be my main motivation, I would have left long ago. Just in my first year here I don't think I had a single post that made more than 10 cents. But I stayed because I quickly met a lot of great people, got involved behind the scenes, had more great conversations. And because of that, I'm still here.
If all of crypto, including Hive, disappeared tomorrow, I'd be fine. More time for other things. But I would miss some of the great conversations I have here with people.
And yeah, I do miss a lot of folks who have left over the years. So many of my writing and poetry buddies who dropped out when Justin Sun came into the picture and that whole mess. I keep them in my friend list because I keep hoping they'll come back.
I came to it after six months of resisting it, being told to get involved; I chose not to though until one day, probably to stop the haranguing I was getting, I decided to join. I didn't get good financial payouts but, like you, found a better reason to stay.
I agree with you on the crypto thing; if it vanished I'd not be at all concerned as my income streams do not rely on it. I sometimes wonder how it might go down for those who are taking and using Hive to sustain their lives; probably not well. It also makes me wonder what they did before Hive income came along. At the end of the day it's the relationships that keep me here and there's some who have crossed over into my personal life, people I value.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.