It's been ages since my last post about Hive, so I think it's time to write another one today. Maybe with this post I can change your mind and make you see the possibilities Hive has to offer, from a different angle.
Not long ago I came across a post by accident, but was very glad I did as the post is brilliant. It was written in 2019, but it's still very valid and will be valid for a long time.
The post is called The Business of Blogging and How To Take Over The World, was authored by nonameslefttouse and discusses Hive, as a business. Please go read it first, as you won't regret it, even if you're not a newbie anymore.
Why is the post interesting and important too? Because it explains why you should plant the seeds instead of eating them and why you should treat Hive as a business.
The Beginning
Being here day by day, reading posts day by day makes you know the user base a little better and you can see how people think. If you want to understand them, you need to know how they think.
Many are joining Hive, hoping to make some money. Hive is not like any other social media platforms, it's more than those web2 platforms out there. I suspect the majority of the new users come through onboarders (friends, family members). This means they get a presentation about Hive first and most likely the keyword during the presentation is make money. I suppose this is the easiest way to convince anyone to join. Yes, you can make money on Hive and mentioning this to onboardees is not wrong, but is it enough?
I suppose obtaining financial independence and financial stability would be the ultimate goal for everyone, but judging from what I see, not many know how to get it, neither are they willing to learn how to get there.
The easiest way to try to earn on Hive at the beginning seems to be by blogging. Author and curation rewards are distributed after a 7 day period. One part of your payout is powered up, transforming it into HP (HivePower), the other part is landing in your wallet as liquid HBD (Hive Backed Dollar). There are cases when we get paid in Hive, HP and HBD as well, but let's not complicate things for now as it's not the case at the moment.
At the beginning, it would be recommended to convert your HBD into Hive and power it up, to be able to post, comment and curate without restrictions. Some do that, which is great for both the user and Hive, while in other cases all the liquid Hive hits the exchanges the day it is distributed. Some don't even take the time to learn how to transfer their Hive to the exchanges, they rather let their onboarder do it, which makes it look even worse.
Obviously you are free to decide what you want to do with your earnings and it's your right to cash it out, but is it in your best interest as well? It's nice to get some dollars or local currency, which can serve to buy something, but as you can't have the cake and eat it too, this equals to eating the seeds.
How To Make Money?
Yes, this is the big question in life, how to make money? Hive is offering a solution to everyone, by distributing rewards from the reward pool. How? That's a good question and if you really want to know the answer, you need to put in the necessary effort to learn how.
Relying on author rewards is one way to make ends meet, if you can earn enough, but it's never going to make you rich or get you financial freedom. It's like a normal job as you still have to show up day by day, do your post and s rewards are not guaranteed, your earnings depend on quite a lot of factors.
I see many newbies rushing to delegate whatever little stake they have accumulated, to get some money. Some are delegating all their stake and are happy as they are getting paid. Delegating is a good thing, as you are supporting the project and you're getting paid too, but delegating all your stake too early, when you're active on chain is not the ideal option for a newbie.
Not long ago I saw an old user advertising their curation trail services. This means you follow their curation trail and automatically vote what they are voting on, to get some curation rewards. They promised maximized curation earnings, which can be tempting of course, but when I checked their curation APR, it was obvious that they could do way better. (Most likely some of you may be asking yourselves what curation APR is. Yeas, there's such thing on Hive.)
Responsibility?
The truth is, everyone wants to get rich and right away if possible. Everyone wants the money without working for it. Delegating your stake to get paid means you're letting others use your money in exchange for some rewards. Following curation trails means you curate on posts other choose for you. In both cases you are accepting the decisions others are making for you and getting paid accordingly.
The question is, how do you want to achieve financial freedom, without taking responsibility for your actions and finances?
Most people are blaming the government for the bad economical situation of their country, their boss for not paying enough for the work they do, banks for not paying higher interest rates and so on. There's always someone to blame and that someone is always someone else.
Crypto is meant to replace the old, obsolete financial system, separate money from politics and the state, stop money printing and all kinds of manipulation. Crypto also means owning your crypto and you can have that on Hive. You own your keys, you own your wallet. Yet, many choose to rely on others to do the job for them, then complain for not getting enough and blame those who have more. You swap one master for another, instead of learning how to earn and manage your finances yourself.
Unfortunately history has the habit of repeating itself and if you've been here long enough, you see the same excuses over and over again.
I didn't know.
Obviously you can't know everything. Hive is a complex place, it's not so easy to understand how it works and learning is a process that takes time. However, how many are putting in the work to really learn how the financial part of Hive works, instead of relying on others?
Unknown Concepts
Every time there's a discussion about earnings, someone (or quite a lot of people actually) gets offended and the perpetual concept of rich must give the poor comes back. Newcomers are amazed by how much some users have and think those must help newbies at any cost. Newbies actually get a lot of help on Hive, there are programs focusing on helping this category of users, however, living with this type of entitlement is the fastest road to nowhere. It stops you from learning, working hard and evolving. Many are leaving because their dreams don't come true. Hive is just an example, but if you look further, you'll see this type of behavior in life, wherever you go.
How about making some changes?
How about making an effort to learn something every day, to be a better version of yourself tomorrow?
How about learning how you can earn on Hive, other than just posting?
How about focusing on making your Hive wallet a saving account, that can be grow in time, to serve as a safety blanket or even more?
How about learning what passive income is and put your money to work, instead of you working for money?
How about focusing on helping others grow, instead of just taking?
How about learning to handle your own finances, instead of always depending on others?
Those times, when you just walked in an office and the clerk took care of everything for you are long gone and never coming back. Today we do a lot of works that a few years ago were handled by trained professionals. Today you are the professional who has to handle things and how trained you are, depends only on you. The outcome depends on you as well. There are a lot of possibilities, but nothing is for free. If you're here for the money, you should learn how to get it. Cheating, stealing and waiting for handouts is not the way. Just my two cents.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
- Communities Explained - Newbie Guide
- Cross Posting And Reposting Explained, Using PeakD
- Hive Is Not For Me
- How To Pump Your Reputation Fast - Newbie Guide
- Tips And Tricks & Useful Hive Tools For Newbies
- More Useful Tools On Hive - Newbie Guide
- Community List And Why It Is Important To Post In The Right Community
- Witnesses And Proposals Explained - Newbie Guide
- To Stake, Or Not To Stake - Newbie Guide
- Tags And Tagging - Newbie Guide
- Newbie Expectations And Reality
This is another good piece, erikah.
Hive is indeed a complex ecosystem, but you don’t learn anything about it sitting around and having your onboarder do all the technical stuff.
I don’t know about others, but to be honest, Hive fascinated me when I joined and that fascination made me really inquisitive and determined to learn more and explore more. Like most people, I did join under the blog and earn slogan, and my case was even worse because I had crazy expectations. But over the months, I’ve learnt a lot and I’m proud of how far I’ve come these past months.
Hive is full of limitless opportunities if you’re willing and know where to look. It offers so many alternatives to passively earn, and the best thing is that you don’t need to invest a penny yourself - you can blog to earn the money you’ll be investing. Hive is just truly amazing.
Yeah, tell those who are here for a get rich quick session 😃
Everyone has crazy expectations. When they see older users and especially wallets, they think earning is so easy. Well, it's not. Those users worked for years to get where they are and quite many invested fiat or other crypto currencies. Which is the exact opposite of cashing all out.
I couldn't agree more, but, for people to see this, it requires a bit of an effort and money does not grow on trees.
Great post and I agree with you a lot. What you said is exactly what I feel and I was planning to write a post about it soon. We need to support beginners in the right way. And it's hard to understand people who have been on Hive for so long and still have 50 HP. I know there are people who make a living from it and I leave them out of it, but other than that people, please stop converting all your Hives. 20 Hives can't really buy you anything. If you save them you will earn ten times a month just from curation. Don't be so cash oriented. Hive is also an investment for the future.
Unfortunately not everyone thinks like that. many can only see the cashing cow, milk what you can and then run off, look for the next milking cow. They will regret is later.
Takes deep breath...
I have only been here for a little over a year, and the first thing I noticed was that there isn't exactly some ruleset or manual on how to operate here, until I began to find individuals like you that take out of their time give essence and enlightenment to those that will learn. I am glad I came across this.
That article by nonameslefttouse is one of the many golden articles that should be engraved on stones. I have now been enlightened on my "responsibility" as a user and how businesses (Hive) work.
It is all a lot—powerfully impactful, in fact—but my big takeaway is that I shou;d be more thoughtful on how to contribute and not just take. Making money (being paid) is great, but it takes money to make money.
I am curious, though, about learning what curation APR is and how it works. If you can be so kind to help me with some material that could help, it'll be awesome.
Newbies usually are greeted by curation groups, curators and are given some links to start learning, but many skip that for various reasons. Hive.blog has a F.A.Q., but I wonder how many took the time to go through everything that is written there.
That is very true, but a good part of the users think they have all the right to cash out everything and those who have some stake are obliged to help them cash out more. They can't see that those who have a bigger stake are in that position because they haven't cashed out their earnings and/or invested fiat in the platform. If everyone would cash out everything, Hive would go to zero. It's not rocket science. At some point everyone should think of giving back, otherwise where would Hive be?
source
This is your curation APR, 6.89%. But with 1,390 HP, redirecting your earnings to another account and cashing out, you can't expect for much. You can't have the cake and eat it too. You said it yourself, it takes money to make money.
You are indeed right. Hive would be nothing if everyone just took out from it and not contribute.
I really appreciate that you took the time to enlighten me. The reality as it seems now is that I could do better. Thank you for explaining.
Have a great day! 🙂
Here you go, @merit.ahama
Thanks, I've seen mine 🙂
I'm interested in learning about the curation APR too
Do let me know if any guide is given Jay 🙂
That makes two of us now. No problem!
Haha yeah, thanks 💯
source
This is your curation APR @merit.ahama. As I said to olujay, you can't expect much with 2,204.87 effective HP. You delegated the majority of your stake for reason you know best, giving up your right to curate.
Oh I see, thanks
That post of NoNames sounded familiar to me so I just checked and yes, I read it and even commented on it back in 2019 :) A great piece. But your follow up is good and useful too. Good job guys, both of you :)
Thank my friend, we both tried :) The rest depends on others.
You are right and the best way to create wealth on Hive is to compound. Compounding is the only thing that can help you create more money.
The millionaires of the world did not make their wealth spending every penny, Hive is no different.
It's true that the primary reason for inviting people to hive is the earning next is writing about your thoughts, learning friendship and many more.
Much more than that.
Hi there! Your post about Hive is impressive! I loved how you addressed the topic of making money on the platform, and I totally agree that we should treat Hive like a business and plant the seeds instead of eating them. It's exciting to see how you focus on learning and growing on Hive, and how you encourage others to do the same. Your tips on how to grow your Hive wallet like a savings account are truly inspiring, and I'm eager to put them into practice. Thank you for sharing your insights and advice on how to grow your presence on Hive more effectively!
I'm glad you liked it and I'd be happy to know it's helpful.
Muy interesante todo lo que planteas y muy provechoso conocer sobre todo esto que hablas para los que como yo somos nuevos en Hive 👍
I'm glad to hear that.
When I was a newbie, I read more, I learn about powering up, delegating and curation trails, and the importance of engagement. It help me to learn more about how hive works. Reading some of your articles also help me to understand how this works.
Without learning, you have nothing. It may be confusing at the beginning, but still, learning is the best way to succeed.
This struck a chord inside of me and I can’t help but reflect on my life here on Hive, thank you so much.
Once in a while we need things like this to make us reflect and reevaluate our lives
I think we always have to think like this, but that's just my 2 cents. It's up to each of us to decide what's best for us.
The open questions you have left really got me thinking.
Thank you for this post, I think it is a great guide. I will be checking out the links you have shared with us.
Please do, there are a few useful guides there.
You have touched on many points here and there is a lot to learn and take responsibility for if one wants to thrive in this ecosystem. Great messages.
That is right and it is the only way.
I am sharing your posts with some Hivers. Reblogged as well. I hope many will see it and read it.
(Sorry about the typos)
Definitely reading your post I was left with my mouth open hahaha there is so much to learn...you left a lot of questions that left me thinking 🤔🤔🤔🤔.
I'm glad you consider thinking of answering those questions.
Well if every time you write you make super posts like this you'll be forgiven for not doing it often heh heh!
I agree with you across the board; going deeper into Hive su you can discover that there are many ways to earn and that in the future they will be able to give you financial freedom.
However, one must be far-sighted and patient and also balanced.
For example, as a first rule I accumulate, accumulate and accumulate, for now the savings are not touched!
I take advantage of the Hbd APR, take advantage of some proxies and, obviously, the care and writing which are also a passion for me.
It is important to take responsibility and own your own destiny.
Congratulations again, great post!
And also what you suggested is very useful and beautiful and always current.
A hug!
😂 You're funny, do you know that?
We agree on that, Hive is much more than just a blogging platform and posting is not the only way of earning but it takes time and dedication to learn how Hive works.
This is actually gold and whoever sees the meaning and can do it, will get far in time. So congrats on that my friend.
Thanks for the valuable comment and for stopping by. Have a nice weekend 🤗
Oh. So that's why that post was getting so many views and reblogs that time... lol
I'm not sure as there's no way for me to follow your stats, but I did mention it in this post 😊
I was so confused. One day I'm sitting here not posting but just being around doing whatever. Suddenly out of nowhere that post is getting reblogs nonstop. I think 40+ PeakD views out of nowhere. I'm sitting here scratching my head. Am I going viral? It made NO sense lol. Such an old post. It's talking about steem. Was tempted to go edit everything to say Hive.
I found your post googling myself, looking for an image on my blog that I needed to close out my post. Stumbling into this was a total fluke.
Good thing people took the time to read it as most of them are too lazy to do that, especially if they see it's a long post :) It as a very good one and I hope they learnt something. And sorry for the inconvenience, but at least it gave you a little detective work 😃
I wouldn't call it an inconvenience. Truth is it helped motivate me. Series of events was something like reading the post, it's a good reminder, then I freaked out and left a comment there saying it's dated and to replace all steem with Hive, which somehow triggered nathen007 to appear and tell me to post something, and I eventually did. Was my first post in months. I thanked him for the push. Suppose I can thank you too now lol.
This world is so weird sometimes...
In this case I'm glad I mentioned your post in mine. You and your posts are highly valued on Hive and would be glad to see more from you :)
This morning I saw your recent post, went through it quickly, but need to read it properly and comment. It's a funny one for sure 😅
I hope you get back to regular posting 😜
Can even see the timestamps. Yours here is April 13. April 15 I published. Then somehow managed to push out seven after that since, which is the longest streak I've had in years.
And thanks for that reminder as well along with the kind words there. Sometimes I forget...
As a newbie, this really hits me. So many things to learn. XD
Indeed, there are a lot of things to learn here.
Bookmarked everything you mentioned in the related articles. hehe
I can't say I agree with you on everything being said here and it's because I just realized I still have a whole lot to learn even though I'm over 2 years here.
I'll be checking out nonameslefttouse's article immediately, thanks for this article ma'am... We keep learning 💯
You don't have to agree with me, these are my thoughts, my point of view, you are free to have yours, whatever that is.
Yes, we keep learning.
I checked out nonameslefttouse's article and it was full of so much take home lessons about this hive ecosystem and here we are with your amazing article here. I was reading and reflecting on me and hive so far. I got so much value Erika, many thanks for this.
I'm glad to hear that. I think it's good to show Hive from different point of view from time to time.
very good writing. I really like the explanation in this article. and I can understand it too. thanks a lot guys.
Happy to hear that.
This is an excellent idea. Not only will it show commitment to Hive, newbies who grow together are "the next generation". Eventually we are going to see some whales who joined in 2023.
This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project
This is an excellent idea. Not only will it show commitment to Hive, newbies who grow together are "the next generation".
Without that, we have nothing, but sometimes selfishness is ruling.
Those who want to let selfishness dominate won't be our next generation. They probably won't be whales anywhere either.
!LUV
@erikah, @wrestlingdesires(5/10) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community |
HiveWiki | 
NFT | <>< daily
They won't get far for sure. Just watch when Hive hits another level, makes a new ATH, pay attention to the level of saltiness. All those who left will be back, hoping to et rich.
And that's when it's really hard to get rewards at all. This is the same mindset as buy high, sell low. Neither will ever get them anywhere that they want to be.
!PIZZA
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@wrestlingdesires(6/15) tipped @erikah