I'm really pleased you raised this and referred back to the @blocktrades post as I have been thinking about this a lot recently. Over in The Ink Well community we have an opportunity to create a go-to destination for readers (consumers) of short stories and poetry and an ongoing long-tail alternative source of income for writers, the majority of whom in the current economies earn very little, if anything, as full-time writers.
From the consumer aspect, I think about my experience as a youtube user: over the past year, I've become someone who visits youtube everyday, I consume vast amounts of information, expertise and entertainment, I am never very unlikely to produce youtube content and I think I have only ever, in the decade or so I've been using it, left about five comments, although I regularly subcribe and upvote posts. I'm the perfect profile of the audience we need for The Ink Well - especially once PeakD introduces facilities like being able to tip as a guest.*
The public investment funds in the UK which are available to support building this kind of audience for creative work have just opened up again after being diverted to COVID-19 relief. I have been working on an investment proposal for about £90,000 (although this may change, most likely upwards, as we develop the proposal). Fundamental to the success of this is a 2nd layer token: it would be very difficult to make the case to an external publicly accountable investor for a Hive-Engine token for all the reasons you say. I like Hive-Engine and the additional facilities it brings to Hive - that's great, but it is a private enterprise, and we don't own the keys :)
*Edit: the big difference here, as I think you've written elsewhere, is that I would be paid to consume.
Thank you for bringing this up.
Sounds a lot like me. I use YT for troubleshooting, not entertainment for the most part.
Yes, this is what I am hoping for- But tipping isn't enough - inflation pools are brilliant - but not necessarily a global one (though for now it is too early to shift imo)
I like them too and they have been great fun - but, if we have learned one thing only from Steem - it is don't trust a private company in a public environment ;D
!ENGAGE 25
Sorry it has taken me so long to start really replying - I have some IRL life things going on today with my daughter.
I saw that she was ill - hope she is soon better.
I agree, there needs to be more than tipping.
ENGAGEtokens.